Alleged iPhone 5se packs in A9/M9 chips with 16GB storage, Coming in mid-March

Apple is reported to be working on an iPhone variant that would serve as the new bottom end of its iPhone portfolio. Likely to be named iPhone 5se, the variant can be considered to be essentially the iPhone 5s from a hardware point of view but will be packing several key elements from iPhone 6s to ensure there are enough takers for the low-end device.

Among the key makeover that the iPhone 5s will be provided with including a faster processor, compatibility with Apple Pay along with an enhanced camera. The sharp-edged sides of the old iPhone 5s too will be giving way to the curved design that’s reminiscent of the current generation iPhones.

Among the processors that are being considered for the iPhone 5se include either A8 and M8 processors or the more current A9 and M9 chips that renders service in the iPhone 6s.

The next generation iPhone 7 is believed to come with an even faster A10 chip when it is launched. It makes the A9 chip more likely to make the cut to power the 5se unless Apple wishes to see the latter feature a chip that’s two generations behind.

Another point in favour of the A9 chip is the huge performance improvement it brings along. Also, with the A9 at the core, the iPhone 5se will feature always-on Siri Activation. Therefore, users will be able to launch the Siri just by speaking ‘Hey Siri’ into their iPhones.

Another area where the iPhone 5se could benefit from is a doubling of storage capacity to 16 GB for the entry level model. While that is welcomes, this might still fall short given the storage intensive that apps and other features have grown into off late. For instance, images and videos are of higher resolution while apps too have higher data requirements than before. All of this could make the 16 GB storage quite inadequate after taking into account the iOS needs.

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As for reasons for Apple to continue devoting resources into an older device could be to offer a more updated iPhone to those who might still be holding on to their older iPhones and have been reluctant to upgrade.

The new iPhone 5se will also serve to appeal to those who might prefer to have smaller devices instead of the current-gen iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus that come with 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch displays respectively. In contrast, the 5se makes do with a 4-inch screen.

Expect the new iPhone 5se to reach markets by April after debuting in March.