iPhone SE 3 could be the upgrade we've been hoping for in 2022

While most of the iPhone faithful are probably focused on the iPhone 13 announcements Apple has coming up in the fall, today a new report is looking beyond that and talking about what we can expect from Apple in the first half of next year. According to that report, Apple will look to launch the iPhone SE 3 in the first half of 2022, and it could have some fairly big upgrades in tow.

That's according to DigiTimes (as reported by MacRumors), which reports that the big upgrade for the iPhone SE 3 could come in the form of an A14 Bionic SoC, which is the same chip found in the iPhone 12 series. The iPhone SE 2 – which launched in April 2020 – uses an A13 Bionic SoC, the same one found in the iPhone 11 series. DigiTimes also reports that the iPhone SE 3 will support 5G, which would be another significant upgrade over the LTE-only iPhone SE 2.

If you were worried that Apple would introduce some kind of dramatic redesign in the iPhone SE 3, it seems you can take a sigh of relief. DigiTimes' report says that the Touch ID equipped home button will be sticking around for the iPhone SE 3, and it seems like we can expect the same 4.7-inch display. Previous rumors have claimed that Apple will up the screen size and serve up a larger display with a hole punch cutout for the front camera in a 2023 upgrade for the iPhone SE, but for now, at least, the home button and Touch ID are staying.

As MacRumors points out, DigiTimes' report lines up with what Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has predicted for the iPhone SE 3 as well. So at the very least, it looks like we can expect an upgraded processor and 5G capabilities, so those who want a smaller 5G device will get it with the iPhone SE 3, assuming these rumors pan out.

We'll just have to wait and see what Apple ultimately announces. With Apple expected to launch the iPhone SE 3 in the first half of 2022, that announcement is still probably some time off, but we'll stick a pin in this for now and see if these rumors about an upgrade iPhone SE 3 come true early next year.