iPhone SE 2 renders look a whole lot like the iPhone 8

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The iPhone SE 2 could evoke this Apple favorite

(Image credit: @OnLeaks/iGeeksBlog)

If renders that reportedly show off Apple's design for the iPhone SE 2 look anything like the real thing, fans of compact iPhones better prepare to party like its 2017 when the rumored phone finally surfaces.

New iPhone SE 2 renders from @OnLeaks appeared today (Jan. 7) on both the serial phone leaker's Twitter account and as an exclusive at iGeeksBlog. And the phone that appears in those renders looks an awful lot like the iPhone 8 that Apple released in the fall of 2017.

That's hardly a surprise if you've been following rumors surrounding the iPhone SE 2 (or the iPhone 9, as the new device could be called). Early on, analysts who track Apple's supply chain suggested that the next version of the compact iPhone would feature a 4.7-inch screen most recently found on the iPhone 8, as Apple updates the form factor from the 4-inch display sported by the original iPhone SE.

The phone pictured in @OnLeaks' renders certainly looks a lot like the iPhone 8, with some more rounded edges and a frosted glass back. Presumably, that means the iPhone SE 2 would support wireless charging, a feature Apple introduced with the iPhone 8.

There's no visible headphone jack in these iPhone SE 2 renders — that's been the case of Apple's phones since the iPhone 7 arrived a few months after the iPhone SE — and the new phone will include a Lightning port, according to these renders.

OnLeaks puts the dimensions of the iPhone SE 2 at 5.5 x 2.7 x 0.3 inches, which is essentially the same size as the iPhone 8. That older phone is fractionally thinner than the device OnLeaks is showing off. While it's unclear exactly what these renders are based on, they do closely map to all the rumors we've heard so far about the iPhone SE successor reportedly in the works at Apple.

Renders aren't going to capture what would truly set apart the iPhone SE successor from the iPhone 8, which is still available at Apple for $49, currently the cheapest iPhone you can buy. The iPhone SE 2 is expected to feature an A13 Bionic processor, not only a big upgrade from the A11 chip inside the iPhone 8 but also the same chipset Apple uses in its iPhone 11 lineup.

We should find out soon enough how accurate these renders are. Most iPhone SE 2 rumors point to a new release coming out in the first half of this year, with the iPhone 12 series expected to follow in September.

Philip Michaels
Philip Michaels

Philip Michaels is a Managing Editor at Tom's Guide. He's been covering personal technology since 1999 and was in the building when Steve Jobs showed off the iPhone for the first time. He's been evaluating smartphones since that first iPhone debuted in 2007, and he's been following phone carriers and smartphone plans since 2015. He has strong opinions about Apple, the Oakland Athletics, old movies and proper butchery techniques. Follow him at @PhilipMichaels.