‘iPhone 5se’ To Feature A9/M9 Chip Variants, Coming in Mid-March [Rumour]

9to5Mac’s Mark Gurman has followed up with his sources regarding the forthcoming 4-inch iPhone dubbed as the “5se” (aka: “special edition” or the like) and has learned some very interesting things, corroborating earlier reports.

You may have already heard that Apple wants the new device to be Apple Pay compatible, so that assumes it will sport Touch ID and an NFC chip. What Gurman has found is that Apple has been experimenting with two different models: one with the A8 and M8 chips – as previously mentioned – and another with the latest A9 chip and M9 motion co-processor chips found in the iPhone 6s (Gurman’s sources corroborate an earlier Ming-Chi Kuo forecast saying that the 4-inch iPhone will incorporate the same A9 chip that powers the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus models).

The surprise is that sources suggest the next-generation 4-inch iPhone will likely incorporate variants of the A9 and M9 chips rather than the older A8 and M8s. Their argument is that Apple doesn’t want its new iPhone’s processor to be two generations behind the upcoming iPhone 7’s A10/M10 chips.

This also means that the iPhone 5se will feature “always-on Siri” and, performance-wise, easily replace the iPhone 6 (the device is just one generation older but doesn’t support always-on Siri activation) and earlier devices.

Another interesting highlight of the report is that the alleged iPhone 5se will be available in two storage options, 16 GB and 64 GB (instead of 32 GB), and will match the iPhone 5s on price.

Apple is said to be announcing the new model during the week of March 14, either via a media event or just online, alongside new Apple Watch models. As for the rumoured iPad 3, there is a possibility of it not being ready for a March launch.