Rumour Suggests Next iPhone SE Retains Predecessor’s Design; Gains 5G And A15 Chip

Apple is said to be releasing a new entry to its more occasional smartphone series, the iPhone SE, sometime in early 2022. According to Japanese blog Macotakara, the upcoming model will allegedly come with recent hardware for its core internals, but retains its predecessor’s overall design.

In regards to the latter, this means that the new SE will still sport the iPhone 8’s look once more. Therefore, it may also feature a 4.7-inch LCD display with large upper and lower bezels, a curved aluminium frame, and a single rear camera setup. Concurrently, this would see the return of the Touch ID-enabled Home Button below the phone’s screen as well.

As for hardware, Macotakara suggests the next-gen iPhone SE will be equipped with the 5G-enabled A15 chip – the same SoC that is featured in the brand’s current generation iPhone 13 series. Unfortunately, no information regarding its battery or its front and rear camera sensors were shared by the Apple-specialised Japanese blog. Lastly, it is said that the new SE will begin production this December, and is expected to be launched later in Spring 2022.

This actually isn’t the first time that Apple is rumoured to be releasing a follow-up model to its iPhone SE line-up. Back in June, reliable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo similarly suggested a new iteration of the phone with upgraded internals is currently in the works, and that it would also feature the same chassis as its predecessor. While the rumours are seemingly corroborating with each other, it is still worth reminding that both of which are unofficially sourced and may end up to be inaccurate in the end.

Another New Report Strengthens The Rumour of iPhone 13’s Always-On Display

While we have heard plenty of rumours regarding the iPhone 13 (or 12s, depending on who you ask), some of them are more persistent than others. One such example is the always-on mode for its display.

Last weekend, the well-known Apple-oriented journalist, Mark Gurman of Bloomberg had made a passing remark regarding the feature inside the latest issue of his weekly “Power On” newsletter. Not only that, he also mentioned that the mode will work in a similar manner as per Apple Watch.

That being said, Mark didn’t provide in-depth details regarding the mode’s functionalities though. Nevertheless, what he has said regarding the always-on display in the newsletter generally mirrored the information that has been discussed by the reputable leakster Max Weinbach way back in February.

At that time, Max said that the always-on mode on iPhone may feature a toned down lockscreen with clock and battery capacity being made visible to users all the time if they choose to activate the mode. Try to imagine the always-on mode on Apple Watch Series 5 and Series 6, you’ll get the idea.

Aside from the always-on display mode, Gurman has also said that consumers should expect a faster A15 chip, a smaller notch, and video recording upgrades on the new iPhone. Not to forget, there is also the 120Hz refresh rate which is another rumour that refused to go away so far.

Despite that, do keep in mind that Apple is reportedly saving the bigger changes to next year’s iPhone series, such as a foldable screen and an in-screen Touch ID. In other words, the 2021 lineup may feature only minor upgrades as far as the rumour mill is concerned for the time being.

Nintendo Denies Reaping More Profit From New Switch Model And Shoots Down Pro Variant Rumour

Nintendo has taken to Twitter to deny allegations of squeezing out more profit from the newly announced Switch model. As you may recall, Bloomberg published a report last Friday suggesting that the Japanese video game giant is marking up the prices of the newly announced variant – earning an estimated US$40 (~RM168) more on each unit sold, where production would only cost the company a mere additional US$10 (~RM42) over the existing model. For your reference, the standard Nintendo Switch retails at US$300 (~RM1,267) while the OLED model is priced at US$350 (~RM1,458).

“A news report on July 15, 2021(JST) claimed that the profit margin of the Nintendo Switch (OLED Model) would increase compared to the Nintendo Switch,” the company stated via its official account on Twitter. “To ensure correct understanding among our investors and customers, we want to make clear that the claim is incorrect.”

It is pretty unusual for Nintendo to comment regarding any allegations or even rumours, let alone releasing an official statement intended to assure its investors via social media. Prior to this, the video game giant would often sidestep from commenting or would just provide vague details that neither confirm or deny certain information. Needless to say, this is indeed a rare occasion for the company.

Following the statement, the company also took the opportunity to shoot down rumours suggesting that it is developing or planning to release another variant of the console after releasing the OLED model in October. This is clearly referring to the numerous hearsays of the alleged Nintendo Switch Pro, which has been circulating around for months.

While that may sound disheartening for those looking forward to a beefier and 4K-capable version of the device, keep in mind that this isn’t the first time that the company has denied the development of a new model. In fact, Nintendo previously insisted that it had no plans to introduce a new Switch variant before finally removing the drape off from the recently launched 7-inch OLED model.

Rumour Suggests Huawei And Leica Partnership To End After P50 Series’ Release

The newly established partnership between Sharp and Leica that was revealed earlier, along with the unveiling of the Aquos R6 smartphone may come as a surprise for many. This is the first time for the German camera maker to collaborate with another smartphone brand after exclusively partnering with Huawei since 2016. However, Leica’s contract with the Chinese tech giant may finally come to an end later this year, according to a recent rumour.

This information comes from Finnish leakster Teme (aka @RODENT50) via Twitter, who said that the partnership will end after the release of Huawei’s P50 flagships which are said to be officially unveiled in July. The most possible reason that comes to mind to why Leica may be considering ending this deal is the ongoing US sanctions imposed on the Chinese company. This has drastically impacted Huawei, causing it to cut down on smartphone production due to the shortage of supplies, especially semiconductors. This is quite apparent as aside from the upcoming P50 series, the company has not unveiled or released any other smartphone model in 2021.

Although this may seem like an impending end of a six-year partnership between the two companies, there’s a chance that Teme’s information is inaccurate. Interestingly, the leakster followed-up on this tweet a few days after, stating that the Leica-Huawei collaboration could still continue even after the release of the P50 series. He also noted that the camera maker’s new partnership with Sharp will not affect its relationship with the Chinese giant as multi-branded deals are quite common in the smartphone industry. For instance, optical systems manufacturer Zeiss to this date has partnered with three smartphone makers, namely Sony, Vivo and Nokia.

Regardless, we highly advise our readers to take this information with a pinch of salt. And this isn’t the first time that the Leica-Huawei partnership is rumoured to be expired either. Chinese tech insider Digital Chat Station also suggested the same insight on Weibo in late 2020, which was shot down by both companies in their own respective statements. This then resulted in the leakster to delete his post on the Chinese social media platform soon after.

iPad mini Pro Rumour Emerges Ahead of Expected 2021 Reveal

Earlier in January, we saw what could be renders of the iPad mini 6, due for an announcement this year. It features a redesign that is reminiscent of the iPad Pro line, without actually getting the Pro moniker. This is similar to the iPad Air 4 released last year. Now, though, there’s word of a Pro model, which muddies the waters.

Korean Blog Naver makes mention of an iPad mini Pro model, stating that it will measure 8.7 inches. It’s unclear if this is referring to the iPad mini that’s expected to be announced, or a new variation entirely.

With the iPad Air also adopting the iPad Pro design language, this leaves the base model and the mini to still be rocking the original design. And it does make the two models look a little behind the times. But this may be a conscious business decision on Apple’s part, at least for the mini. 9to5Mac points out that most of iPad mini sales are to businesses, who may use them for warehouse inventory or restaurant waiting scenarios. And a change in design would affect the usability with custom accessories.

Regardless of the actual naming convention, it looks like the design change is something that many can agree on. And for consumers, that can only be a good thing, besides the two punch holes we saw in the renders.

Popular Leakster Suspended From Twitter After Sharing Battlefield 6 Rumour

Electronic Arts (EA) seems to be taking some drastic measures to quell any and all rumours and leaks pertaining to the next instalment of its Battlefield franchise. In fact, it’s so drastic that the publisher is being fingered in the recent suspension of a prominent leakster’s Twitter account.

The leakster in question is Tom Henderson, who used to go by the Twitter username of “@_TomHenderson_”. As per Henderson’s account, he says that his Twitter account was reportedly suspended after he tweeted information about Activision’s tentatively named Call of Duty 2021, as well content relating to Battlefield 6 (BF6). On top of that, he’s also been asked to remove any relevant videos from his YouTube channel.

The post has long been taken down, but based on details obtained from a Reddit thread discussing Henderson’s post, the leaked BF6 data pointed to the game seeing a return to a modern setting, as well as being a soft reboot of the series. Henderson also tweeted that BF3 essentially serves as the foundation of the game, and that it could simply launched as just “Battlefield”; a sign that EA may be choosing to forgo the numerics in future titles.

The last two points seem to match up with what we already reported earlier this month. To recap, EA confirmed that the next Battlefield instalment will introduce several new features, some of which include maps that can accommodate up to 128 players and a promise of “all-out warfare”, among other things.

At the time of writing, Henderson says that he is still waiting for an official word from Twitter.

Rumour Suggests Nokia 3650 To Be The Next Modernised Reissue From HMD Global

When brands still had the creative freedom over the designs of their mobile phones back in the early noughties, the Nokia-branded ones are probably the most striking among all. Some of these, such as the 3310 and 8110, were eventually reissued by parent company HMD Global during recent times as feature phones with a modern twist.

Allegedly joining these re-releases is said to be the Nokia 3650 from 2003, which features a unique candybar design and a circular keypad. News of this was first reported by Russian tech site MobilTelefon, claiming to have exclusive insider information from people familiar with the matter.

However, nothing else is known of the rebooted version of the handset. But based on other re-releases before this, it is very likely that Nokia may tweak the phone’s design with a modern and sleek look. Also not forgetting significant updates to its hardware such as a larger display, LTE and Wi-Fi support, better battery and camera, as well as a KaiOS interface instead of the original Symbian operating system.

MobilTelefon says that HMD Global is planning to launch the alleged Nokia 3650 reissue sometime this year. But as usual of such rumours, it is best to not raise your expectations as it may not turn out to be true in the end.