[nickcoury]

I'll cross my fingers your speculation is correct.

There will now be an "apparent absence of good alternatives" in the iPhone camp too. The SE will be nearly EOL hardware soon, and the smallest iPhone is now a 5.8 inch screen. The minimum price point is also now $750 for current hardware. The SE was partially a low cost option for emerging markets as I understood it, so either they're planning on previous year hardware as the affordable option, or they'll need to release something that doesn't cost so much soon.

[reaperducer]

The minimum price point is also now $750 for current hardware.

I don't think that's quite true. The minimum price point on Apple.com right now is $449: https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-iphone/iphone-7

I know a lot of people are saying the SE is dead, and I believed that, too, but it's still there on Apple's web site. Just go to iPhone > Compare, and either click the "See all models" link, or select it (or anything back to the 6) from the drop-down.

The SE is listed as "Available at authorized retailers," but you can still buy the 7, 7 Plus, 8, and 8Plus from Apple.

The 7 is $449.

[FabHK]

By "current hardware" the GP presumably meant the most recently released phones, ie the last generation. The iPhone 7 was released 2 years ago.

[nickcoury]

Yes, I could have been more clear about meaning “current generation”. The implication being the phones that will have a long life of support and relevance. When the SE came out it was using Apple’s latest iPhone processor. You can still buy a new SE but it will be deprecated by Apple and run newer software for a lot fewer years than the current-gen X phones. Likewise a couple years from now when the 7 and 8 are out of software support the only options will be large phones if Apple doesn’t reintroduce a smaller phone.

[reaperducer]

I interpreted "current" to mean what is currently available. To me "last generation" would be "latest" phones.

English is a messy language.