A new video from the same company that hosted a report last month about unauthorized iPhone upgrading in a China market in Shenzhen has returned to the location to discover an "iPhone SE" -- the rumored four-inch iPhone model Apple is thought to be announcing at its event on March 21 -- being sold in the market, though it is highly likely to be a counterfeit device based on rumored specifications than a genuine iPhone. In the pictures and video supplied by Beeep, the device looks similar to a rose gold but smaller iPhone 6.
The video report itself casts some doubt on the authenticity of the device: the iPhone is shown completely without packaging, and is said by the Chinese reporter to be "pinker" than the current "rose gold" version of the iPhone 6 and 6s lines, which suggests it is not genuine. The device was also not able to be powered on, despite the easy access to power in the market: this suggests that the unit lacks any internal components, and is just a shell packed with counterfeit components or weights.
Still, as an exercise in what the iPhone SE could conceivably look like, the report helpfully compares the unit to an iPhone 5s and an iPhone 6 for size comparisons. In the pictures, the "iPhone SE" is seen as very slightly taller than an iPhone 5s, but thinner, though the reporter says they weigh about the same in her hand. The rumor mill and various pundits have expected Apple to launch a smaller, less-expensive iPhone model for developing markets for several years, and may finally get their wish if something resembling this "iPhone SE" is actually launched.
Apple will be holding its event at 10AM Pacific on March 21 in Cupertino, one day before the court hearing in California on its refusal to comply with an order from the magistrate judge on assisting the FBI with hacking into a seized iPhone. The event is also rumored to produce a new iPad model, and various watch accessories and possible new partnerships.
MacNN will provide complete coverage of the event.
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