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iPhone 9 may launch soon after case spotted in Best Buy leak

Apple's new cheaper iPhone may (or may not) be coming soon.

Eli Blumenthal Senior Editor
Eli Blumenthal is a senior editor at CNET with a particular focus on covering the latest in the ever-changing worlds of telecom, streaming and sports. He previously worked as a technology reporter at USA Today.
Expertise 5G, mobile networks, wireless carriers, phones, tablets, streaming devices, streaming platforms, mobile and console gaming
Eli Blumenthal
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Apple's next cheaper iPhone is expected to keep a design similar to the iPhone 8. 

James Martin/CNET

Update, April 22: Read our iPhone SE 2020 review. Original story follows.


Apple's cheaper 4.7-inch iPhone 9 (now most likely to be called he iPhone SE) has been rumored for months. And while the coronavirus pandemic has added an extra layer of uncertainty to whether it will arrive his spring (and what the price will be), images of a new case seem to indicate it's still on its way. If an image sent to 9to5Mac and MacRumors is to be believed, Best Buy is already receiving cases for a "New iPhone 4.7-inch, 2020." According to the sites, the case in question from Urban Armor Gear comes with instructions that it should not be sold until Sunday, April 5. 

Rumored for a while, the new 4.7-inch iPhone may be called the iPhone 9 or iPhone SE 2. Like the original iPhone SE, it is expected to be cheaper than recent iPhone models like the $700 iPhone 11. It is said to keep a design similar to the iPhone 8, including having a home button, but will have updated internal components to make it more modern than that 2017 phone like an A13 processor. 

Later on Tuesday, Front Page Tech's Jon Prosser tweeted that Apple was preparing for an April release for the iPhone 9. "Tentative dates: - Announcement on April 15 - Shipments on April 22," Prosser tweeted.

Rumors previously had the phone pegged to come out by the end of March for potentially $399.

Apple didn't respond to a request for comment.