iPhone 5se drawings: nearly identical to 5s slightly curved edges
Mark Gurman / 9to5Mac :
Context & Ripple Effects
This closes the loop on 9to5Mac's reporting arc: after sources detailed the phone's internals in January — 4-inch screen, A8/M8 chips, NFC, Live Photos — per the March/April readiness report, these CAD drawings put hardware specifics on record: a shell nearly identical to the 5s, slightly curved edges, and a relocated power key. Within days the outlet's sourcing also forced a rename, with Apple reportedly dropping the '5' for 'iPhone SE' (the SE naming report).
First-order effects
- Case and accessory makers get their production blueprint weeks before launch: since the body matches the 5s apart from curved edges and the power key, existing 5s accessory lines need only minor revisions.
Second-order effects
- Dropping the '5' from the name reframes the device as a new product line rather than an incremental refresh — a branding move that lets Apple price and market it as its own tier instead of a discounted flagship.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, Apple's small-screen strategy becomes a recurring low-cost tier built on recycled industrial design — confirmed when the shipping unit proved nearly identical to the 5S down to first-generation Touch ID — trading design novelty for margin-safe reuse of proven components.
The trend: Apple is institutionalizing a small-iPhone tier that reuses proven designs under a separate 'SE' brand, decoupled from the numbered flagship cycle.