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What The SE In The New iPhone Stands For

by Claire Elizabeth Felter

Remember the story of Goldilocks and those three bears? The young gal took a day to basically mooch off all the bear family's belongings, but wasn't satisfied with anything unless its size was "just right" for her. That's sort of like what Apple does on the daily — work tirelessly to design an iPhone that's "just right" for the bazillions around the world using the smartphone brand. And with the upcoming unveiling of the iPhone SE, iPhone users eagerly await a model that could be the perfect in-between, with a name to suit. So what, exactly, does the SE in Apple's newest model stand for?

The name could very well be a testament to the unique model. Though Apple hasn't offered any official statements on the title, Tech Insider and Business Insider reports the "SE" is said to stand for "Special Edition." If the hypothesis turns out to be true, the name makes sense. Before announcing that the smart phone would go by iPhone SE, review sites for products of the tech giant reported that the newest model would be the iPhone 5SE. The earlier name would indicate the phone will have some similarities to the older version, one being a reversion back to a 4-inch diameter.

The SE isn't merely a harkening back to the days of the simpler, smaller iPhone. With many of the same features seen in the iPhone 6 series phones (minus the 3D Touch), and likely involving a lot of the same technology that went into creating the soon-to-arrive 7 series, the SE could be a mix of just about everything. On top of all that, the model could sell at a lower price point than new releases of the past.

To be honest, though, you may never find out what Apple had in mind for those two letters. In the case of the iPhone 4S, Apple CEO Tim Cook did reveal back in 2012 that the S stands for good ol' "Siri." But since then, the tech company has been pretty hush hush when it comes to iPhone series names. Many have speculated that the S in the 5S series stands for "Security" or "Scan," since the model included the fingerprint scanning feature. Differing possibilities existed for the iPhone 5C as well: "Color" and "China" were popular guesses among the brand followers.

If Cook never announces what the letters stand for, that's OK. Goldilocks would be all about the SE, and you should be too.