With just days before the launch of Apple's newest little handset, the iPhone SE, the company's rival, South Korea-based Samsung, is rumored to be working on a smartphone that will challenge Apple's little champion, as rumors have emerged that Samsung is once more working on a smaller version of its flagship device, the rumored Galaxy S7 Mini.
If the rumors are true, the Apple iPhone SE would have some serious competition. After all, it is highly expected that Apple's newest handset would be marketed as a mid-range device with near-flagship specs. If Samsung could accomplish the same feat, the war between the top two smartphone manufacturers in the world would end up spilling over into the midrange arena.
Apple's logic for the iPhone SE is quite simple. As the years went by and Apple's flagship units began to increase in size, a significant number of iPhone users still stuck to their old, more portable devices. With the iPhone 5S taking on some serious age, it is high time for Apple to release a small handset with updated specs.
As far as leaks and rumors are concerned, it does seem like Apple's newest phone would do just that. While the iPhone SE is not expected to be a smartphone equivalent to the power of the iPhone 6S, it is a very significant upgrade from its predecessor, the iPhone 5S, nonetheless.
Rumors have been emerging that the iPhone SE would be equipped with Apple's powerful A9 processor, an M9 chip, NFC for Apple Pay, a 12 MP main camera with Live Photos and 4k video. Indeed, such as a suite of hardware and software are almost on par with the iPhone 6.
The fact that Apple's iPhone SE packs a lot of power in its small body would probably be the biggest challenge for Samsung. The South Korean tech giant has already released Mini versions of its flagship devices in the past, including the S3 Mini, the S4 Mini and the S5 Mini. While the flagships themselves were very capable, the Mini versions of the Galaxy S3, S4 and S5 were very much underpowered. Needless to say, the power and features of Samsung's Mini line were not received very well by critics and users alike.
This time around, however, it seems like Samsung is taking a play out of Apple's playbook, as rumors have stated that the Galaxy S7 Mini would come with a 720x1280 display, a Snapdragon 820 or an Exynos 8890 processor, and 3GB RAM. Relatively speaking, the S7 Mini seems pretty much well-balanced this time around.
The fact that Apple is releasing a compact handset and Samsung might be planning on doing the same is proof that smartphone users are not limited to those who always want their devices bigger and better. Sometimes, a powerful, little device is just what it takes to make consumers fall in love once more.
