Apple poised for entry-level iPhone 5se in March: report

The new Apple iPhone 5 is displayed Wednesday Sept. 12, 2012 following the introduction of new products in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

Apple could be poised to make a new addition to its iPhone 5 line-up. After 2012's iPhone 5, then the 5c and 5s in 2013, the firm is rumoured to have a new 4'' smartphone in the works. Unofficially referred to as the iPhone 5se, the new handset could be set to launch in mid-March 2016, according to 5to9Mac.

Apple is reportedly gearing up to unveil a 4'' entry-level handset in mid-March 2016. The new model would effectively be an updated iPhone 5s with a more powerful processor and a new camera.

The processor in question is said to be either the A8 -- introduced with the iPhone 6 in 2014 -- or, more likely, the A9, which landed with the iPhone 6s in 2015. The iPhone 5se is rumored to be coming with 16GB to 64GB of memory and an always-on version of Apple's Siri personal assistant. Apple's aim would be to offer a smartphone that's compact but also powerful -- or, at least, more powerful than the 5S, which dates from 2013.

But for Apple, an entry-level handset isn't necessarily a low-cost handset. There's no word yet on whether this "budget" mobile will be priced under the symbolic €600 mark (approx. $650).

Each year, Apple presents an upgraded version of its flagship handset in September. This year could see the arrival of the "iPhone 7."

Note that Apple is estimating a decline in global sales of iPhone handsets in Q1 2016 for the first time in the device's history.