Apple could have an entry-level iPhone 5se in the pipeline for March 2016

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 4in 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. 

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 rumoured to come 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 (RM2,740) mark. 

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. — AFP Relaxnews