A cheaper version of the iPhone could launch in the next few months.

According to a new report from China Economic News Service that cites supply chain sources, Apple plans to launch an updated version of its smaller iPhone SE early next year.

CENS reports that Apple is readying a new iPhone SE to launch sometime in the first quarter of 2018. The first iPhone SE launched in March 2016.

As we've previously pointed out, Apple's 4-inch iPhone SE is unlikely to follow the patterns of previous iPhone generations, which have historically been updated every year. Although the $399 iPhone SE may get less frequent updates, Apple has made clear in the past that it's committed to offering a smaller, cheaper iPhone, which is particularly important in markets like India.

So a 2018 update would certainly make sense for an iPhone SE refresh. This latest rumor doesn't indicate what changes Apple could make to the handset, but as 9to5Mac points out, rumors from August suggest Apple will upgrade the processors from its current A9 chip to the newer A10 processor, which is in the iPhone 7.

Source: Mashable