5G iPhone SE case appears online with March 10 release date

It comes amidst rumors of a new iPhone SE and Apple’s failure to announce a March event as expected.

What you need to know

A new iPhone SE may yet be fast-approaching.
Apple was expected to announce a March event earlier this week, but nothing happened.
A third-generation iPhone SE case from Belkin has shown up online with a March 10 release date.

Despite Tuesday passing without the expected Apple March event announcement, an iPhone SE ‘3rd generation’ case has shown up online, possibly indicating Apple still plans to release the new device soon.

In the listing verified by iMore, Belkin is advertising the sale of a “Protective Glass Film for Belkin iPhone SE.” It’s a protective glass anti-fingerprint protector, and the product image clearly depicts Apple’s older iPhone SE design, the same design the new iPhone SE is expected to retain when it debuts. The corresponding link to the seller directs to Belkin’s official page, so this is a verified vendor of Apple accessories and products. Furthermore, the case’s listed ‘F8W768qe-REV’ product number corresponds to Belkin’s existing iPhone 8 ScreenForce Tempered Glass Screen Protector, which again makes sense as the current SE shares this design.

The case was first made available on Amazon Japan on February 28, and is listed with a release date of March 10. This ties in with numerous reports that Apple is planning (or was) to release a new low-cost iPhone in early March. Mark Gurman had previously stated that Apple was planning to hold an event on March 8 to unveil the device, however, no invites were forthcoming Tuesday, which would have been the most likely day for an announcement.

Despite Tuesday passing without an invite an event, or at least a new phone launch, is still a clear possibility. Apple’s last event was announced only six days prior to the date it was to be held rather than the traditional seven, however, it is possible Apple moved up the date so as not to clash with the Google Pixel launch.

It has also been postulated that Apple may have delayed announcing or even canceled its March event because of the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. On Tuesday Apple announced a broad package of measures to stop selling its products in Russia in response to the invasion.