Apple plans to release an iPhone SE 4 based heavily on the design of the iPhone 14, according to a new report from a reliable source.
Word that Apple canceled the low-cost handset leaked out recently, but work on the device has supposedly started again.
The iPhone 4 SE is back, baby!
The iPhone SE line is Apple’s answer to the market’s demand for a lower-cost handset. For these models, the company cuts costs by shoehorning reasonably recent chips inside years-old iPhone designs. The result is a familiar-looking device with decent performance — and a much smaller price tag.
The original iPhone SE launched in 2016 at $399. The latest version, 2022’s third-gen iPhone SE, starts at just $429.
However, word came in January that Apple canceled the fourth-generation model. The unconfirmed report came from TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo after he spoke with sources in Apple’s component supply chain.
Apparently, he talked to these sources again recently — and now he says the project is back on. “My latest survey indicates that Apple has recently restarted the iPhone SE 4,” said Kuo on Monday via Twitter.
The analyst speculated that the low-cost handset had been canceled because of weak sales of the iPhone 3. Customers were instead choosing Apple’s more expensive Pro models. But new data from Display Supply Chain Consultants indicates that overall iPhone demand is dropping, which might be causing Apple to reconsider updating its budget model.
iPhone 14 all over again
Kuo also delivered details Monday on the specs of the fourth-generation iPhone SE. He says the upcoming model “will feature an OLED display instead of an LCD, as the biggest change. Overall, the SE 4 is a minor modification of the 6.1-inch iPhone 14.”
If the report is true, this will be the first all-screen SE without a Home button. It will also be the first with MagSafe wireless charging.
Borrowing a previous design is typical — previous SE models have been heavily based on earlier Apple handsets. The current SE 3 is an updated iPhone 8, for example.
The launch of the Apple 5G modem
iPhone SE 4 might be the first device of any kind to use Apple’s in-house 5G modem, according to Kuo.
The chip has been in development for years, and everything has not gone smoothly. The version for the SE 4 supposedly will only support sub-6GHz 5G.
And the chip is not expected until 2024, which apparently means the iPhone SE 4 won’t arrive before next year.
