Apple will cancel or postpone mass production of the iPhone SE 4, scheduled for 2024, as renowned Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo now claims.
Kuo gave up Twitter said he believes Apple will delay or cancel the iPhone SE 4 because shipments of mid-range and entry-level smartphones such as the iPhone SE 3, iPhone 13 mini, and iPhone 14 Plus are consistently lower than expected. The analyst also said that the full-screen design Apple plans for the iPhone SE 4 will require higher costs and selling prices, so Apple may need to "rethink product positioning and return on investment" for the iPhone SE 4.
With Touch ID in the power button?
Reducing unnecessary product development costs will also help Apple overcome the "challenges of the global economic recession in 2023," Kuo said. Several rumors suggest that Apple is working on a new version of the iPhone SE to launch in 2024. Apple is developing a device that could look similar to the iPhone XR, with an all-display design that does away with the Touch ID home button and instead uses either Face ID or a Touch ID power button. Rumors suggest that the iPhone SE 4 could have a 6.1-inch LCD or OLED display and a notch at the top, similar to the current iPhone 14 models.
Will a new iPhone SE model be released in 2024?
Apple's plans for the iPhone SE 4 are not yet final. Earlier this year, display analyst Ross Young said Apple had not yet decided between an OLED or LCD display for the device. Apple stopped developing the 5.4-inch iPhone lineup after poor sales of the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 mini models, and rumors suggest that the cheaper iPhone 14 Plus also sold less than expected. For this reason, Apple could instead focus on its flagship iPhones in 2023 and 2024 and postpone development of the iPhone SE lineup or rely on cheaper components that allow for a lower price than the planned design changes.
