Apple reportedly postponing or canceling iPhone SE 4

[Shawn Knight]

In brief: Apple may be having second thoughts about the next iPhone SE. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo recently said he believes Apple will likely postpone or cancel mass production for the 2024 iPhone SE 4 due to consistently lower-than-expected shipments of entry-level iPhones like the iPhone 13 mini, the iPhone 14 Plus and the third generation iPhone SE.

Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC) analyst Ross Young said back in October that the next iPhone SE could ship with a much larger 6.1-inch display. For comparison, the third-gen iPhone SE packs a 4.7-inch Retina HD display which is considered small by today's standards.

Kuo seemingly corroborated the prediction, noting that the full-screen design of the iPhone SE 4 would lead to an increase in costs and selling price. This, Kuo added, could prompt Apple to reconsider the return on investment of the next SE. What's more, reducing unnecessary new product development could help see Apple through economic uncertainties in 2023.

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My latest survey indicates that Apple will likely cancel or postpone the mass production plan for the 2024 iPhone SE 4. I think this is due to the consistently lower-than-expected shipments of mid-to-low-end iPhones (e.g., SE 3, 13 mini, and 14 Plus),

— 郭明錤 (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo) December 21, 2022

Earlier rumors suggested the iPhone SE 4 could look a lot like the iPhone XR and forego the Touch ID-equipped Home button in favor of either Face ID or a side-mounted fingerprint sensor like on the iPad Air and iPad mini.

Apple has been willing to experiment with varying configurations of the iPhone over the years, but not all of them have been a hit with consumers. The iPhone 14 Plus, for example, reportedly got off to a slow start and prompted Apple to scale back production just a couple weeks after launch.

Another factor contributing to the success of certain iPhone models could be how they are sold. In the US, most Apple handsets are sold through wireless carriers that offer attractive promotions on select models to entice shoppers to do business with them instead of the competition. As such, it's not uncommon to see higher-end models like the iPhone 14 Pro on sale for less than an entry-level model. Such is especially true during the holidays when consumers may be more willing to splurge on big ticket purchases.

Image credit: Filipe Alves

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https://www.techspot.com/news/97054-apple-allegedly-considers-postponing-or-canceling-iphone-se.html

 

[ZackL04]

Skip it

Make a 14 or 15 Mini please

 

[sorten]

Glad I decided to pick up the iPhone 13 mini last month after I killed my iPhone 7. I guess I'll use the new phone until it stops working and then hop on over to Android.

 

[MakeMSGreatAgain]

If Apple would just make a 4.5" 16:9 screen "stubby" phone with TouchID on the back of the phone inside the logo, get rid of the damn notch, and sell it for $450 people would eat that up. I like my 12 mini but after two years I still don't like faceID as primary unlock method, I'd prefer it secondary for when I'm wearing gloves.

Plenty of people like the smaller phones out there but they are usually minimalist type people who don't want excess or unnecessary-ness. Live small and cheap and pay for experiences, not things that you don't need.

 

[8600M GT]

My theory is the SE 3 hasn't sold like hotcakes because it doesn't offer much over the SE 2 for most of its userbase.

It upgrades to an A15 SOC and to not-very-fast 5G. A15 is useful if you need more performance; what are you most likely to need it for? Games. If you play games on your phone regularly, what screen size are you likely to prefer? Large. The SE is a small-screen phone. Similarly, not-very-fast 5G is most helpful if you are a phone power user, and is less helpful than full-fledged fast 5G.

I was ready to upgrade by 1st-gen SE this summer, mainly for more storage, and looked at the 3rd-gen SE. Instead I bought an iPhone 6S with more storage space than my old SE. Why? It was 1/4 the price and I couldn't justify paying 4 times as much for not much more when I knew the A9 processor was perfectly fast enough for my needs. If that's not the case anymore in a couple years, I can pick up a second-hand 3rd-gen SE and still have spent less overall.

What would likely be enticing for the SE target demographic to upgrade? An improved camera. Almost everyone uses their phone's camera, so upgrading that will get people's attention.