this iPhone SE 4 Live…maybe. In a recent Twitter thread, prominent Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that the tech giant has restarted development of the iPhone SE 4 — which has reportedly been canceled for two months.
The reason the project was axed in the first place, According to Kuo’s post on Medium (opens in a new tab), because Apple wants its mid-range devices to house its first in-house 5G modem chips so the company doesn’t have to rely on Qualcomm. However, the hardware wasn’t “up to Qualcomm’s standards” [tech]’ So the whole thing was canceled in early January. But now it seems Apple has a solution (opens in a new tab). iPhone SE 4 Reportedly Not Made From Scratch, But Now A Modified Version 6.1-inch iPhone 14.
Kuo claims the device will feature the aforementioned “baseband chip produced in a 4nm process”; however, it will only support sub-6GHz 5G, not the faster mmWave spectrum, like the previous modelThe biggest change, as Kuo pointed out, is that the phone will have an “OLED display instead of an LCD.” Ross Young (opens in a new tab)Another prominent industry analyst said the screen would be supplied by Chinese manufacturer BOE Technology. Assuming development goes well, mass production will begin in the first half of 2024.
Apple’s future plans
The rest of the Twitter post hints at Apple’s future efforts. He went on to say that whether the inevitable iPhone 16 series will use a new chipset is still up in the air.Apparently, the company is dealing with some “technical hurdles” [relating] to mmWave and satellite communications. But if it succeeds, Kuo predicts that the gulf between Apple and Qualcomm will widen, as the latter’s hardware will no longer be necessary. He even speculates that if mass production goes well, we could see the iPad and Apple Watch abandon Qualcomm chipsets, and use baseband chipsets instead.
That’s pretty much all the information that can be gleaned from the thread, as it directly relates to the iPhone SE 4 or Apple’s plans. It’s unclear how many iPhone 14 features, such as SOS signals or hardware via satellite, will appear in the upcoming phone. Price also remains a mystery. For comparison, the iPhone SE 3 launches in March 2022 and starts at $429 in the US.
If you’re in the market for a new phone, be sure to check out TechRadar’s latest roundup The best iPhone deals before the end of the month.
