Apple is reported to have canceled plans to launch the iPhone SE 4 which was earlier speculated to arrive in 2024. The iPhone makers usually refresh its iPhone SE lineup once every two years. Having launched the SE 3 in 2022, many had predicted its successor would be arriving next year. However, as noted Apple analyst Ming Chi Kuo stated, that may never become a reality now. The analyst also said Apple has begun informing its supply chain partners about the move.
While the above might come as a huge disappointment for the small yet loyal user base that the iPhone SE range commanded, what is perhaps even more significant is that the demise of the SE range infuses fresh uncertainty into the future of the 5G chip that Apple has been making in-house and had said will make its first debut with the iPhone SE4. For Apple, using its first 5G chip in the iPhone SE 4 made sense given that it isn’t as high profile as the company’s primary iPhone offerings. So, if things remained sub-par with the chip, the damages would remain localized.
However, with the option to experiment with the iPhone SE 4 gone, Apple might have no other option but to continue relying on Qualcomm 5G chips in 2024. That is unless the company is feeling extremely confident of its own 5G chip and is willing to put it under the hood of the future mainstream iPhone models such as the iPhone 16 and beyond. This should put to rest concerns among a section of the industry that Qualcomm is set to lose a huge chunk of orders from Apple.
Also, the move to cancel the iPhone SE 4 should not come as a surprise as that was always being speculated for some time. There have been rumors about Apple either delaying or canceling the low-end iPhone model given the lower than expected market acceptance for the iPhone SE 3 along with other more affordable iPhone models such as the iPhone 13 mini or the iPhone 14 Plus launched last year.
