According to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple has informed suppliers that it has canceled plans to release the fourth-generation iPhone SE in 2023. So if you wanted a cheaper but faster iPhone, you’re out of luck this year.
Apple has been known for some time to make iPhones that have many features of “older” models and thus at a cheaper price. But that kite is not going to fly this year, according to an analyst. Apple is now pulling the plug on the iPhone SE for a while.
Apple’s iPhone SE has been cancelled
The iPhone SE is a special beast. It generally plucked some hardware from previous generations and thus managed to appeal to users who had a little less budget.
In all honesty, we got to romp around with the previous devices. They are, without a doubt, great if you don’t want to shell out $1,000 or more for a new phone right away. This year, Apple is probably skipping that upgrade, according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. The best man has a nice reputation when it comes to these kinds of rumors.
In a post on Medium, Kuo said that Apple plans to introduce its first proprietary 5G chip in the fourth-generation iPhone SE. According to him, that is now clearly no longer the case as the device has apparently been canceled.
(Image: Mark Hofman / WANT)
New chips in budget iPhone?
Instead, Kuo says it is likely that Apple will continue to rely on Qualcomm for 5G chips in 2024, including those for the iPhone 16 series. So it is intriguing that Apple may choose to use a new chip for its next-generation iPhone SE.
The third-generation iPhone SE was released last March. This one used Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X57 modem for 5G. The iPhone 15 models are expected to use the Snapdragon X70 modem. The iPhone 16 models may use the as-yet-unannounced Snapdragon X75.
For now, it looks like Apple wants to focus only on high-end iPhones in 2023 and 2024. This may also mean the end of the new Plus model, which also does not seem to be very popular. Perhaps the SE will return later, when the market calms down and components can be produced more cheaply. After all, a cheap iPhone costs a lot of money to develop.
Would you like a new SE? Let us know in the comments.
