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The 3rd generation of the iPhone SE, launched in 2022, was not very well received by enthusiasts and the general crowd, with Apple reducing production units due to low demand. The phone had an outdated 720P LCD panel with a 60Hz refresh rate and a rather uninspiring ancient design with thick borders and the old home button style design, and by today’s standards, a tiny display size of 4.7 inches diagonally.
The rest of the specifications are not great, either, with only one tiny 12MP primary sensor, the same sensor used on the 2017 iPhone 8, with no ultra-wide angle lens and no support for night mode. The front camera is below average at 7 megapixels. The phone has a tiny ~1900 MAH battery with relatively low battery life. It was all rather uninspiring, and it looked like this phone was launched so carriers could now market it as the cheapest 5G iPhone. Add to that, the price was increased from 399$ to 429$, making it even less compelling versus the competition at that price.
Apple’s formula with the iPhone SE has remained consistent since the first iPhone SE launched. The 2016 first-generation iPhone SE was the iPhone 5S with the new chipset with the iPhone 6S, which was the A9 Bionic. So, it had an old body but a new chip. This made sense because, at the time, people still preferred the 4-inch screen size and wanted a cheaper iPhone. Then, Apple refreshed the SE in 2020, which was met with mixed reception since it was the body of the iPhone 8 with the chip of the iPhone 11.
Apple’s strategy with the SE seems to be recycling old components and throwing a new chip in to make the device more affordable than other iPhones. The iPhone SE 2022, though, did not work out that well, and it only catered to users who wanted an iPhone with a home button or users who wished for a small iPhone but could not afford the mini, which was not a large user base. This might be why Apple plans to move to a more modern design for the next-generation iPhone SE.
According to Ross Young on Twitter (paywalled), Apple is undecided about the display technology in the upcoming iPhone SE 4. This news was released after a report (by Jon Prosser on the Geared Up Podcast) claimed that the phone would essentially be an iPhone XR clone. As of now, it seems to be uncertain whether the phone would be an iPhone XR with a new chip or an iPhone X/XS with a new chip. The phone is unlikely to launch anytime soon, and predictions currently say it might launch in 2024 with either an A16 bionic chip or a refined A15 bionic chip.
So, Apple might use a 5.7/5.8-inch OLED Panel (similar to the iPhone X) or a 6.1-inch LCD Panel (identical to the iPhone XR). Camera upgrades are expected, too, but nothing has been confirmed so far. Whatever Apple decides to do with the next iPhone SE 4 (2023), there will be much better battery life thanks to the much larger battery on these phones.
Do you want the iPhone SE 4 to arrive with an OLED Panel? How happy will you be if Apple implements an OLED panel in their upcoming iPhone SE models? Do tell us in the comments section below. Thanks for reading.
