The third-generation iPhone SE could also be the last, with poor sales prompting Apple to abandon plans for the iPhone SE 4.
Launched in March this year, the third-generation iPhone SE (2022) has been derided for its very outdated design, recycled from the iPhone 7 series introduced in 2016. Adding to the “insult” offered to Apple fans, we also have the launch price of over 500 euros.
According to information provided by Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst with a very good reputation for disclosures related to Apple products, the failure had with the iPhone SE (2022) is so big that Apple will suspend or drop the SE brand altogether.
At best, the next iPhone SE model could be released much later (e.g. 2024), coming instead with a completely redesigned design and other improvements.
Apparently, other iPhone models in the “affordable” range haven’t reached Apple’s anticipated sales figures either, with the iPhone 13 Mini and iPhone 14 Plus adding to the string of failures this year.
Returning to the iPhone SE4, rumors so far describe it as an “optimized” iPhone XR version for a lower cost. Essentially we’re talking about a phone with no Home key and a screen cropped to the contours of the casing, as you’d expect from a modern smartphone. However, more than three years after the launch of the iPhone XR even this formula could fail, as the kind of screen with a fairly thick bezel and “bangs” cut out at the top still only appears on low-cost Android phones.