While there are three main questions hanging over the device right now surrounding what to expect from the fourth-generation iPhone SE.
Chinese site MyDrivers and leaker John Prosser believe that the iPhone SE will switch to an iPhone XR-like design in its next generation, which will include the removal of the Home button and the addition of a „night“ at the top of the display. The change seems likely since Apple’s „SE“ products have always used the design of older devices.
The iPhone SE is likely to be launched after the launch of the iPhone 15 line in 2023. The two standard iPhone 15 models are expected to feature the A16 Bionic chip from this year’s iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max, so it seems plausible that the iPhone SE could also get that chip — especially since the current iPhone SE already packs the A15 Bionic chip .
The device isn’t expected to hit the market until 2024, and astute display analyst Ross Yang recently claimed that Apple is mulling multiple decisions regarding the next-generation iPhone SE.
Screen size
According to Young, Apple is considering displays between 5.7 and 6.1 inches from two different suppliers for the fourth-generation iPhone SE. It’s worth noting that the iPhone XR, the device on which the next-generation iPhone SE is supposed to be based, features a 6.1-inch display. Additionally, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo previously stated that Apple is working on an iPhone SE with just such a display size.
5.7- and 6.1-inch displays have been rumored in the past, and the fact that Apple has yet to make a final decision explains why we keep hearing about two different panel sizes.
Display technology: LCD or OLED?
In his latest report on the matter, Young said that the 5.7- to 6.1-inch displays Apple is considering will be LCD technology, just like the current iPhone SE, but the company is also considering the possibility of simply going with 6 .1-inch OLED display, as was offered in the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13.
The iPhone X launched in 2017 as the first OLED iPhone, and since the launch of the iPhone 12 in 2020, all of Apple’s mainline iPhone models have OLED displays. OLED display technology is more expensive than LCD, but provides better efficiency, „true“ blacks, high contrast and high dynamic range. It’s possible that OLED panels have gotten cheaper enough for Apple to use them for the iPhone SE, which is positioned as an entry-level device, especially since it’s not expected to be released for more than a year.
Touch ID or Face ID?
Moving to an all-screen design like the iPhone XR will likely no longer have room for a capacitive Touch ID button on the bottom bezel of the iPhone SE, so Apple may have no choice but to offer a side Touch ID button, under-display Touch ID technology, or Face ID.
Multiple reports, including information from MyDrivers and Ming-Chi Kuo, indicate that Apple plans to add a side button for Touch ID on the iPhone SE. The latest iPad, iPad Air, and iPad mini models have Touch ID integrated into their side buttons, but no iPhone yet offers this functionality. As Apple’s cheapest iPhone offering and in order to keep costs down, the iPhone SE never had Face ID technology, sticking to a capacitive Touch ID button like older iPhone models. Thus, it would make sense that the iPhone SE would be the first iPhone model to receive the newer side-button-style implementation of Touch ID.
Since the iPhone SE is expected to feature a notch at the top of the display, according to Young, it’s also possible that it will bypass Touch ID and adopt Face ID instead. Face ID will be seven years old in 2024, meaning that enough time may have passed to justify integrating the technology into an entry-level device. Since even the flagship iPhone models still don’t offer Touch ID technology under the display, this seems like the most unlikely option that Apple will introduce in its cheapest iPhone model. The authentication technology Apple will choose for the fourth-generation iPhone SE may become clearer if more information about the device emerges in the coming months.