An alleged fourth-generation iPhone SE from Apple has been in development, however, a recent report confirms that no such device will be released. The iPhone SE 4 was rumored to physically resemble the iPhone XR and iPhone 11, but have 5G connectivity and other cutting-edge features. It is said that cancellation is more advantageous than a delay for Qualcomm.
And the reason for it is that according to supply chain expert Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple intended to include its first in-house cellular modem in the iPhone SE 4 next year.
5G Chips Will Be Released Later
However, the discontinuation of the iPhone SE 4 has significantly raised the likelihood that Qualcomm will continue to be the only supplier of baseband 5G chips for the new iPhone 16 series in the second half of 24. This is a significant improvement over the widely held belief that Qualcomm will stop receiving iPhone orders in 2024. The iPhone SE 4 appears to be completely off the table, therefore Qualcomm will continue to be Apple’s only source for iPhone broadband 5G chips in 2019.
According to a prior claim by Kuo, Apple was debating whether to postpone the debut of the iPhone SE 4 or cancel it entirely. The analyst cites supply chain sources who claim to have information from Apple indicating that no such phone will be released.
Famously, Apple and Qualcomm engaged in a legal spat over cellular modem technology used in iPhones. In the end, Apple bought Intel’s modem division and paid Qualcomm to utilize its internet processors. In the meanwhile, Apple has been working on its internal cellular modems, but according to Kuo’s schedule, no iPhone would use them until at least 2025.
Apple presently offers a third-generation iPhone SE that supports 5G and has an iPhone 8-inspired design.