Bad news for those who were planning to buy the new, cheaper iPhone model, the SE 4, because it seems that Apple will delay it, it may even end up canceling it.
Apple’s medium and low range is not going through its best moment. Component supply problems, factory closures in China due to COVID and rising prices have been followed by growing disinterest on the part of buyers. And it is that Apple’s most affordable models have lost competitiveness in the last yearlargely due to decisions made by Apple that time will confirm or not if they have been a serious mistake, but for now they seem so.
It was rumored that this 2023 we would see an iPhone SE 4 with a new design, more similar to the iPhone XR than to the iPhone 8, which is the model that currently serves as the basis for the SE. There was talk of a new iPhone with an “all screen” design, with an overall size similar to the iPhone 8 but with a 6.1″ screen, compared to 4.7″ of the current model. In this way, the same size is maintained, something that is part of its success so far, but a larger screen and a more modern design are offered to attract buyers. However, this would mean a significant cost increase and it seems that Apple is still not clear about this decision.
If we add to this the poor sales of the iPhone 13 and 14, and the even poorer of the current SE, the result is that in Cupertino they are considering the strategy to follow. The decision will vary between a delay of the new model until 2024, which could do even more damage to sales of the current one, or a complete cancellation of the SE model and rethinking the future mid-range of the iPhone. The current strategy does not seem the most appropriate, with an increasingly competitive Android mid-range and the iPhone recycling old processors and raising prices.