Faced with low iPhone SE sales, Apple may turn to the iPhone XR for help
The next iPhone SE 4 may be announced as soon as next year and take cues from the iPhone XR design and specs, save for the processing power upgrades, of course, tipped Jon Prosser while on the Geared Up podcast with Andru Edwards & Jon Rettinger. As a reminder, the iPhone XR was an affordable, yet still very capable alternative to the flagship iPhone XS at the time with a larger screen.
It had the same iPhone X-inspired design with a notch, along with gesture navigation and Face ID, and the same A12 Bionic system chip. The 6.1-inch screen, however, was an LCD one instead of the OLED panel that made a cameo on the more expensive models in the X-series.
In other words, it was an odd bird, and so will the iPhone SE 2023 if it materializes looking in a similar way. The iPhone XR, however, has a notch, and this will mark the first time Apple would stray away from the physical home button design for the budget SE series.
Apple iPhone SE 4 (2023) specs
- 6.1-inch, 1792 x 828 pixels, 19.5:9 ratio, 326 PPI display
- 4nm Apple A16 processor
- 4GB RAM
- 12MP main camera with f/1.8 aperture and 1.4 micron pixels
- 7MP front-facing camera
- 2942 mAh battery, wireless charging
If the iPhone SE 4 ships in 2023 indeed, this could mean that it will have a powerful A16 processor on board, but those under the hood upgrades may be unlikely to sway those that are feeling nostalgic about Apple's home button design and were buying the SE precisely on those grounds rather than the low $429 price.
On the other hand, they will be gaining a 6.1-inch display, up from the current 4.7-inch panel of the iPhone SE 3 and, if Apple is feeling especially generous, it might even spare some of the OLED panels of the same size languishing in an inventory storage somewhere, instead of the LCD panel that the XR has.
Sadly, this means that there would be no camera set upgrade and the iPhone SE 4 will have a single 12MP sensor to capture photos and record videos, but those going for the cheapest phone in Apple's roster shouldn't expect the bean counters from Cupertino to offer them a setup close to that of more expensive iPhones.
In any case, this is all just a speculation, and coming from Jon Prosser we could consider it a wild one; still, given the tepid sales of the current iPhone SE 3 model, Apple may have decided that its most affordable, most nostalgic phone design is in dire need of an upgrade, too.
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