Apple Reportedly Cancels iPhone SE 4 – CNET [CNET]

Apple may have abandoned a full-screen iPhone SE in 2024 due to recession worries.

Apple has reportedly canceled the fourth-generation iPhone SE 4 — which was predicted to be coming out next year — ahead of what’s expected to be a difficult year for phone sales.

Originally predicting last month that Apple might delay or cancel the iPhone SE 4, noted Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo asserted in a blog post Friday that the company has canceled the phone entirely, citing sources in Apple’s supply chain. 

Kuo thinks the lower-than-expected shipments of the iPhone SE 3 and other niche models like the iPhone 13 Mini and iPhone 14 Plus may be a reason. The company might also have been wary about transitioning from the iPhone SE 3, which still has the massive top-and-bottom bezels and home button design of the iPhone 6, to a full-screen design in the iPhone SE 3 — especially ahead of a predicted recession in 2023.

Apple already saw declining preorders for the base iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus models in favor of the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max versions, a symptom of tightening budgets and more-aggressive promotions to sell the more-premium phones. Phone sales overall declined by 9.1% in 2022, according to analyst firm IDC, and expectations for shipments in 2023 have already been lowered by 70 million units, per Light Reading. Perhaps Apple won’t refresh the iPhone SE line in 2024 as previously predicted, or maybe it’ll simply retain its existing design and simply refresh the internals, like with the iPhone SE 3.

Apple didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.