Apple iPhone SE cancelled, according to analyst and supply chain
Rik Henderson
Pocket-lintApple has reportedly cancelled the iPhone SE and will not release a new model in 2024.
Renowned industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claims sources within the supply chain have been told by Apple that it will no longer proceed with a fourth-generation version of the entry-level iPhone.
This has a two-fold effect on future Apple plans, he revealed in a Medium blog post.
First, it scraps a popular line of iPhone models that started in 2016 and was updated as recently as last year, with the iPhone SE (2022). And second, it puts into doubt the potential of Apple using its own 5G modem in the iPhone 16 (also expected in 2024).
Apple is said to have been working on its own modem hardware for a while, to replace the Qualcomm chips it currently adopts. Kuo claims that it planned to test a production version of the modem in the next-generation iPhone SE.
However, with that now cancelled, he writes that Qualcomm will retain its contract with Apple for the iPhone 16 at least, and that the Cupertino company's 5G alternative is clearly still not ready.
"Concerned that the performance of its own baseband chip may not be as good as Qualcomm's, Apple originally planned to launch [it] in 2024 and let the low-end iPhone SE 4 adopt it first," Kuo explains.
"[It would then] decide whether to let the iPhone 16 adopt it depending on the development status. However, after the cancellation of iPhone SE 4, the chances of Qualcomm being the exclusive supplier of baseband chips for the new 2024 iPhone 16 series have increased significantly."
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