FP StaffAug 31, 2022 14:59:40 IST
This year’s Apple iPhone SE has the same design that it had for its last generation, which was based on the iPhone 8. However, it seems that the next iPhone SE will have a design similar to the iPhone XR.
The iPhone SE 4, as it is being now referred to, will ditch the old form factor of the iPhone 8 with huge bezels and a Home button in favour of a more modern design with reduced bezels, notch, and Face ID.
While the current iPhone SE has a 4.7-inch LCD display, the iPhone XR-based iPhone SE4 will have a larger 6.1-inch LCD display. It will also have some other advantages over the 2022 iPhone SE, such as a significantly larger battery.
Other details about the new iPhone SE remain unclear at this point. In the past, Apple has added its latest chip to the entry-level iPhone SE – the current model uses the same A15 Bionic chip as the iPhone 13.
However, given that the non-Pro models in the upcoming iPhone 14 will keep using the A15 chipset from iPhone 13, we cannot say for sure what new chipset will the iPhone XR-based SE 4 will use.
As for the cameras, both the 2022 iPhone SE and the iPhone XR have very similar sensors with a single 12-megapixel rear camera with f/1.8 aperture and a 7-megapixel front camera with f/2.2 aperture. Of course, Apple could improve the camera sensors for the next iPhone SE, or at least add new software features like Night Mode, which, so far has been unavailable on entry-level iPhones.
The rationale behind the iPhone SE series is that it is meant for people looking for cheaper and smaller iPhones as opposed to the regular or Max options. However, demand for the 2022 iPhone SE has been quite low, which means that people are no longer interested in buying a phone designed almost a decade ago. Furthermore, this also means that a 4.7-inch is rather too small and that people would prefer something larger.
Given that Apple has been rather sporadic about the launch of the iPhone SE series, it cannot be said with certainty when the next iPhone SE will be launched. Last time, it took two years between the launch of the second-generation and the third-generation iPhone SE.
Having said that, with declining smartphone sales across the world and with a recession looming over the world, it would actually be a perfect time for Apple to launch the iPhone SE 4 just a few months after they launch the iPhone 14 series.
