Tech giant Apple is reportedly not planning to launch the fourth-generation iPhone SE next year.
According to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the iPhone maker has informed suppliers that it has cancelled plans to release an iPhone SE smartphone in 2024, reports MacRumors.
Kuo claimed that the tech giant had intended to launch its first in-house 5G processor in the fourth-generation iPhone SE, but that is no longer anticipated as the device has been cancelled.
Instead, he said that it is expected that Apple will continue to rely on Qualcomm for 5G chips in 2024, including for the iPhone 16 series.
He also said that the iPhone maker planned to test the 5G chip in the iPhone SE model before rolling it out to iPhone 16 series to make sure that the real-world performance was acceptable.
Meanwhile, last month, Kuo had said that the company would cancel or postpone mass production of iPhone SE 4 planned for 2024.
"My latest survey indicates that Apple will likely cancel or postpone the mass production plan for the 2024 iPhone SE 4. I think this is due to the consistently lower-than-expected shipments of mid-to-low-end iPhones (e.g., SE 3, 13 mini, and 14 Plus)," he had tweeted.
Apple also cancelled the 5.4-inch mini model after the iPhone 13 series as the device, along with iPhone 12 mini accounted for only three percent of sales in the US in the second quarter of 2022. The iPhone 11, iPhone SE 2020, and iPhone XR account for 15 percent of sales in the same quarter.
Apple traded the mini for a bigger “Plus” model in 2022 along with the base iPhone 14. The bigger model has a 6.7-inch screen, same as the more expensive iPhone 14 Pro Max.
The company is also rumoured to launch an “Ultra” model this year. Will this be a replacement for the Pro Max or an addition to the existing lineup, only time will tell.
(With IANS inputs)
