Apple's upcoming iPhone SE 4 might be the most interesting iPhone coming out in the next year. A new report provides details on what to expect with the display and, if true, I'm seriously considering dropping my Pro iPhone for the cheapest model.
As reported by Nikkei Asia, Apple plans to drop the LCD display for the 4th generation iPhone SE. Instead of LCD, the next-generation iPhone SE will get a huge upgrade and enjoy the same OLED technology that has powered the company's flagship iPhone models for the last few years.
According to the report, "Apple has begun placing orders for OLED displays for the upcoming iPhone SE from China's BOE Technology Group and South Korea's LG Display. This change marks the end of LCDs in iPhones, with the SE model scheduled for release in next year also featuring an OLED display, along with standard-priced iPhone models and premium Pro models."
If true, this will mean that the next iPhone SE, which is expected to be released in 2025, will mark the end of LCD displays on the iPhone. The regular iPhone and Pro models have sported OLED displays for years, leaving the iPhone SE as the only iPhone model to stick with the inferior LCD technology.
If the company does make the switch, it will effectively end the company's iPhone production relationship with Japan Display (JDI) and Sharp, two companies that have been part of the iPhone supply chain and supplied the LCD displays for the company.
This sounds more interesting than the iPhone 16
Call me crazy, but the next iPhone SE is sounding more and more like the most interesting iPhone to be coming out over the next couple of years. While we'll certainly see upgrades to the regular and Pro model iPhones, we can likely expect all of those to be relatively incremental.
In comparison, the iPhone SE is ready to jump to the company's more modern industrial design, get an OLED display, pack in new cameras, finally upgrade to Face ID over Touch ID, and join us in 2024 with a USB-C port. That gets the average buyer a heck of a lot of the features that we currently enjoy in the flagship iPhone models.
Things get really interesting, however, when you compare the price. While the flagship iPhone models start at $799, the next iPhone SE is expected to come in at around $500 — almost half of the cost. For a lot of people who don't need the latest and greatest, the iPhone SE might start to make a heck of a lot of sense and even eat into sales of the company's non-Plus sized regular iPhone.
If I didn't need safety features like Emergency SOS via Satellite while I am backpacking in the backcountry, I would really consider stepping down from my iPhone 15 Pro to the iPhone SE. I rocked the iPhone mini until Apple discontinued it and was just fine with a non-Pro iPhone feature set and a non-Pro iPhone cost.
For people who will be just fine without those additional features, the iPhone SE is about to become the most enticing option than it ever has been. This thing is no longer an afterthought.
