Apple's iPhone SE 4 will reportedly feature a notch, meaning it won't have a Dynamic Island, unlike the other iPhones to be released next year.
Apple's fourth-generation iPhone SE will reportedly feature a 6.1-inch LCD screen with a notch at the top, meaning it won't have a Dynamic Island, unlike the other iPhones to be released next year. The new report comes more than a month after noted tipster Jon Prosser claimed that the next-gen iPhone SE might share some design elements and hardware components with the iPhone XR from 2018. According to Prosser, the upcoming Apple mid-ranger will be very similar to the iPhone XR, thanks to its 6.1-inch display with a massive notch up-front and a single 12MP image sensor at the back. Prosser further claimed it could also retain the iPhone XR's IP67 water and dust resistance.
Prosser did not reveal whether the device will ship with a new processor, but it is very likely to be the case, as it is unlikely to retain the old A12 Bionic from the four-year-old device. Prosser also did not reveal anything about the RAM, storage options, and other hardware specifications, but those will likely be revealed in the lead-up to the launch next year. Before Prosser's revelations, prolific tipster and TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo had claimed that the 2023 iPhone SE might ship with a larger screen to keep up with market expectations. The smartphone would also likely ship with 5G connectivity and many other modern features that could make it a hit among buyers looking for an affordable iPhone next year.
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In an interview with MacRumors, Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC) analyst Ross Young confirmed earlier reports that the iPhone SE 4 will feature a 6.1-inch display with a notch at the top. He also revealed that it would have an LCD panel instead of OLED, which will likely be reserved for high-end devices. Young did not say anything else about the upcoming device, but he had earlier claimed that the fourth-gen iPhone SE will be released in 2024 with a 5.7- to 6.1-inch LCD display and a punch-hole cutout for the front-facing camera.
The latest report suggests that Apple may have changed tactics and decided to go with the notch for its next-gen 'affordable' iPhone model, even as all four top-end devices are expected to get the Dynamic Island next year. That's according to Young, who recently claimed that Apple would include the Dynamic Island on all iPhone 15 models, not just the Pro and Pro Max variants, unlike what it did with the iPhone 14 lineup this year.
The notch could mean that the fourth-generation iPhone SE will finally get the coveted Face ID feature like the flagship iPhones, although some reports suggest it won't happen. According to these reports, the iPhone SE 4 will likely stick to Touch ID like the three previous generations, but this time around, the feature could be integrated into the power button on the side like in Android devices. Either way, it will be interesting to see what the notch brings to the table, but the design choice could be a disappointment to some fans who might have been hoping for the Dynamic Island on their new cut-price iPhone.
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Kishalaya has almost a decade's worth of experience in tech journalism, having written thousands of news, guides, features, and reviews for multiple American, Canadian, and Indian blogs. As a senior writer at ScreenRant, he covers everything from consumer electronics to artificial intelligence, cryptocurrencies to virtual reality, and electric vehicles to space. Entertainment to him means 90s sitcoms, such as Fresh Prince, Home Improvement, Seinfeld, Friends, That 70s Show, Everybody Loves Raymond, etc. He loves dogs, sports, and pizza (in that order) and can listen to The Doors, Def Leppard, Metallica, and Guns N' Roses all day long. He also loves watching cheesy 90s sci-fi/disaster movies like Independence Day, Armageddon, Twister, Volcano, Dante's Peak, etc.