A massive iPhone SE 4 upgrade with OLED display is back on the table

(Image credit: Apple)

Apple has reportedly decided to revisit its iPhone SE 4 plans, with the device now thought to be very similar to the current iPhone 14.

Writing in a series of tweets, well-respected analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says that Apple is once again developing the new iPhone SE 4 and it has some big upgrades over the models that have carried the name so far.

At the very top of the list is the move away from LCD display technology and towards OLED, a first for the iPhone SE line. Alongside the new display, Apple is also thought to be ready to finally use its own in-house 5G modem, removing the need to use Qualcomm as is normally the case.

An iPhone 14 Lite?

While Kuo didn't say when the new iPhone SE would be announced, it's already shaping up to be the best iPhone for a whole ton of people, especially those looking to get a modern design without spending high-end iPhone levels of money.

The current iPhone SE has a pedestrian 4.7-inch LCD display with thick bezels and a Home button, two things that immediately make it appear dated. But the move to an iPhone 14-like design would be a huge win for many, although some will surely lament the loss of the Home button for good.

(1/10)[Update] Apple has restarted the iPhone SE 4 and will adopt an in-house 5G baseband chip. The significant decline in Qualcomm's Apple orders in the foreseeable future is a foregone conclusion. https://t.co/0MeZDFnbzgFebruary 27, 2023

Apple has been working to try and remove the need for Qualcomm's modems for a number of years but Kuo himself had previously claimed that the project had hit a roadblock. Jeff Pu had made similar claims, saying that the iPhone 15 and iPhone 16 will continue to use Qualcomm's chip.

As for the iPhone SE. it remains to be seen how Apple would market such a phone. It could well retain the iPhone SE moniker, but given the refreshed look and removal of the Home button it could choose something else entirely. It also isn't yet clear whether we can expect Face ID to be included, although Kuo's claims that the phone will be "a minor modification of the 6.1-inch iPhone 14" may suggest that it will.

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.