Apple leaves the most important question unanswered

Apple’s cheapest iPhone will change a lot in the future, but the manufacturer still leaves one important question unanswered. Which display will really be in the iPhone SE 4 in the end?

This much is already clear: With the fourth-generation iPhone SE, Apple will swap the current design with a home button for one with pure gesture control and a notch on the display. Overall, the shape should be reminiscent of the iPhone XR, which Apple had in its range between 2018 and 2021. Accordingly, everyone expects a more or less identical 6.1-inch LC display. But in the end this is probably not so certain.

iPhone SE 4: LCD or OLED? Apple can’t decide

Well-informed industry insider Ross Young reports that Apple has yet to make a final decision (source: Ross Young via MacRumors). There are therefore several display sizes and technologies to choose from. Basically, the following are up for debate:

• 6.1-inch OLED screen from two unspecified manufacturers
• Regular LC display of 5.7 or 6.1 inches, also from two manufacturers

In short: Apple does not yet know whether to choose a 5.7 or 6.1 inch model and which screen technology (LCD or OLED) to choose.

The current iPhone SE only came onto the market this spring, but in the familiar design:

In memory of: LCD is much cheaper, OLED more expensive, but also better. Apple has been using the latter technology since the iPhone 12. A cheap iPhone SE 4 with this technology would be a dream, but ultimately maybe a bit too expensive. Since the release of the cheap Apple cell phone is only scheduled for 2024, Apple still has time and, in our opinion, will only make a decision later. If the manufacturer can obtain said OLED panels much more cheaply in two years, then the decision could well be made for the better technology.

Also unclear: Face ID vs. Touch ID

By the way, another question also remains unanswered so far – Face ID and / or Touch ID. The notch suggests that Apple also installs the corresponding sensors for face recognition. However, Apple may also integrate a fingerprint sensor in the power button equivalent to the iPads. There are different reports on this. In short: the iPhone SE 4 is not really finished yet, so a lot can still happen between now and 2024.