The topic of iPhone SE 4 has already been raised several times in recent months by analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. For example, at the end of last year, Mr. Kuo announced that Apple will either cancel or delay the next model. In a month, he still reported about its cancellation, but a few weeks later wrote about updated plans.

This time, Mr. Kuo added another detail about the company’s plans, which once again has to disappoint fans of the cheapest version of the iPhone. It turns out that this smartphone should become a kind of “test stand” for testing the manufacturer’s in-house 5G chips:

“I previously predicted that the iPhone SE 4 would be a derivative model of the iPhone 14. However, my latest research indicates that this derivative model will likely be an engineering prototype for Apple in-house 5G baseband chip technology and mass production validation, and there are no plans for mass production and sales,” the analyst comments.

So for everyone who has been waiting for a new iPhone SE model, this most likely means that it is worth looking at either the current version or a different smartphone altogether because mass production of the iPhone SE 4 is not part of Apple’s plans. At least not yet.

Kuo also added that the transition to the company’s own communication chips will largely depend on the success of the tests and is not expected before 2025. And if the tests are not successful, the production schedule will be moved.