The iPhone SE 4 is coming at some point, and there’s been a lot of speculation about what sort of design it may have. Because the iPhone 8-inspired look of the iPhone SE 2020 and iPhone SE 2022 is looking really dated — especially by cheap phone standards.
Speculation on the design ranges from Apple taking inspiration from the iPhone XR and the iPhone 14, both of which have prominent notches at the top of the display. However a new rumor claims that the iPhone SE 4 may actually swap the notch for a Dynamic Island cutout instead.
That’s according to leaker MajinBu on Twitter/X at any rate. They don’t offer any additional details about the cutout itself, but the iPhone SE 4 may come with a design inspired by the iPhone 16.
How that will work isn’t entirely clear, since Bu also claims that the phone will have similar dimensions to the 6.1-inch iPhone XR and a single camera lens — something only currently seen on other iPhone SE phones.
Based on what has been reported to me, the iPhone SE could have a design very similar to that of the current iPhone 16 still in development. The new iPhone SE will most likely have a single camera instead of the double one of the iPhone 16 models, otherwise it seems that the… pic.twitter.com/Z1Gio4nBRuFebruary 8, 2024
It’s worth remembering that Majin Bu has a pretty mixed track record with Apple leaks, and even points out that the design isn’t certain. Evidently it’s still too early for the design to have been finalized, and things may change. No doubt because Apple is currently prototyping multiple designs before making a final decision.
Honestly, though, I wouldn’t be mad if Apple released the iPhone SE 4 with the Dynamic Island. Display notches became a necessary evil for a time, but most phone makers realized that cutouts were a much less intrusive option. But Apple clung to the design for several years, likely because of Face ID requirements, only starting to phase it out with the launch of the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max in 2022.
But you have to remember that the iPhone SE is supposed to be the cheap iPhone, and that means compromise and sacrifice. If you want the phone to stay under $500, you’re not going to get a whole range of premium features. Hence the single camera lens, the current dated design and so on. I’d wager the odds of having a Dynamic Island before the iPhone SE 5 are slim.
But we’re not going to know for sure until we get much closer to the phone’s release date. The iPhone SE 4 is currently expected to arrive some time in 2025, three years after the launch of its predecessor, which means there’s some waiting to do. But in the meantime you can keep up to date with all the latest news and rumors in our iPhone SE 4 hub.
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