iPhone SE 4 will raise the screen to 6.1 inches

The fourth generation of iPhone SE will switch to an iPhone XR-like design with a notch, but without FaceID.

Photo simulation of the fourth generation iPhone SE. Photo: Macrumors

Analyst Ross Young said Apple will launch iPhone SE 4 in 2024 along with iPhone 16 series. Previously, he had predicted that the new generation iPhone SE would use a Dynamic Island screen , but in the new forecast, he ruled out this possibility. Instead, the product uses the same design as the iPhone XR with a 6.1-inch rabbit-ear screen, much higher than the 4.7-inch level on the current SE version.

Apple is said to not equip the FaceID feature for SE 4 but still use TouchID like previous generations to reduce production costs. According to My Drivers and analyst Ming-chi Kuo, with a notch design, SE 2024 will not have a TouchID-integrated Home button, but will switch to being integrated into the power button like the iPad Air and iPad mini. In addition, the size of the notch will also be smaller than that of the iPhone XR.

Previously, some sources confirmed that the iPhone SE 2024 would be the last Apple smartphone to use an LCD screen. There is currently no information on the configuration of the product.

What Steve Jobs always obsess about iPhone
Steve Jobs always wanted to control the power of the hardware in parallel with the software, but until now the heart of the iPhone - the processor chip is still made in Taiwan.

Since the introduction of the iPhone , Apple 's relationship with Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC has become close. As the chip on the iPhone becomes more and more advanced, TSMC also proves its monopoly in casting sophisticated and complex parts. Apple's iPhone journey seems to be tied to TSMC.

In his book The Chip Wars: The Battle for the World's Most Important Technology , economic historian Chris Miller points out that Apple itself has benefited most from this war. According to Miller, right from the time he built Apple, Steve Jobs always wanted to control the hardware, because he always had an obsession with the deep correlation between hardware and software.

Steve Jobs hands on a new chip designed by Intel for the MacBook Air during the Macworld event on January 15, 2008. Photo: Reuters

In 1980, when his hair was almost shoulder length and his mustache covered his upper lip, Jobs once started a lecture with the question: What is software? "The only thing I can think of is that the software is always changing too quickly, or you don't know exactly what you want, or you don't have the time to put it in the hardware," he said.

Jobs also didn't have time to put all of his ideas into first-generation iPhone hardware. These are smartphones using the iOS operating system, but the chip is designed and manufactured by Samsung. This revolutionary new phone also has many other chips such as: Intel memory chip, sound processor designed by Wolfson, mobile network modem made by Germany's Infineon, CSR Bluetooth chip and amplifier Skyworks signal booster... All designed by other companies.

When Jobs introduced new versions of the iPhone, he began to inculcate his vision of smartphones using Apple chips. A year after the first iPhone was released, Apple bought a small Silicon Valley chip design company called PA Semi. Not long after, the company began to invite some of the best chip designers in the industry to work. Two years later, the company claims to have designed its own processor - the A4, to be used in the new iPad and iPhone 4.

Designing a chip for a phone is a complicated process that consumes a lot of time, effort and money. That's why electronics manufacturers often buy chips that are pre-manufactured by companies like Qualcomm, Intel. However, from the beginning, Apple invested heavily in R&D and chip design facilities in Bavaria, Israel, and Silicon Valley to fulfill Jobs' ambition.

Now, Apple not only designs the processors for most of its devices, but also makes the chips for accessories like AirPods. The investment in semiconductors explains why Apple products work so smoothly. Within four years of the iPhone's launch, Apple made more than 60% of its total profit from selling smartphones, crushing its competitors.

As transistors were miniaturized, they became more difficult to fabricate. The number of companies that can make advanced chips is decreasing. By 2010, when Apple launched the first chip model, only a few advanced foundries such as TSMC, Samsung could meet its requirements. Intel is still the world leader in semiconductor technology, but it's been busy making other companies' chips for PCs and processors for phones. Chinese foundries like SMIC have been trying to catch up but are still years behind.

The smartphone supply chain is even more different from PCs. The inside of each iPhone is filled with chips, not only the main processor designed by Apple, but also modems, radio frequency chips for connecting to cellular networks, chips for WiFi and Bluetooth connections, photo sensors, at least at least two memory chips, motion sensing chip, battery management chip, sound and wireless charging.

Most of the key iPhone processors are manufactured in Taiwan and South Korea before being sent to mainland China for assembly. Today, iPhone processors are manufactured exclusively in Taiwan. Virtually no company other than TSMC has the skills or manufacturing capacity to make the chips Apple needs. Users are familiar with the words engraved on the back of the iPhone: "Designed by Apple in California. Assembled in China". However, behind that are the non-replaceable components of the iPhone that can only be made in Taiwan.

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