Apple releases its cheapest smartphone every two years, and since the iPhone SE was released in 2022, the next one is set for 2024. According to reputable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the SE experiment is over.
Kuo reports that Apple has instructed its supply chain partners to cancel production and shipment plans for the 2024 iPhone SE. Interestingly, even though Apple’s in-house baseband chip has long been safe, this decision has repercussions that reach Apple’s often-rumored in-house chip, which keeps being “right around the corner” in rumors.
Next iPhone SE was supposed to adopt the baseband chip first. It was Apple’s idea to use the cheapest smartphone it sells as a test device, so if something went wrong, it wouldn’t affect the more lucrative ones. The chip might have made its way into the iPhone 16 series in 2024 if all went well.
Since Apple has canceled the 2024 iPhone SE, concerns remain about the performance of Apple’s own baseband chip vs. Qualcomm’s. Consequently, Qualcomm is more likely to supply baseband chips for the iPhone 16 generation due to those concerns. In 2024, Qualcomm will start losing iPhone orders, contrary to the “market consensus” so far.
Qualcomm would still supply Apple until at least 2025 with this development. This should result in higher profit margins than its competitors in this year and next.
