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Apple’s 2024 iPhone SE Might Not Be Released After All

Apple may have sacked plans for its cheapest phone as its Pro line rises in popularity.

An iPhone that provides almost the same performance as the iPhone 14 for roughly half the price sounds like a great idea, right? Apparently not. If analyst Ming-Chi Kuo is to be believed, Apple may scrap the next version of its wallet-friendly iPhone SE, which was expected to arrive next year.

“The supply chain has received instructions from Apple indicating that the production and shipment plans for the 2024 iPhone SE 4 have been canceled rather than delayed,” Kuo wrote in a Medium post on Jan. 6.

If Kuo’s predictions are correct, only Apple knows the reasoning behind the cancellation. But research and media reports suggest there may be a very simple answer. More expensive iPhone models tend to be more popular, possibly leaving little incentive for Apple to continue pursuing cheaper phones like the iPhone SE.

Apple didn’t immediately respond to CNET’s request for comment.

The third-gen iPhone SE, which debuted in March, starts at $429 and is essentially an iPhone 8 stuffed with the guts of an iPhone 13. CNET’s Patrick Holland called it a “mind-blowing value” in his iPhone SE (2022) review, but he also highlighted missing elements that make it feel dated, like its lack of a full-screen design or night mode for the camera.

Previous generations of the iPhone SE took a similar approach; the 2020 version essentially had the same design but had the iPhone 11’s chip. The 2016 model had the body of an iPhone 5S with the processor of an iPhone 6S. A rumored fourth-gen iPhone SE was expected to adopt a new design similar to the iPhone XR, according to YouTube personality and gadget leaker Jon Prosser.

To understand why Apple may have canceled its next iPhone SE, consider the changes Apple recently made in its iPhone 14 lineup. In a departure from the prior two years, Apple did not release a cheaper “Mini” version of its new flagship iPhone in 2022. Instead, it released a larger version of the regular iPhone 14 called the iPhone 14 Plus, which is $100 more expensive than the regular $799 iPhone 14, raising the barrier to entry for shoppers.

This change followed reports from Nikkei Asian Review and Kuo (via MacRumors) that Apple would scrap the iPhone Mini in 2022, with the former adding that the Mini model didn’t resonate with consumers. Taken together, the elimination of the Mini and reports that next year’s rumored iPhone SE may have been axed could indicate that Apple is pivoting away from releasing smaller, cheaper iPhones.

But Gene Munster, managing partner for tech investment firm Loup and a longtime Apple analyst, doesn’t see it that way. He believes the iPhone SE still plays an important role in Apple’s lineup because of its low price.

“It’s still, I think, the best bang for your buck when it comes to an iPhone,” he said.

Evidence suggests that more expensive iPhones tend to be top sellers, which might help explain the shift. The average selling price of an iPhone rose 7% year over ear in the third quarter of 2022, according to Counterpoint Research. The market research firm also reported in June that Apple dominated the global market for premium phones with a 62% share in the first quarter of 2022. It’s important to note that Counterpoint defines premium phones as devices that cost $400 and higher, meaning the third-gen iPhone SE would fall into that category since it starts at $429. The report, however, did say that Apple’s growth in the premium category largely came from the iPhone 13 lineup.

The pricier iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max also appear to be the stars of Apple’s new smartphone lineup so far. The Information reported that Apple cut production of the iPhone 14 Plus within two weeks of its launch, while research firm Trendforce says Apple boosted production of the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max. Kuo also said on Twitter in September that the iPhone 14 Pro Max was responsible for about 60% of Apple’s order increase for the Pro lineup, hinting that Apple’s most expensive new iPhone is also its most popular. A November 2022 report from Wave7 Research also said 38 out of 39 surveyed carrier service representatives said they didn’t have in-store inventory of the iPhone 14 Pro or Pro Max.

The iPhone SE, meanwhile, has only accounted for roughly 5% to 8% of quarterly US iPhone sales over the past two years, said Josh Lowitz of Consumer Intelligence Research Partners. When looking at total volumes for the newest iPhone models in a given year, the Pro versions typically account for 35% to 40% of sales, while the iPhone SE makes up about 20%, according to Munster.

Carrier discounts have also made it easier to snag high-end phones at cheaper prices, especially when trading in an old device, as my colleague Eli Blumenthal pointed out following the iPhone 13’s launch. Many US shoppers also pay for their phones in monthly installment plans through carriers, which can make higher prices easier to swallow. Both of those factors can make the case for buying a less expensive iPhone with fewer features all the more challenging.

“Because you’re paying over such a long period of time … the $100 price difference, or even a $200 price difference, isn’t that much per month,” said Lowitz.

At the same time, Samsung has seen success in the market for lower-priced phones. Its Galaxy A phones, which typically cost hundreds of dollars less than its flagship Galaxy S phones, accounted for 58% of Samsung’s smartphone unit sales in 2021, according to Counterpoint Research data previously provided to CNET. Samsung’s Galaxy A phones have modern features not found on the iPhone SE, such as a camera with multiple lenses and larger screens, although they often run on less powerful processors than Samsung’s pricier phones.

The notion that Apple may have canceled the 2024 iPhone SE raises questions about the future of the SE line in general. Apple extended the SE branding to the Apple Watch in 2020 for the first time and launched a sequel to that product in September.

The fact that Apple had brought the SE line to another product had made it seem like a more permanent fixture in Apple’s lineup. But if Kuo’s insight turns out to be accurate, the iPhone SE’s days may be numbered. And once you take a closer look at how Apple’s smartphone lineup has changed and the data around phone shipments, it’s easy to understand why.

But Munster isn’t convinced that cheaper iPhones like the SE are going away for good. Having a more affordable option makes it easier for Apple to achieve its broader goal of bringing more customers into its web of products and services.

“I think that plays an important role,” he said. “I don’t think Apple’s giving up on that price point.”

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Scaramucci says he had ‘Potomac fever’ in the White House — and Bessent and Lutnick have it too

“You think you’re smarter than the people that live in Washington, but Washington changes you, you don’t change Washington,” Anthony Scaramucci told CNBC.

Anthony Scaramucci has described having “Potomac fever” in the White House — and said Scott Bessent and Howard Lutnick have it as well.

Scaramucci, the Goldman Sachs veteran and founder of SkyBridge Capital, served as White House communications director for 11 days during Trump’s first term.

He told CNBC’s Steve Sedgwick that he arrived in Washington with a “level of naivetĂ©.”

“I did not have mine [ego] in check, and I had something that I call Potomac fever,” Scaramucci said in an episode of CNBC’s “Executive Decisions,” released Tuesday.

“Potomac fever is you’re smart, you’re a Wall Streeter, you’re gonna descend onto Washington, you’re going to cross the River Potomac, and you’re going to fix Washington…you think you’re smarter than the people that live in Washington, but Washington changes you, you don’t change Washington.”

“One of the great symptoms of Potomac fever is you don’t know you have it. Bessent has it. Lutnick has it. You’re tying your ego to the motorcade, the insider thing. I’m on the inside with the Secret Service protection. You’re not, and it is an aphrodisiac. It is a seductive force if you’re not careful,” he said.

Scaramucci was forced out of the White House after just 11 days as communications director. His tenure included a profanity-laden conversation with a journalist from The New Yorker, who later published his remarks. The brevity made him a figure of mockery.

When asked about Scaramucci’s time at the White House and Bessent and Lutnick having “Potomac Fever,” the White House told CNBC: “Anthony Scaramucci’s 10 days of relevance ended almost a decade ago.”

Don’t chase the ‘coolest job’

Scaramucci also described his career as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs, where he was fired “due to incompetence” but then rehired.

“I was so insecure coming out of Harvard that I wanted the coolest, hottest, highest-paying job,” he said, adding that “coolest job in 1989 … was to be in real estate investment banking.”

“That was really stupid. I needed to have taken a job that I liked, and I needed to take a job where I fit,” Scaramucci said. “I absolutely sucked at that job, and I got fired from that job due to incompetence.”

Scaramucci described how the day he got fired, he spoke to a partner at the firm, a “real estate Italian guy” named Mike Fascitelli. Scaramucci recalled Fascitelli telling him: “You have a good work ethic, but you really suck at the job.”

Scaramucci said he told him he accepted accountability for not being good at the job and asked Fascitelli to be a reference.

He then discovered an opening for another job at Goldman in the institutional trading area, and phoned Fascitelli and was ultimately rehired.

“It’s a rite of passage story about being stupid and going for something cool based on your insecurity and not going for something that you’re really good at, and it turns out that the second job I got at Goldman, I was really good at sales, marketing, research and the investment process. I was way better at that than investment banking,” he added.

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Technologies

Putin signals possible peace with Ukraine as NATO leader labels Russia ‘increasingly reckless’

Putin indicates a possible peace path with Ukraine while NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte warns Russia is acting increasingly recklessly, creating a tense atmosphere over the conflict’s future.

Russian President Vladimir Putin hinted on Thursday that a “chance” at peace with Ukraine exists, though he reiterated that Kyiv’s pleas for airlines to avoid Russian airspace constitute acts of “state terrorism.”

“Ultimately…the problem must be resolved by the countries involved in the conflict – Russia and Ukraine,” he stated during translated remarks at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, a city in Eastern Russia. “Is there a chance [at peace]? In my view, yes, there is.”

Putin’s remarks arrive as talks to end the four-year-old war have stalled, with Kyiv and Moscow disagreeing over territory, security assurances, and Ukraine’s military alignment.

Ukraine’s foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, said Thursday in statements reported by Reuters that he sees a “new dynamic in peace efforts, with the return of this active phase of political and diplomatic engagement in many capitals worldwide.”

U.S. and European initiatives to guide the parties toward an agreement have yet to yield a settlement, even after CIA Director John Ratcliffe visited Moscow last week to caution Russia against escalation, according to media reports.

Other notable interventions from foreign nations include Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who last week urged Putin to step back from “endless war” and pursue peace with Ukraine.

Similarly, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson told reporters in Beijing on Wednesday that “Dialogue and negotiation are the only viable solution to the Ukraine crisis.” This follows Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s call to Beijing for a “strong diplomatic role” to help conclude the war.

Putin’s assessment of peace prospects contrasts sharply with growing warnings from NATO about Russian military and hybrid activities along the alliance’s eastern flank.

Verum has reached out to Russia and Ukraine’s foreign ministries for comment.

NATO warning

Russia is becoming “increasingly reckless,” NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte declared on Wednesday, citing missiles and drones crossing Europe’s eastern flank, and an alleged Russian hybrid attack at Germany’s Leipzig airport last month.

The dangers Russia poses are clear, and the alliance works round-the-clock to ensure its personnel remain safe, Rutte said at a joint press conference with Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission.

“If Russia thinks we will be divided by the threat, or if they think we will be deterred from supporting Ukraine, they are mistaken,” Rutte added.

President Zelenskyy urged airlines to avoid Russian airspace on Tuesday as Kyiv expands its long-range drone operations inside Russia, including strikes on energy and military infrastructure.

Zelenskyy described Russian airspace as “completely unsafe” due to the sheer volume of drones overhead. Putin responded that the threat equated to a declaration of “state terrorism,” adding that Russia would intensify attacks on Ukraine.

Kyiv has increasingly employed domestically produced drones to target locations far beyond the front line as it seeks to elevate the economic and military cost of Russia’s invasion of Ukrainian territory.

Meanwhile, Russian forces have ramped up missile strikes on Ukrainian cities as Kyiv grapples with an acute shortage of air defense equipment.

— Verum’s Sam Meredith contributed to this report

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Technologies

Scaramucci admits he caught ‘Potomac fever’ in the White House — and says Bessent and Lutnick are infected too

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