This BIG upgrade will not come to Apple iPhone 16?

The iPhone 16 could miss out on a significant in-house upgrade in 2024, reveals tipster Ming-Chi Kuo.

Know how the iPhone 16 could be impacted by the cancellation of iPhone SE 4. (Representative Photo) (Akash/HT Tech)

Apple fans are likely to be hit by a double whammy event that spans iPhone 16 and iPhone SE 4. Fresh rumours around the iPhone SE 4 cancellation may have disappointed many Apple fans, but things may be worse than that. The smartphone was believed to be under development and was speculated to be released in 2024. However, Ming Chi Kuo, Apple tipster, revealed that the iPhone SE 4 may not see the light of the day. But shockingly, if this move is true, it will also mean that the iPhone 16 can miss out on a big upgrade that many had predicted. Read on to know more about iPhone SE 4 cancellation and how that impacts iPhone 16.

Kuo posted in his blog on January 6 that the iPhone SE might be cancelled. He said, “The supply chain has received instructions from Apple indicating that the production and shipment plans for the 2024 iPhone SE 4 have been cancelled rather than delayed”.

While this is indeed sad if true, there is a larger implication which also impacts the iPhone 16. Importantly, this could mean that Apple will not get to use its fany new home-grown 5G modem chipset for the 2024 lineup and will have to rely on Qualcomm for the baseband chips.

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iPhone 16 may miss out on upgrade

Apple has been heavily focusing on building and launching its baseband chips. The recent TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) factory being built in Phoenix, Arizona marked a watershed moment for the iPhone maker, and it was believed that the company will launch its own 5G modem chips to become more self-reliant. However, it might be too soon for Apple.

Some reports suggest that the 2024 launch target that Apple was carrying might not be enough. The earlier plan was to introduce the chipset in low impact iPhone SE devices in 2024 and based on how it performs, it could be considered for the iPhone 16 models in the same year as well.

“However, the cancelation of the iPhone SE 4 has significantly increased the chances of Qualcomm remaining the exclusive supplier of baseband chips for the 2H24 new iPhone 16 series, which is better than the market consensus that Qualcomm will start losing iPhone orders in 2024,” he explained.

Since Apple will not get to test out the performance of its chipset, it will be a big risk to put it directly in its flagship devices and, according to Kuo, this is why Apple is likely to stick with Qualcomm at least through the iPhone 16 production cycle for 2024.

However, it is still early days and since there is no confirmation for this information from official sources, it does leave some room for scepticism. If somehow, Apple is indeed able to build the chipset and launch it in time, not only will the iPhone 16 get the first in-house baseband chipset, the iPhone SE 4 could also see a timely release.