iPhone SE 4 will make every iPhone an OLED phone

The iPhone SE 4 is getting a big upgrade, and it marks the end of an era. When the iPhone SE 4 ships with an OLED display, the first time the SE has included the display technology, it'll mean that every single iPhone will be an OLED iPhone.

It's taken a while: the first OLED iPhone was the 2017 iPhone X, and even that took its time to arrive. Samsung was putting little OLEDs into flip phones way back in 2003, introduced the first AMOLED in 2006 and delivered the first Super AMOLED panel in 2010's Samsung S8500 Wave. But as ever with Apple, it chose not to go OLED until it felt that the time, and the price, was right.

The big question isn't whether the new SE will have an OLED, though. It's when you'll be able to buy it.

When is the iPhone SE 4 launch date?

We've been hearing for many months now that the iPhone SE 4 is intended for an early 2025 launch, and a recent report suggested that the budget iPhone will go into production in October 2024 after the iPhone 16 range has started shipping. 

That doesn't mean an October launch date, however: January 2025 was the earliest likely timescale. Previous launches happened in March so Apple may just be planning production a little early in order to avoid the Chinese New Year, when many factories slow or stop for the celebrations.

In recent days, though, there has been speculation that the iPhone SE launch could be even sooner. That speculation has largely been based on a comment by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman that certain Apple products were in short supply in Apple stores: the SE, FineWoven cases and the iPad mini. However, Gurman's sources maintain that the SE isn't planned to launch until next year.