The iPhone SE 4 is seemingly just around the corner, with Apple CEO Tim Cook confirming that “the newest member of the Apple family” will be announced on February 19.
We don’t know for sure that this new family member will be the iPhone SE 4, but with the iPhone SE (2022) now almost three years old, all the signs point towards an imminent refresh for Apple’s budget iPhone category.
Three years is a long time, and while we’ve already highlighted five of the biggest upgrades to expect from the iPhone SE 4, what about the features it could leave behind? Below, we’ve detailed four classic iPhone features that we think are about to be killed off by Apple’s next smartphone – from Touch ID to Lightning.
The Home button
Home button-less displays have been a feature of all mainline iPhones since the iPhone X, but Apple’s iPhone SE models – including the still-available-to-buy iPhone SE (2022) – have stuck by this classic piece of iPhone history in the name of affordability.
That looks almost certain to change with the iPhone SE 4, which will reportedly come equipped with an all-encompassing 6.1-inch OLED panel, similar to the display used on the iPhone 14.
In truth, the iPhone SE (2022) looks and feels outdated in 2025 primarily because of its physical Home button, so although we’re all nostalgic for this particular iPhone feature, we do think Apple is right to wave goodbye to the Home button with the iPhone SE 4.
Touch ID
Beyond aesthetics, the absence of a physical Home button on the iPhone SE 4 will also mark the absence – and iPhone-based discontinuation – of Touch ID.
As above, most iPhones have used Face ID since the iPhone X, and it looks like the iPhone SE 4 will indeed feature a notch at the top of its display that houses all the necessary Face ID components.
Again, we’re not particularly bummed to see the back of Touch ID, as Face ID works amazingly well so consistently, but there are still many people out there who prefer the simplicity, familiarity, and speed of a fingerprint sensor (and Touch ID specifically).
The Lightning standard
Apple finally ditched its proprietary Lightning charging technology in favor of USB-C with the iPhone 15 series (albeit at the behest of the EU, rather than by choice), meaning its latest smartphones now charge and offer data transfer using the most common physical standard.
Legally speaking – or at least, if it hopes to sell the phone in Europe – Apple will also be obliged to equip the iPhone SE 4 with the USB-C standard, meaning the company will no longer sell any new models that use Lightning (though some older iPhone models are still available with it at the time of writing).
In that respect, the iPhone SE (2022) is the last of a dying breed, and we’ll shed no tears when the often unreliable, frequently incompatible Lightning standard receives its marching orders.
Sub-6-inch displays
As alluded to earlier, Apple looks set to equip the iPhone SE 4 with an iPhone 14-style 6.1-inch display, meaning all new iPhones will be this size or larger.
The still-available iPhone SE (2022) uses a 4.7-inch panel, but Apple’s decision to axe the 5.4-inch iPhone mini in 2023 had already sounded the death knell for traditionally ‘small’ iPhones, so we’re not surprised that the SE 4 will be the nail in the coffin.
This is an industry-wide trend, rather than an Apple-specific one – all of the current best Android phones are 6.1 inches or larger, so if you’re one of the rare few who prefer a smaller screen, we suggest you pick up an iPhone SE (2022) sooner rather than later.
Which, if any, of these about-to-be-discontinued iPhone features will you miss the most? Let us know in the comments.
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