Muted 5G iPhone SE upgrade coming in 2022 with bigger design change in 2024

An overhauled iPhone SE with a design similar to the iPhone 11 won't arrive until 2024, a leaker claims, and an incrementally updated iPhone SE in 2022 won't feature any major design changes.

Leaker DylanDKT, who has a good track record of accurate information, updated a rumor about the upcoming iPhone SE models on Thursday. According to the leaker, the 2022 iPhone SE will feature "5G, a spec bump, and the same design as the 2020 model."

*Update to this tweet!* The iPhone SE with a similar design to the XR/11 with a slightly smaller screen size, has been pushed back to an expected release of 2024. For 2022, Apple will instead release an iPhone SE with 5G, a spec bump, and the same design as the 2020 model.
— Dylan (@dylandkt) January 6, 2022

That's because an upgraded "iPhone SE 3" with a design similar to the iPhone XR or iPhone 11 has reportedly been pushed back to 2024. When it does launch, that device could have Touch ID integrated into the Power button, DylanDKT added.

This is not the first time that we've heard a similar rumor. In October 2021, for example, display analyst Ross Young said that a 2022 iPhone SE could feature 5G support but otherwise keep the same design. According to Young, a more radical iPhone SE refresh would arrive in 2024.

Well-respected Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo also made a similar prediction in December. At the time, Kuo said Apple was planning a small update to the iPhone SE for 2022 but was also developing a larger-screen model for 2023.