Despite years of rumors, there is reportedly no sign of a fourth-generation iPhone SE model featuring Touch ID integrated into the Side button.
In a recent edition of his newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, who often reveals accurate insights into Apple's plans, said while he can envision a new iPhone SE with a Touch ID button on the side, he hasn't "heard anything about that actually being in the pipeline."
The latest iPad, iPad Air, and iPad mini models feature Touch ID integrated into their Top buttons, but no iPhones offer this functionality yet. As Apple's cheapest iPhone offering and to keep costs down, the iPhone SE has never had Face ID authentication, sticking with a capacitive Touch ID Home button like older iPhone models. As such, it would make sense for the iPhone SE to be the first iPhone model to gain the newer Side button-style Touch ID implementation.
Chinese site MyDrivers and and leaker Jon Prosser believe that the iPhone SE is set to move to an iPhone XR-like design, which would involve eliminating the Home button. The change is likely since Apple's "SE" products so far have always used the designs of older devices. Moving to an all-screen design, there will no longer be space for a capacitive Touch ID Home button in the device's bottom bezel.
Multiple reports, including information from MyDrivers and Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo suggest that Apple is planning to add a Touch ID Side button to the iPhone SE.
Display analyst Ross Young now expects a fourth-generation iPhone SE to launch in 2024, featuring a 6.1-inch LCD display and a notch. The size of the fourth-generation iPhone SE's notch is not yet known, but it seems plausible that it could be narrower than it was on the iPhone XR if it does not contain components like a dot projector for Face ID because the device features Touch ID.
While Apple refreshed the iPhone SE earlier this year to add an A15 Bionic chip and 5G connectivity, rumors suggest that a larger iPhone SE is still planned for launch in 2024. Given Gurman's latest information, it is now difficult to tell whether the device will actually feature a Touch ID Side button.
