Apple Discontinuing This 18-Year-Old iPhone Feature
The end of an 18-year era is on the horizon for the iPhone.
Apple reportedly plans to announce a new iPhone SE as soon as next week, and the device is expected to feature a full-screen design with Face ID, instead of a Touch ID home button. That means Apple will no longer sell any new iPhone models with a home button, for the first time since the original iPhone launched.
The home button debuted in 2007, and it gained Touch ID fingerprint authentication when the iPhone 5s launched in 2012. Apple began phasing out the home button when Face ID debuted on the iPhone X in 2017.
The new iPhone SE is expected to have a mix of iPhone 14 and iPhone 16 features. Along with Face ID, rumored specs include a 6.1-inch OLED display, a USB-C port, a single 48-megapixel rear camera, and the first Apple-designed 5G modem. The device is also expected to have an A18 chip and 8GB of RAM, enabling Apple Intelligence support.
The current iPhone SE looks similar to the iPhone 8, with outdated features like a home button, Lightning port, and thick bezels around the display.
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