No Sign of iPhone SE 4 With Touch ID Side Button 'Actually in the Pipeline'
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.
Popular Stories
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices.
Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025:
Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
Apple regularly refreshes the MacBook Pro models, and a new version that uses M5 series chips is in the works. Apple just finished refreshing most of the Mac lineup with M4 chips, and now it's time for the M5. Rumors suggest that we could see the first M5 MacBook Pro models this fall.
Design
There have been no rumors of a design update for the M5 MacBook Pro models that are coming this...
Apple is going all out with promotions for the popular Severance Apple TV+ show today, and as of right now, you'll find a new "Lumon Terminal Pro" listed on Apple's Mac site.
The Lumon Terminal Pro is designed to look similar to the machines that Severance employees like Mark S. and Helly R. use for macrodata refinement. The Terminal features a blue keyboard, a small display with wide...
In the mid-to-late 2000s, Facebook was all about staying connected with friends and family. However, as the social media platform added new features and grew over time, that core experience began to get drowned out.
That changes starting now, according to Meta, which today introduced a new feature that will "bring back the joy" of classic Facebook.
Specifically, Meta has redesigned the...
Apple is expected to release iOS 18.4 to the general public as soon as next week, following more than a month of beta testing.
Apple's website says some iOS 18.4 features will be released in "early April," so the update should be out as early as Tuesday, April 1.
Apple this week seeded the iOS 18.4 Release Candidate, which is typically the final beta version, barring the discovery of any...
Update 7:25 pm: Based on comments from our forums, it appears the original Weibo post may have been mistranslated and "8K" actually refers to the high price of the device rather than 8K video recording capabilities. The iPhone 16 Pro currently starts at 7,999 yuan in China.
Our original article follows below.
Apple's forthcoming iPhone 17 Pro models are capable of shooting 8K video, up...
Last week, we covered a report claiming that Apple's book-style foldable iPhone (or "iPhone Fold," as we are provisionally calling it here) will use liquid metal hinges to improve durability and help minimize screen creasing. Today, a Chinese leaker provided more details on the properties of this hinge material that help to clarify why Apple chose it for its first foldable device.
According...
The iOS 19 mockup images that leaker Jon Prosser shared today are not representative of the actual iOS 19 design, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said on social media.
According to Gurman, the images that are "floating around" are based on "very old builds" or "vague descriptions," and are lacking key features. Gurman says that we can "expect more from Apple in June."
Gurman made the same comment ...
If you pay for iCloud storage on your iPhone, Apple has a new perk for you, at no additional cost.
The new perk is the ability to create invitations in the Apple Invites app for the iPhone, which launched in the App Store last month.
In the Apple Invites app, iCloud+ subscribers can create invitations for any occasion, such as birthday parties, graduations, baby showers, and more. Anyone ...