Kuo: high-end 2022 iPhones and maybe the entire lineup, if production permits, will lose the notch in favor of a hole-punch design; iPhone SE 5G coming in 2022
Ming-Chi Kuo of TF International Securities has published a new report for Apple supply chain investors in which the reliable analyst predicts …
Context & Ripple Effects
Kuo's earlier narrower-notch forecast for the 5.4-inch iPhone 12 framed Apple as refining the existing display cutout. This report advances that design path to a potential hole-punch transition in 2022, while extending 5G to the lower-priced SE line.
Later related coverage repeated the 2022 SE-with-5G and punch-hole outlook while adding a cheaper 6.7-inch model and 48MP camera forecast, reinforcing that the predicted changes were part of a broader lineup reshuffle rather than a single flagship redesign.
First-order effects
- Apple's projected 2022 high-end phones would move from the notch to a hole-punch display, with expansion to the wider lineup explicitly dependent on production capacity.
- The predicted iPhone SE 5G would bring a current-network feature into Apple's entry-level iPhone family.
Second-order effects
- Display-production capacity becomes a constraint on how consistently Apple can apply the new front-display design across price tiers, rather than a purely product-design choice.
- A 5G-enabled SE and a revised premium display design would sharpen the feature separation between Apple's lower-cost and high-end iPhone offerings.
Third-order effects
- If the forecasts hold, iPhone differentiation would increasingly combine display architecture and connectivity by tier, while manufacturing readiness determines when flagship features cascade through the range.
The trend: Apple's iPhone roadmap is pointing toward faster feature migration across price tiers, paced by component-production capacity.