Tim Cook teased that Apple would announce a brand new product on Tuesday and that we must always “prepare to satisfy the latest member of the household.” Whereas Apple’s CEO did not elaborate on what the latest member may be, rumors level to it being a brand new model of the iPhone SE. The brand new telephone, nicknamed the iPhone SE 4, may need a wholly new identify: the iPhone 16E. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman hinted in his Power On publication that Apple would rename the subsequent iPhone SE to one thing else. This follows earlier rumors that the brand new telephone could be referred to as the iPhone 16E, reported by MacRumors in January.
The brand new iPhone SE will inherit the iPhone 14’s design, signaling the tip of the house button and a shift away from smaller screens, in response to rumors. At $429, the iPhone SE is Apple’s most reasonably priced telephone earlier than reductions and will make an enormous comeback in 2025.
In contrast to with Apple’s flagship iPhone household, the iPhone SE’s launch timing is considerably irregular. The primary era SE launched in 2016, adopted by the second model in 2020 and the third in March 2022. Apple additionally hasn’t talked about whether or not it plans to launch new iPhone SE fashions transferring ahead, because it hardly ever speaks about future merchandise.
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There’s loads of room for Apple to additional enhance its cheaper iPhone. Whereas my colleague Patrick Holland praised the 2022 iPhone SE for its accessible value and acquainted home button, he criticized it for its lack of evening mode photographs and dated design. Android rivals like Samsung and Google have additionally improved their equally priced finances telephones lately. The Google Pixel 8A and Samsung Galaxy A55 5G each supply options as soon as reserved for premium gadgets, like excessive refresh charges and a number of cameras.
It is unattainable to know precisely what to anticipate from Apple till the corporate makes an announcement. Primarily based on predictions and experiences from Bloomberg, MacRumors and the plugged-in TF Worldwide Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, together with different leaks and Apple’s product launch historical past, this is what we might anticipate from Apple’s subsequent finances iPhone.
Apple did not reply to a request for remark relating to a future iPhone SE when this story was initially printed.
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iPhone SE 4 might launch in early 2025
That is the iPhone 14. Rumors level to the iPhone SE 4’s design being primarily based on it.
There was plenty of back-and-forth concerning the iPhone SE 4’s launch timing lately. However we all know from Tim Cook dinner’s tweet on Feb. 13 that the brand new telephone will doubtless be introduced on Wednesday.
Beforehand an August report from the often-accurate Gurman of Bloomberg suggests {that a} new iPhone SE might debut to start with of 2025. That means it might arrive within the first quarter, which might line up with Apple’s earlier iPhone SE launch dates. The primary and third era fashions, for instance, each launched in March.
The analyst Kuo also reported in October that mass manufacturing of the brand new iPhone SE would start in December 2024, additional indication that an early 2025 launch could also be in retailer for Apple’s subsequent tiny telephone.
The experiences come after rumors and hypothesis concerning the iPhone SE’s existence have been unsure over the past a number of years. In 2019, Kuo mentioned Apple was engaged on an iPhone SE with a full-screen design much like the iPhone XR, as MacRumors reported on the time. Apple has launched two variations of the iPhone SE since then that retain the previous iPhone 8-inspired design, which raised questions on whether or not the mannequin Kuo was referring to has been canceled or postponed.
Kuo’s 2023 predictions relating to the iPhone SE 4 have additionally been blended. He reported final January that an iPhone SE initially deliberate for 2024 was canceled however adopted as much as say the project had been revived. He modified his prediction again in April 2023 to say that the mannequin he beforehand referred to may simply be an engineering prototype for an Apple in-house 5G baseband chip. His earlier feedback additionally advised the iPhone SE 4 would come with this 5G chip.
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However newer experiences, together with one from MacRumors, point out Apple is certainly creating a brand new iPhone SE that reportedly contains some dramatic upgrades.
It’ll doubtless have a brand new processor and Apple Intelligence
The iPhone SE sometimes has the identical processor as Apple’s most up-to-date flagship iPhone. For instance, the 2022 iPhone SE has the identical chip because the iPhone 13, which launched in September 2021. Since Apple’s latest cell chip is often the iPhone SE’s standout characteristic, it is arduous to think about Apple straying from that sample.
However that is extra necessary than ever now that Apple Intelligence, the corporate’s suite of latest AI options, depends on the corporate’s newest chips. The iPhone 16 household and final 12 months’s Professional fashions are the one iPhones able to working these options for now. However primarily based on Apple’s historical past and Bloomberg’s report, which says the iPhone SE 4 will assist Apple Intelligence, it appears like that would change within the coming months.
Apple Intelligence contains new AI-powered options similar to the flexibility to rewrite, summarize and proofread textual content, a brand new model of Siri that is higher at understanding phrases even while you fumble, the flexibility to erase objects in photographs, and notification and message summaries, amongst different options. The first wave of Apple Intelligence arrived in Apple’s iOS 18.1 update, whereas extra options — similar to the flexibility to generate customized emoji — will come later in iOS 18.2.
In any other case, the subsequent iPhone SE might have an Apple-made 5G chip, in response to Kuo. Nonetheless, it is arduous to know if that prediction nonetheless applies since he later revised his estimate to say this system was doubtless an engineering prototype to check that 5G chip. MacRumors additionally experiences that the iPhone SE 4 can have an Apple-made 5G modem.
An iPhone 14-like design with an OLED display
The iPhone 14
If the corporate is engaged on one other iPhone SE, it should doubtless have a 6.1-inch display much like Apple’s trendy flagship telephones. The present iPhone SE, by comparability, has a 4.7-inch display with thick borders on the high and chin, very similar to the iPhone 8.
Particularly, the iPhone SE 4 is anticipated to look quite a bit just like the iPhone 14, which Apple launched in 2022. A MacRumors article reported in September 2023 that the iPhone SE 4 can have a modified model of the iPhone 14’s chassis and reiterated that time again in November. Bloomberg’s report additionally suggests the iPhone SE 4 will resemble Apple’s two-year-old flagship.
It isn’t simply the design that is anticipated to get an improve; the show will see enhancements too. A number of experiences, together with these from Kuo, MacRumors, Bloomberg, The Elec and Nikkei Asia, counsel the subsequent iPhone SE can have an OLED display as a substitute of LCD. That is an enormous deal as a result of OLED sometimes shows richer distinction and deeper blacks, and a lot of these screens are constant throughout the remainder of Apple’s iPhone lineup.
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The iPhone SE will doubtless have a bigger battery
The following iPhone SE might inherit the iPhone 14’s battery as effectively, according to MacRumors. If the weblog’s earlier experiences concerning the iPhone SE 4 following within the iPhone 14’s footsteps show to be correct, a bigger battery could be essential to energy its bigger display. Apple does not disclose the battery capacities for its telephones, however it says the iPhone 14 ought to get 5 further hours of video playback in comparison with the third-generation iPhone SE. Between the brand new chip and greater battery that we’re anticipating to seek out within the subsequent iPhone SE, it feels like Apple’s subsequent reasonably priced iPhone might see some fairly important positive aspects in battery life.
Goodbye Contact ID, howdy Face ID
Followers of Apple’s Contact ID fingerprint sensor could also be out of luck. MacRumors experiences that the subsequent iPhone SE can have Face ID, like different trendy iPhones, as a substitute of Apple’s fingerprint sensor. That conflicts with Kuo’s report from 2019, which indicated that the subsequent iPhone SE would have a smaller notch space with out Face ID and Contact ID embedded within the energy button. However since Kuo’s report is about 5 years previous, that data could also be outdated.
It could get a 48MP digicam, USB-C and Motion button
Apple’s subsequent wallet-friendly iPhone might have a couple of issues in frequent with Apple’s newer iPhones. Since Apple switched to USB-C beginning with the iPhone 15 lineup to adjust to new European guidelines, it appears doubtless that the iPhone SE 4 might ditch the Lightning connector as effectively. MacRumors additionally claims the iPhone SE 4 can have USB-C.
The extra shocking observe in MacRumors’ story is that the iPhone SE 4 might acquire the Motion button, which is a brand new key for programming shortcuts that is presently unique to the iPhone 16 household, the iPhone 15 Professional and iPhone 15 Professional Max. If true, it might be one other signal that Apple needs to make the Motion button customary throughout the iPhone lineup, coming after it introduced the Motion button to the usual fashions this 12 months.
MacRumors additionally experiences {that a} 48-megapixel single digicam may very well be in retailer for the subsequent iPhone SE. That will sign one other similarity it might share with the iPhone 15 and 16, which even have 48-megapixel fundamental cameras. If the report is correct, the iPhone SE will solely have one rear digicam, in contrast to Apple’s dearer telephones. The common iPhone 15 has huge and ultra-wide cameras, whereas the Professional variations have huge, ultra-wide and telephoto cameras.
However Apple launched the “Fusion” digicam on this 12 months’s common iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus, which it says permits a 2x optical high quality zoom regardless of missing a devoted telephoto lens. Whereas experiences do not specify whether or not the iPhone SE 4 can have this digicam, it would not be shocking if Apple carried out it to compensate for the iPhone SE’s single digicam setup.
If the rumors are true, the fourth-generation iPhone SE might convey Apple’s tiny, finances iPhone updated with the remainder of Apple’s lineup. Relying on the worth, it might find yourself being a stable selection for folks in want of a extra trendy iPhone that do not care concerning the iPhone 16’s further thrives, just like the Digital camera Management button.
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Patrick Holland contributed to this report.
