A new iPhone in February? Apple could release a new version of the iPhone SE as early as next week, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. Rumors suggest the new iPhone SE will inherit the iPhone 14’s design, signaling the end of the home button and a shift away from smaller screens. At $429, the iPhone SE is Apple’s most affordable phone before discounts and could make a big comeback in 2025.
Unlike with Apple’s flagship iPhone family, the iPhone SE’s launch timing is somewhat irregular. The first generation SE launched in 2016, followed by the second version in 2020 and the third in March 2022. Apple also hasn’t mentioned whether it plans to release new iPhone SE models moving forward, as it rarely speaks about future products.
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There’s plenty of room for Apple to further improve its cheaper iPhone. While my colleague Patrick Holland praised the 2022 iPhone SE for its accessible price and familiar home button, he criticized it for its lack of night mode photos and dated design. Android competitors like Samsung and Google have also improved their similarly priced budget phones in recent years. The Google Pixel 8A and Samsung Galaxy A55 5G both offer features once reserved for premium devices, like high refresh rates and multiple cameras.
It’s impossible to know exactly what to expect from Apple until the company makes an announcement. Based on predictions and reports from Bloomberg, MacRumors and the plugged-in TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, along with other leaks and Apple’s product launch history, here’s what we’d expect from Apple’s next budget iPhone.
Apple didn’t respond to a request for comment regarding a future iPhone SE when this story was originally published.
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iPhone SE 4 may launch in early 2025
There has been a lot of back-and-forth about the iPhone SE 4’s launch timing in recent years. But an August report from the often-accurate Mark Gurman of Bloomberg suggests that a new iPhone SE could debut in the beginning of 2025. That suggests it may arrive in the first quarter, which would line up with Apple’s previous iPhone SE release dates. The first and third generation models, for example, both launched in March.
The analyst Kuo also reported in October that mass production of the new iPhone SE would begin in December 2024, further indication that an early 2025 release may be in store for Apple’s next tiny phone.
The reports come after rumors and speculation about the iPhone SE’s existence have been uncertain over the last several years. In 2019, Kuo said Apple was working on an iPhone SE with a full-screen design similar to the iPhone XR, as MacRumors reported at the time. Apple has released two versions of the iPhone SE since then that retain the old iPhone 8-inspired design, which raised questions about whether the model Kuo was referring to has been canceled or postponed.
Kuo’s 2023 predictions regarding the iPhone SE 4 have also been mixed. He reported last January that an iPhone SE originally planned for 2024 was canceled but followed up to say the project had been revived. He changed his prediction again in April 2023 to say that the model he previously referred to might just be an engineering prototype for an Apple in-house 5G baseband chip. His previous comments also suggested the iPhone SE 4 would include this 5G chip.
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But newer reports, including one from MacRumors, indicate Apple is indeed developing a new iPhone SE that reportedly includes some dramatic upgrades.
It will likely have a new processor and Apple Intelligence
The iPhone SE typically has the same processor as Apple’s most recent flagship iPhone. For example, the 2022 iPhone SE has the same chip as the iPhone 13, which launched in September 2021. Since Apple’s newest mobile chip is usually the iPhone SE’s standout feature, it’s hard to imagine Apple straying from that pattern.
But that’s more important than ever now that Apple Intelligence, the company’s suite of new AI features, is dependent on the company’s latest chips. The iPhone 16 family and last year’s Pro models are the only iPhones capable of running these features for now. But based on Apple’s history and Bloomberg’s report, which says the iPhone SE 4 will support Apple Intelligence, it looks like that could change in the coming months.
Apple Intelligence includes new AI-powered features such as the ability to rewrite, summarize and proofread text, a new version of Siri that’s better at understanding words even when you fumble, the ability to erase objects in photos, and notification and message summaries, among other features. The first wave of Apple Intelligence arrived in Apple’s iOS 18.1 update, while more features — such as the ability to generate custom emoji — will come later in iOS 18.2.
Otherwise, the next iPhone SE could have an Apple-made 5G chip, according to Kuo. Still, it’s hard to know if that prediction still applies since he later revised his estimate to say this device was likely an engineering prototype to test that 5G chip. MacRumors also reports that the iPhone SE 4 will have an Apple-made 5G modem.
An iPhone 14-like design with an OLED screen
Patrick Holland contributed to this report.
