While there isn’t really such a thing as a cheap iPhone, it has been three years since Apple released the third-generation iPhone SE, the so-called ‘budget’ iPhone option for those who don’t want to spend big. Still on sale from Apple for £429, the handset has the same chipset as the iPhone 13, supports 5G networks and has a single rear camera.
One thing putting off potential buyers in 2024 is the iPhone SE looks like the iPhone 8 from 2017, which itself bore a close resemblance to the 2014 iPhone 6. The ageing design with big chunky bezels is one thing, but the 16:9 display is also long in the tooth – the rest of Apple’s iPhone line-up simply looks, and is, more modern.
There have been long standing rumours of a new iPhone SE 4, and a new report from Korean publication AJUNews backs this up (via TechRadar). The site is reporting that LG will manufacture and supply the camera module for the fourth-generation iPhone SE and plans to start production in December.
“Considering this, the iPhone SE 4 is likely to be released in March of next year as expected by the market,” the report says when translated into English.
That means we could have a new iPhone model only a few weeks into 2025, about six months after the September 2024 release of the iPhone 16.
The iPhone SE 4 is likely to only have one camera on the back, just like all previous SE models, but the report says it could be a 48MP lens. This would be a significant upgrade from the 12MP shooter on the current SE, which takes significantly lower quality shots than the latest iPhone 16.
An updated camera is also expected to join an updated design. While the current SE is stuck in the last decade, rumours suggest the SE 4 will look very similar to 2022’s iPhone 14 with the now-familiar notch design – though it won’t have the Dynamic Island.
If accurate, this will mark the end of the Home Button on the iPhone and all current Apple products on sale. The iconic button at the bottom of the iPhone SE’s screen harks back all the way to the original iPhone on 2007 but was replaced on Apple’s flagship iPhones by the all-screen design of the iPhone X in 2017. Users swipe up to go to the home screen rather than press a physical circular button, but the button has persisted on Apple’s SE range.
The report also mentions the new iPhone SE could support Apple Intelligence, Apple’s new AI features. This will only be possible if the new phone runs either the A17 Pro, A18 or A18 Pro chipset, which are in the iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro respectively.
These are the only iPhone and iPad chips to support Apple Intelligence. It’ll be interesting if Apple decides to give the iPhone SE enough power to handle the tools, which don’t even work on last year’s regular iPhone 15 with its A16 chip.
