Update: Our iPhone SE 4 live blog is tracking all the last-minute rumors and leaks ahead of Apple’s big launch. Follow along now.
I’ve used every single iPhone SE model as my daily driver. Despite testing and getting to play around with all the best phones, I still can’t fathom forking over thousands of dollars for a phone. And while an iPhone SE 4 announcement could be imminent, it could signal the end of my love affair with Apple’s budget phones.
There was a time when top-of-the-line models cost $200 on average with a 2-year contract out the door whenever I’d go to my carrier’s store. But the days of subsidized phones are long gone, replaced by installment plans where you, the consumer, pays for the entirety of the phone over a period of time. Since then, the cost of a phone has kept creeping up, going from $600 outright to the thousands.
That’s why I bought the first generation iPhone SE back in 2016. Its $399 cost was far more agreeable with my wallet, which only increased to $429 by the time that the most recent iPhone SE 2022 model was released. Unlike the three previous generations though, I might skip the iPhone SE 4 entirely. Here’s why.
Potential price increase
Prices always increase. For the iPhone SE series thus far, I have to admit that the $29 increase from the first to most current release was reasonable. It’s not like the $100 increases we’ve seen in recent years, with phones like the OnePlus 13 and Pixel 9. So, rumors that it would cost $499 for the iPhone SE 4 shouldn’t be egregious, right?
Well, the landscape has shifted tremendously from the release of the iPhone SE 2022. While many of the best budget phones have slowly risen to about $500, like the Pixel 8a, the iPhone SE4 at $499 would no longer have the same benefit of attracting people with a lower cost.
There are other phones well under that $500 threshold, like the Nothing Phone 2a and Galaxy A35, which have their own ways of attracting buyers. For the Nothing Phone 2a, you won’t find a better looking design in a phone under $400 — while the Galaxy A35 features a sizable screen paired with a triple camera arrangement.
I can’t stress enough about how the bar has risen for what I want in a phone, so it’s not just price alone.
A single camera is dated
How many phones come out nowadays with only a single camera? I can’t think of that many, but the iPhone SE 2022 certainly comes to mind. That was three years ago, a time when dual camera arrangements were becoming the norm — even on some budget phones.
As much as I’d love for Apple to properly introduce a dual-camera setup for the iPhone SE 4, all the rumors hint at a new 48MP camera — which would be an upgrade from the 12MP currently on the third generation iPhone SE. While I’m confident that the performance will live up to my expectations, it’s already at a disadvantage due to the lack of an ultrawide camera. Meaning, I’d have to step back farther to get the landscape shot I want compared to a phone with one.
I’m not too concerned that it doesn’t appear to be getting a telephoto camera either. That’s because I’ve seen how well Apple leverages pixel binning with great results in recent releases like the iPhone 15 and 16. I’ve tested this out for myself and the digital zoom from the iPhone SE 4’s single camera could still deliver optical-like zoom.
However, there’s no way for this new model to offer the same utility that the dual-camera setups offer in other current phones.
But there still could be a chance
Even though it might look grim, there’s still a chance for the iPhone SE 4 to prove me wrong. It’s believed to be powered by Apple’s A18 chipset, which I’ve tested with great results on the iPhone 16 when it comes to graphics processing. Furthermore, it means that it could very well benefit from the same Apple Intelligence features.
There’s also the matter around its display and battery, which might get a much more deserving upgrade this time.
Rumors hint at a 6.1-inch OLED display that wouldn’t only be a size increase for the series, but the color depth and clarity should be much improved moving from LCD to OLED. And finally, a larger battery paired with the power efficiency of the A18 chip could propel the iPhone SE 4 to the longest battery life in the series. Although, it needs a lot to catch up to the battery times we got from the OnePlus 13R.
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