Fans of the iPhone SE hope that there's something to the old adage about good things coming to those who wait. With no iPhone SE 4 arriving this year to replace the iPhone SE (2022) from two years back, we'll be waiting until 2025 at the earliest for a new model.
There's good news, though. It's widely expected that Apple will deliver a new iPhone SE in early 20225, with no less a source than Bloomberg's Mark Gurman backing that release date. Even better, this sounds like a more significant upgrade than the 2022 model, which essentially just added 5G compatibility and an improved chipset to the iPhone SE 2020. Instead, the iPhone SE 4 is tipped to ring in a number of changes, from a new design to internal upgrades that will allow it to support Apple Intelligence.
We've got several months to go in 2024, which means we've got plenty of time between now and the March window where Apple traditionally announces its SE models for more potential details to emerge. For now, though, here are the top iPhone SE 4 rumors that have us excited about the update to Apple's least expensive phone.
1. A new look for the iPhone
If Apple's iPhone lineup were a wardrobe full of clothing, the new iPhone 16 models would be sleek Armani suits — modern, made out of fine materials and pleasing to the eye. In contrast, the iPhone SE would be a leisure suit — aging, dated and increasingly more ridiculous-looking.
It's not the iPhone SE's fault that design tastes have moved away from the iPhone 8-style look that the current model adopted. These days, phone buyers want edge-to-edge designs, not the chunky bottom bezel the iPhone SE maintains to house its Touch ID sensor. The preference these days is also toward larger-screens, not the 4.7-inch panel the SE currently offers.
Fortunately, it sounds like Apple has gotten the hint, with rumors suggesting the next iPhone SE will look more like an iPhone 14 with minimal bezels and a 6.1-inch display. Why the iPhone 14 and not something even more recent like an iPhone 16? Because the iPhone SE is likely to go with a notch to house its Face ID sensors and TrueDepth camera, as Apple reserves the Dynamic Island feature for pricier flagship models. We won't mind so long as that iPhone 8 look is left in the past where it belongs.
2. A new chipset
The three previous SE models have used the same chipset of the flagship iPhone that came out just before their release. For example, the iPhone SE that arrived in the spring of 2022 featured the A15 Bionic chip that debuted in the iPhone 13 from fall 2021. That's one of the appeals of the SE model, in fact — that it delivers flagship-grade performance in a much cheaper phone.
Should Apple stick to that pattern, we'd expect the iPhone SE 4 to use the A18 silicon that just arrived in the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus. That's good news on several fronts, not the least of which is the matter of performance. As you can see in our iPhone 16 review, the A18 produced much better numbers on the Geekbench 6 test of general performance than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 inside the Galaxy S24. You'd anticipate similar performance from an A18-powered iPhone SE.
Additionally, both the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus saw big gains in battery life over their predecessors, doubtlessly benefiting from more efficient power management from the A18. (The iPhone 16 Plus, in fact, is part of our best phone battery life list rankings.) Battery life has never been a strong suit for the SE, so we're interested to see if this benefit helps the iPhone SE 4 last longer on a charge.
3. Apple Intelligence support
There's another reason to hope that Apple turns to the A18 chipset for the iPhone SE. It would enable Apple's bargain phone to support Apple Intelligence, the suite of AI-powered features that will officially debut on the iPhone 16 lineup as well as the iPhone 15 Pro models later this month. (Initial Apple Intelligence are currently available as a public beta.)
It's not unheard of for a budget phone to support AI capabilities. Google's Pixel 8a certainly does so, and it costs less than $500. But it would quite a coup for Apple to extend Apple Intelligence support to its cheapest phone, especially since the features are debuting on a limited number of devices.
For what it's worth, Gurman has suggested that Apple Intelligence on the iPhone SE 4 is a very strong possibility.
4. Farewell, LCD
The current iPhone SE is the only phone Apple sells that still uses LCD for its displays. The rest of the iPhone lineup features OLED, even older models that Apple keeps around at discounted prices. That could change with the iPhone SE 4, which is tipped to get an OLED panel of its own.
While LCD has its strengths, there's no comparison to the more accurate colors you get from an OLED panel. Blacks look deeper and richer, too. In short, expect an improve display on next year's iPhone SE, assuming this rumor pans out.
Just don't expect a fast refresh rate on that display, a feature Apple still reserves for its Pro phones. And that's not expected to change until the iPhone 17 shows up in the fall.
5. An upgraded camera
It's probably too much to ask for Apple to add a second lens to the back of the iPhone SE. But an upgrade to the 12MP sensor that the current model relies on may be in order, especially since Apple made that same upgrade to the iPhone 15 in 2023.
Of all the iPhone SE 4 rumors, this one is the shakiest in terms of corroborating evidence. But it also makes a lot of sense that Apple would want to give a more modern-looking iPhone SE a more modern rear camera.
We'll just have to wait and see how much of a makeover Apple gives to its budget iPhone in 2025.
More from Tom's Guide
- I'm more excited about the iPhone SE 4 than I am about the iPhone 16
- iPhone SE 4 price — why I don't like what I'm hearing
- iPhone 17 vs iPhone 16: The biggest expected upgrades
