It’s been a while since Apple updated its budget iPhone SE, and the last one looks a lot similar to its predecessor and the iPhone 8, which was introduced back in 2017. This time around, the iPhone SE 4, speculated to launch in early 2025, is expected to flaunt a major design overhaul and is said to look similar to the iPhone 14 series, if not identical.
The iPhone SE 4 is said to look radically different from its predecessor. However, in terms of iPhones, it might look very familiar. As per a few leaks, the iPhone SE 4 could look very similar to the iPhone 14 but with just a single camera unit at the back. It will have a metal unibody design with flat side frames, and at the front, the phone will be covered by a large 6.1-inch screen, which is a lot bigger than the 4.7-inch screen on the iPhone SE 3. This also means the iPhone SE 4 will be the first iPhone in the SE series without the home button, and the phone is likely to incorporate a Face ID biometric system.
As a part of the design change, the iPhone SE 4 is expected to get a USB-C port for charging, and it is also speculated to gain an action button. The device will be rated IP67/68 for water and dust resistance, and we might also see a repair-friendly build with the option to easily replace the back panel or the display separately.
With an iPhone 14-like design, the major distinguishable parameter between the two will be the camera island. Overall, despite being a budget offering, the iPhone SE 4 is expected to look as modern as any other modern iPhone.
Besides the looks, the iPhone SE 4 is also touted to receive a major hardware upgrade, including a new chip, cameras, USB-C port, display, and a lot more. And with all these upgrades, it is also speculated to be marginally more expensive than its predecessor, while still being a lot more affordable than the mainstream iPhone.
As per the leaks, the iPhone SE 4 will be based on the same A18 chip that is speculated to power the upcoming iPhone 16 series, which makes it as powerful as the next-generation iPhones. However, the A18 chip on the iPhone SE 4 might come with fewer CPU/GPU cores, as we have seen with earlier models. For now, there is no confirmation on the availability of Apple Intelligence on the iPhone SE 4, which is currently limited to just the iPhone 15 Pro and the iPhone 15 Pro Max.
As mentioned earlier, the iPhone SE 4 might just have one camera, and according to MacRumors, it will be 48 MP. Hence, we can expect to see 2x lossless zoom mode via the in-sensor zooming capability. Lastly, the iPhone SE 4 could also be the first device to incorporate an in-house developed 5G modem.
While the iPhone SE 3 comes with 64 GB of storage on the base model, the iPhone SE 4 might offer 128 GB, possibly with at least 6 GB of RAM. Besides, we could also see 256 and 512 GB storage variants.
When will it launch, and how much will it cost?
According to a report from The Information, the iPhone SE 4 will launch in the Spring of 2025, and a ‘leakster’ on X (Revegnus) predicts that the iPhone SE 4 might get a price hike of around 10 per cent, indicating it would still cost less than Rs 80,000 at launch, which is similar to that of a previous-generation iPhone.