An Affordable iPhone Might Get Here Sooner Than We Think

The budget-friendly iPhone SE has always been a good choice for people who can’t afford to pay Apple tax on a new iPhone but wish to stay within the iOS ecosystem. However, the last model was released nearly two years ago, leaving us to wonder when we’d see the return of Apple’s cheaper iPhones. According to the South Korean site AjuNews (via TechRadar), the iPhone SE 4 might appear as early as March 2025.

This prediction is based on Apple’s camera partner, LG Innotek, which is set to begin mass production of the phone’s camera in December. According to the report, LG Innotek is “currently conducting tests ahead of mass production” and typically supplies camera modules about three months before a smartphone’s release. Given this timeline, a March 2025 release seems likely.

This aligns with earlier predictions by MacRumors, which estimated the phone’s launch in early 2025. According to their speculations, it will be unveiled before the Lunar New Year in January or March, with the latter being more likely, as the past three iPhone SE models were all released in March.

We were fans of the 2022 iPhone SE 3 overall but were left wishing it featured a larger display and more storage at the entry-level price. Current rumors suggest the fourth-gen iPhone SE will feature a 6.1-inch OLED display, a huge leap from the paltry 4.7-inch display on the 2022 model. The display size bump is owed to removing the home button. The current iPhone SE still sports the ancient touch ID, which is expected to be replaced with Face ID, freeing up additional space.

The iPhone SE 4 will switch from Lightning to Type-C charging per the EU’s mandate. Price-wise, rumors suggest a slightly raised price, from $430 for the iPhone SE 3 to under $500 for the fourth generation, likely due to inflation and higher material and production costs.

Here’s hoping we see an improved night mode on the upcoming iPhone SE. All we know about the camera so far is that it will upgrade from 12MP on the SE 3 to 48MP on the fourth-gen and will be a single-lens rear camera array this time. Predictions also point towards the phone receiving Apple Intelligence support, which should be exciting since the feature is currently exclusive to Apple’s latest, most high-end phones.