iPhone SE 4: Top 7 Features and Upgrades to Expect

After much anticipation, the iPhone SE 4 is expected to launch in March next year. While Apple hasn’t officially announced its release or even acknowledged it, rumors and speculations suggest it will feature significant changes and upgrades compared to the iPhone SE 3, all while maintaining its budget-friendly price tag. Here are the key upgrades to watch for in the iPhone SE 4.

An iPhone 14-Like Design

Apple has long recycled the same original iPhone SE design for the last three generations. But this time, it seems to be changing with the iPhone SE 4. We’ll be seeing the typical iPhone notch with Face ID replacing the Touch ID button, alongside slimmer bezels and flat edges.

iPhone SE 4 will not feature Dynamic Island, which remains exclusive to the higher-end models. The phone may either use the iPhone 14 chassis or the latest iPhone 16 chassis as it’s still in production, which would make it more cost-effective and efficient to manufacture.

With that, I also expect the phone’s weight to change. The last iPhone SE 3 weighed 144 grams, and I anticipate the SE 4 will weigh significantly more due to the larger size and the inclusion of a larger battery.

The Largest Display Yet for an SE

iPhone SE 4 Concept by PrivateTalky

Alongside the chassis, iPhone SE 4 is also expected to carry over the 6.1-inch OLED display, which will be the largest on an SE model. For starters, all the iPhone SE models released so far have had tiny 4.7-inch screens. The larger OLED screen this time would mean more display area to enjoy movies and other content.

However, this means people who typically love ‘compact’ phones would have to look somewhere else, which might be challenging since the definition of ‘compact’ has evolved over time with smartphone sizes and displays steadily increasing.

The Latest A18 Chip

Apple may continue its trend of using the latest processor for the SE model. Apple is reportedly planning to ship the SE 4 with the latest A18 Bionic processor from the iPhone 16, which would mean snappier performance and faster app opening times. This would also future-proof the phone for its coming life of 4-5 years.

For starters, the A18 is a new chipset built on TSMC’s second-generation 3nm process. It has a new 6-core CPU with two performance and four efficiency cores, a new 5-core GPU, and a new 16-core Neural Engine.

It remains to be seen if Apple will tweak this configuration if it indeed ships the phone with the A18.

Apple Intelligence

iPhone SE 4 could be Apple’s most affordable iPhone yet to offer AI capabilities. Mark Gurman from Bloomberg reported that it may indeed support Apple AI thanks to the A18 chip and 8GB of RAM.  

This would bring AI features like Writing Tools, Image Playground, Clean Up tool, Genmoji, Notification summaries, redesigned Siri with ChatGPT, Audio transcription, and more to this budget iPhone, thereby popularizing Apple AI to the masses.

A Single But Upgraded Camera

The iPhone SE 4 is also expected to receive the much-anticipated camera upgrade. However, it will retain a single lens at the rear to keep costs down, making a dual-camera setup unlikely.

The rear camera is expected to be upgraded from the 12-megapixel shooter on the iPhone SE 3 to the 48-megapixel camera on the iPhone 15. The front will feature a 12-megapixel camera.

This, combined with a recent processor, should ensure it captures good pictures for social media. Computational photography features, including Smart HDR, Deep Fusion, and Night Mode will further enhance image quality.

Apple’s In-House 5G Modem

The iPhone SE 4 could finally bring Apple’s in-house 5G modem to the market. From the iPhone 7 to the iPhone XS, Apple used a mix of Intel and Qualcomm modems. They later settled for sourcing from Qualcomm, but now they’re geared up to introduce their own option.

This is expected to not only reduce costs but also bring connectivity improvements in Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS. As per reports, the in-house modem will benefit from hardware-software integration and consume less battery when iPhone users enable Low Power mode.

USB-C Port

Like all iPhones from the iPhone 15 onwards, the iPhone SE 4 will receive a USB-C port instead of Lightning. This is not a choice but compliance with a regulation from the European Union that requires a universal charging standard for all devices, thereby forcing Apple to transition all its phones from Lightning to USB-C.

We also expect the standard 20W of fast charging, as seen in the base iPhone 15 and 16 models, followed by wireless charging. However, it’s unclear if Apple would offer faster 25W MagSafe charging for this model.

Alongside these upgrades, Apple is also expected to increase the price of the iPhone SE 4. The current model launched for $429 (or ₹43,900 in India), but the newer one is now rumored to retail for about $500 (or Rs. 50,000 in India) which might be a bit pricey for a budget iPhone, but it remains to be seen how the market reacts.

Ritik Singh

With over 7 years of experience in tech, Ritik currently heads content at Techwiser.com. His journey began by sharing his knowledge and helping other people in online communities. This passion led him to a career in tech journalism, fueled by a formal education in Electronic Media. He then went on to roles at GadgetsToUse and PC-Tablet, where he honed his skills as an editor. He's also contributed to popular publications like HowToGeek and TheWindowsClub. With a portfolio of over 2,000 how-tos, reviews, and in-depth guides, Ritik has helped millions of readers navigate their tech, from smartphones to smart homes.