Soon after Apple unveiled the iPhone 15 series, a report said the company was developing a new iPhone SE variant. Contrary to previous reports, the iPhone SE 4 project was back on the table, with Apple looking to repurpose the iPhone 14 design for the next-gen affordable iPhone SE model.
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In addition to retiring the Touch ID design, the iPhone SE 4 would also deliver a slew of upgrades over the predecessor. The list includes Face ID, which comes with the all-screen iPhone 14 design, a 48-megapixel camera, the Action button, and USB-C connectivity.
Paired with an iPhone chip that would be at least as good as the iPhone 14 Pro’s A16, this iPhone SE 4 would be just too good to pass up, I said at the time.
Apple has a large collection of iPhones in its 2023 lineup, hitting various price points. The iPhone SE series is the cheapest possible option. The iPhone SE 4 would have to continue to be the most affordable iPhone Apple sells. The bad news in all of this is that Apple might not be ready to launch the iPhone SE 4 anytime soon. A new report teases a 2025 launch considering the current development progress.
The late September report came from MacRumors, with the blog now doubling down on the information obtained from sources familiar with the iPhone SE 4 progress. In a new story, MacRumors repeats some of the previous claims about the iPhone SE, while adding more context.
The iPhone SE 4 (known as D59 or Project Ghost internally) will be based on the iPhone 14 chassis. The handset will feature a single rear-facing camera, necessitating a new glass backplate design. The camera will be a 48-megapixel shooter, which is the new norm on iPhones.
The blog offered actual dimensions for the upcoming iPhone SE 4, which match the base iPhone 14 model. But the iPhone SE 4’s 165g weight should be 6g lighter than the iPhone 14. That’s because of the single-lens camera system.
The iPhone SE 4 will feature an aluminum (6013 T6) frame like the iPhone 14. But it’ll have an Action button and USB-C port instead of the iPhone 14’s traditional mute switch and Lightning port.
MacRumors also mentions one of the phone’s potential colors, black. Apparently, iPhone SE 4 prototypes come in a Midnight option similar to what’s available from the iPhone 14. While the Action button is coming to all iPhones, just as the USB-C port, the rumored Capture button will be exclusive to the iPhone 16.
The report still doesn’t give us the iPhone SE 4’s specs. I’m mostly interested in the A-series chip Apple will use for the handset. It can’t be the A15 Bionic, as that’s what powers the iPhone SE 3. As I said before, the A16 Bionic makes more sense. But if MacRumors’ release date estimate is accurate, we might see a different chip inside the next iPhone SE 4 version.
The blog says the current development schedule points to a 2025 release date. That would be an early 2025 launch, considering Apple’s agenda for iPhone SE versions. By then, Apple’s iPhone 16 phones will be available in stores, rocking purported A18 and A18 Pro chips.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see the iPhone SE 4 get the A18 treatment as well. The main reason for this is the imminent arrival of Apple GPT via iOS 18. This is all speculation from yours truly at this point.
Whatever the case, if the iPhone SE 4 described in these reports becomes real, it’ll probably become the mid-range phone to buy. And the best iPhone to get someone started on Apple’s ecosystem. Say a teenager or a parent looking to upgrade their iPhone.
