As we finally head into 2025, we’re bound to get a years’ worth of new smartphone goodness, from brands both big and small. With that being said, one of 2025’s most anticipated smartphones is Apple’s fourth-generation iPhone SE, which is predicted to come with a lot of new upgrades that will set it apart from earlier SE models. At this point there have been a ton of leaks already, and while they are all pretty much unconfirmed they give us an idea of what to expect when Apple’s next “budget” iPhone arrives.
Pricing and Launch Date
The most recent news to come as of late is that the iPhone SE 4 is expected to launch with a price tag starting at $499, much more expensive than the iPhone SE 3’s launch price back in 2022 – this is according to a rumoured leak from South Korea. It’s also believed that Apple will launch the iPhone SE 4 around March next year, which mirrors the early-year launch date of the SE 3 back in 2022 and around the same time frame as the Pixel 9a’s alleged launch date.
New and Updated Design
One big rumoured change with the iPhone SE 4 is its design. The handset will supposedly feature a revamped look that ditches the small LCD screen and home button found on the iPhone SE 3 and 2, as well as the iPhone 8. Instead, the SE 4 will feature a much larger OLED screen which is expected to come at around 6.1 inches, with a notch for Face ID hardware. This very much resembles the iPhone 14’s design.
Other leaks also state that Apple might equip the iPhone SE 4 with the action button in lieu of the mute switch, which has now been slowly phased out on newer iPhone models. This might also fall in line with the company establishing a more uniform hardware approach to its phones moving forward, as the action button isn’t exactly a “flagship-grade” feature by any means. The same can be said for the USB-C port, which is expected to appear on the SE 4.
Performance, Software and Camera
It’s thought that Apple will also bring over its A18 chipset to the iPhone SE 4, which shouldn’t be too surprising given that the iPhone SE 3 likewise came with the A15 Bionic, which appeared on the iPhone 13 series just months before its launch. The SE 4 will also be equipped with 8GB of RAM, allowing it to support Apple’s new AI features, which will not come to devices older than the iPhone 15 Pro models.
As for camera hardware, the iPhone SE 4 will very likely feature a single 48MP sensor at the back, and it’s unlikely that Apple will equip it with a secondary ultrawide sensor, since it’s another feature that’s reserved solely for base flagship models. The SE phones have more or less focused on giving users the bare essentials, so this was to be expected. In any case, more leaks are sure to come soon, especially as we get nearer and nearer to the phone’s supposed launch date.
