Apple’s latest 4th gen iPhone SE to be announced next week?

The 4th generation iPhone SE could be announced next week, bringing a host of higher-end features to Apple’s agreeably lower cost iPhone.

According to the ever-reliable Mark Gurman in Bloomberg, the long-awaited (and frankly rather overdue) latest generation iPhone SE might be announced next week with the idea of an end of Feb/start of March release. Inventory of the existing model has been scaled down in Apple Stores in the US, which is usually the sign that something new is coming down the pipe.

This will be the first time Apple’s entry-level phone has been updated since 2022, and it will mark a significant ramping up of the unit’s capabilities. For a start, it will have to feature a USB-C cable to comply with EU law. The current iPhone SE hasn’t been available in Europe for some time as a consequence of the legislation (same with the iPhone 14) and that’s a big market to be ignoring. 

So, two main questions: what will it feature and why now?

iPhone SE new features

It looks increasingly like what you will get with the 4th generation iPhone SE is essentially going to be an iPhone 14. Some of the features that have been reserved for the standard model phones will migrate down to it, notably Face ID and perhaps it will even see the death of the notch. 

It is also likely to feature the same A18 chip that features in the current iPhone 16 line ups. This will, of course, give users access to Apple Intelligence features.

There’s a big change under the hood as well with the debut of the in-house cellular modem, replacing the long-standing Qualcomm chip. This is a first for any Apple product and another benefit of it bringing an increasing amount of its electronics under its own roof as it is reported to draw less power than the Qualcomm unit. It’s not as fast perhaps, but that seems a reasonable trade-off given that few networks get anywhere near the speeds that phone modems can theoretically reach. Cellular network scanning and satellite connectivity might both be improved as well.

All this is liable to bump the price up to around the $500 mark from the current $429. $500 is a psychological barrier and Apple will want to dip under it and maintain competition at this price point with Android models from Samsung and Google.

iPhone SE 4th gen: why now

The simple reason is that AI has not led to the uptick in high end sales that Apple and the rest of the industry was hoping for. The idea was that Apple Intelligence was going to lead to a new supercycle where consumers traded in old kit for new phones to access the new features. 

This hasn’t happened. In fact, Apple’s iPhone sales actually dropped 1% during the holiday quarter, a worse performance than expected. A new $500 phone might not have the same margins as the higher-end models, but given their potential impact in huge markets such as India and China, tradewar nonsense notwithstanding, sheer volume can make up for that.

Apple’s sales fell 11% in China last quarter, and the company will want to reverse this situation as soon as possible.

Having more people in the Apple Intelligence ecosystem will also help if Cupertino ever decides to put some of the features behind a paywall. Services are a huge and growing revenue stream for Apple, but they need an installed base of people that want to pay for them. Underwhelming as many of the Apple Intelligence features are to date, they still need a wider audience and a $500 more capable, more feature rich iPhone SE might provide just that.

tl;dr

• The 4th generation iPhone SE is expected to be announced soon, with rumors suggesting a release by early March and a significant upgrade in features compared to previous models.
• Key improvements may include a USB-C port to comply with EU regulations, Face ID, and a potential redesign that eliminates the notch, alongside the powerful A18 chip found in the iPhone 16 series.
• The introduction of an in-house cellular modem marks a departure from Qualcomm, promising better energy efficiency and improved network connectivity, although it might not match the speed of its predecessor.
• The timing of this release aims to boost Apple’s sales, especially in key markets like China and India, where recent performance has been disappointing. A more affordable, feature-rich iPhone SE could help increase the user base for Apple’s services.