I’m out there for a brand new iPhone proper now. However which one ought to I decide? The iPhone 15 and iPhone 16 are each interesting choices, and there are at the moment some fairly good offers. Nonetheless… it’s not going to be low cost.
If cash’s the difficulty, what about Apple’s budget-focused iPhone SE? The present mannequin is 2 and a half years outdated and obtained poor evaluations when it was new. However a brand new 4th-gen mannequin is predicted to hit the market subsequent spring, with up to date elements and design, and a price ticket underneath $500. In view of the flagship fashions’ excessive worth, it is a tempting provide. Absolutely a brand new iPhone SE can solely be a great purchase?
This prompts a brand new query. Ought to I postpone shopping for the iPhone 16, and watch for the 4th-gen iPhone SE as a substitute? You recognize what? I don’t suppose so. As a result of the extra I hear concerning the upcoming SE, the extra I believe we’re in for an entire lot of disappointment.
What we all know up to now
The rumors inform us, pretty constantly, that the subsequent SE may have the size of an iPhone 14. The SE has traditionally been a compact handset, however the period of such telephones seems to be over. They had their followers, however Apple was by no means glad with the gross sales figures for the iPhone 12 mini and 13 mini.
For many patrons, a display screen measuring not less than six inches is a dealbreaker. That is comprehensible, as many apps and web sites are merely no enjoyable to make use of with something smaller. Many internet functions have been optimized for bigger screens and are barely usable with one thing the scale of the 2022 iPhone SE.
So we are able to anticipate the 2025 SE to characteristic a 6.1-inch OLED display screen, albeit a barely cheaper panel than the one featured on the iPhone 14. And naturally, it’s going to have a notch, which is able to make it really feel outdated and outdated. And Apple will compromise in different areas too. The Motion button on the lefthand edge, which Apple launched on the iPhone 15 Professional, shall be lacking. The brand new Digital camera Management on the righthand edge may also stay unique to the iPhone 16.
Foundry
As leaked instances appear to show, the economic system mannequin may also solely have one digital camera, similar to the iPhone XR, one of many few 2025 telephones to have only one digital camera. And whereas the iPhone 16 is available in a wide range of colours, the brand new SE will seemingly stick to the identical three choices: black, white, and pink.
Lastly, the present iPhone SE is fairly inexpensive at $429, however a worth bounce is to be anticipated for the brand new mannequin. My guess is $499 for the entry-level model with 128GB. That’s cheaper than the $799 iPhone 16 after all, however not almost as enticing as the unique $399 iPhone SE.
What’s outdated is new
With its small display screen and old style Contact ID button, the present iPhone SE serves as a warning that Apple will not be afraid to depend on very outdated know-how for this line of telephones. The 2nd-gen SE from 2020, for instance, was closely based mostly on the iPhone 8, which got here out three years earlier.
The rationale for this? Apple needs these telephones to really feel older. The iPhone SE is meant to dissuade Apple’s most frugal clients from switching to an inexpensive Android handset with out cannibalizing purchases of the opposite iPhones. The dearer an iPhone, the extra worthwhile it’s for Apple, so the corporate doesn’t need to promote too many SEs. It’s meant to be an economic system iPhone that appears like an economic system iPhone, not a standing image.
IDG
There’s nonetheless a marketplace for the SE, after all. It’s superb not just for price-conscious personal clients. Many patrons on a price range don’t desire a used gadget, postpone by issues with batteries and the truth that the gadget has already had one earlier proprietor. For many who desire a new iPhone even when it’s lacking the most recent options and design, and for them the SE is the correct selection.
However what they aren’t going to get is pleasure. They’re extra more likely to really feel a way of déjà vu with a notch, single digital camera, and thick bezels.
The curious case of Apple Intelligence
The 4th-gen iPhone SE does have one actual killer characteristic up its sleeve, one thing that would make it a success in any case: help for Apple Intelligence. If Apple’s new AI platform is one thing you’re determined to strive, the subsequent SE might be a real possibility.
A number of stories have predicted that the subsequent SE will help Apple Intelligence, however this hardly wanted to be stated; it is a characteristic that the inexpensive iPhone merely has to supply. Even Apple at its stingiest wouldn’t launch a brand new iPhone in 2025 with out constructing in help for its personal AI. And this, in flip, means the brand new SE may have 8GB of RAM, and can in all probability be outfitted with the A18 processor, the identical because the iPhone 16.
The iPhone SE will certainly help Apple Intelligence—however the place does that go away the iPhone 14 and 15?
Apple
Even for those who’re not all for AI, the truth that the 4th-gen SE is constructed for AI means it’s going to ship the distinctive all-round efficiency of an iPhone 16, and outperform the iPhone 15, which prices $699. However that telephone has a greater digital camera and higher options regardless of lacking out on Apple’s flagship AI.
It’s all very complicated for patrons—so maybe Apple will cease promoting the iPhone 14 and 15 earlier than issues get again to regular when the iPhone 17 arrives later within the 12 months.
Loving the great, residing with the dangerous
The subsequent iPhone SE won’t be an actual different to the iPhone 16; in any case, that’s not in Apple’s greatest pursuits. It can have its deserves and a lower cost, but when the brand new SE really excites anybody Apple won’t have executed their job correctly.
The 4th-gen SE will definitely have its followers, however the overwhelming majority of iPhone patrons will go for a “higher” mannequin. And that’s simply the way in which Apple likes it.
Michael Simon contributed to this text.
This text initially appeared on our sister publication Macwelt and was translated and localized from German.
