With round 5 months to go till Apple unveils the subsequent model of the iPhone SE, we’re beginning to get a powerful concept of what to anticipate. Rumors have been coming thick and quick because the launch of the iPhone 16 final month and a brand new case leak this weekend seems to have revealed the basics of the brand new cellphone’s design.
On Saturday the respected leaker Sonny Dickson posted to Twitter/X a photograph of what he labels as a case for the (as but unannounced) iPhone SE 4. It appears like the usual silicone case design Apple makes for its telephones, in plain black.
If the case is real–and based mostly on the iPhone SE 4’s closing design, fairly than a prototype that might change earlier than launch–it provides away some vital particulars. There’s a cutout, for instance, for the mute change, which suggests the handset gained’t have an Motion button. (The official silicone case for the iPhone 16 Plus doesn’t have a cutout there: you simply press the Motion button via a raised part of silicone.)
It’s much less clear-cut, however the photographs additionally recommend that the subsequent SE gained’t acquire the Digital camera Management that was launched final month with the 16-series iPhones. The Digital camera Management doesn’t get a full cutout on the 16 Plus case, admittedly, however it does have a separate thinner part above it that you just press via; this may most likely be noticeable within the photographs.
Lastly, as 9to5Mac factors out, the cutout for the rear-facing digital camera factors to a single lens, as was the case in 2022, fairly than twin lenses to match the iPhone 14 which the brand new SE is predicted to be based mostly on. Which may appear counterintuitive–the cutout is larger than a single lens, and will plausibly accommodate a pair of lenses in a horizontal alignment–however that’s how instances for the 2022 iPhone SE are made in the intervening time, with a gap for the flash subsequent to the only lens. Whereas the iPhone 14 has its twin lenses organized diagonally in a bigger sq. digital camera module, and this case design wouldn’t accommodate that.
Plenty of negatives, then: no Digital camera Management, no Motion button, and no second rear-facing digital camera lens. However there’s nonetheless time for plans to alter, and Apple could but shock us within the spring.
To maintain up with the most recent information and rumors, try our frequently up to date iPhone SE 4 superguide. If you happen to can’t wait till the spring, discover the bottom costs on the present fashions with our roundup of the greatest iPhone offers.