I’m available in the market 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 present 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 The present mannequin is 2 and a half years outdated and bought poor opinions when it was new.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 beneath $500. In view of the flagship fashions’ excessive value, this can be a tempting supply. Absolutely a brand new iPhone SE can solely be an excellent purchase?
This prompts a brand new query. Ought to I postpone shopping for the iPhone 16, and await the 4th-gen iPhone SE as an alternative? You realize what? I don’t suppose so. As a result of the extra I hear in regards to the upcoming SE, the extra I feel we’re in for an entire lot of disappointment.
What we all know to date
The rumors inform us, pretty persistently, that the following SE can 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 happy with the gross sales figures for the iPhone 12 mini and 13 mini.
For many patrons, a display screen measuring no 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 net functions have been optimized for bigger screens and are barely usable with one thing the dimensions of the 2022 iPhone SE.
So we will 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 And naturally, it would have a notch, which is able to make it really feel outdated and outdated.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, will likely be lacking. The brand new Digital camera Management on the righthand edge can even stay unique to the iPhone 16.
Foundry
As leaked instances appear to show, the financial system mannequin can even solely have one digicam, similar to the iPhone XR, one of many few 2025 telephones to have only one digicam. And whereas the iPhone 16 is available in quite a lot of colours, the brand new SE will seemingly follow the identical three choices: black, white, and crimson.
Lastly, the present iPhone SE is fairly inexpensive at $429, however a value soar 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 practically as enticing as the unique $399 iPhone SE.
What’s outdated is new
With its small display screen and old school Contact ID button, the present iPhone SE serves as a warning that Apple just isn’t afraid to depend on very outdated expertise 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 explanation for this? Apple needs these telephones to really feel older. The iPhone SE is meant to dissuade Apple’s most frugal prospects 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 financial system iPhone that appears like an financial system iPhone, not a standing image.
IDG
There’s nonetheless a marketplace for the SE, after all. It’s very best not just for price-conscious personal prospects. Many patrons on a finances don’t desire a used system, delay by issues with batteries and the truth that the system has already had one earlier proprietor. For individuals who desire a new iPhone even when it’s lacking the newest options and design, and for them the SE is the fitting 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 digicam, 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 successful in any case: help for Apple Intelligence. If Apple’s new AI platform is one thing you’re determined to attempt, the following SE may very well be a real possibility.
A number of reviews have predicted that the following SE will help Apple Intelligence, however this hardly wanted to be mentioned; this can be 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 can 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 depart the iPhone 14 and 15?
Apple
Even should you’re not involved in AI, the truth that the 4th-gen SE is constructed for AI means it would ship the distinctive all-round efficiency of an iPhone 16, and outperform the iPhone 15, which prices $699. However that cellphone has a greater digicam 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, dwelling with the unhealthy
The subsequent iPhone SE is not going to be an actual different to the iPhone 16; in any case, that’s not in Apple’s finest pursuits. It should have its deserves and a lower cost, but when the brand new SE really excites anybody Apple is not going to have performed 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 best way 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.