iPhone SE 4: latest news, rumors and what we want to see

In all likelihood, the iPhone SE 4 is a long way off. After all, the iPhone SE 3 – also known as the iPhone SE (2022) – only launched as recently as March 2022, and new models in Apple’s affordable iPhone line don’t typically receive yearly releases.

That said, having used the latest iPhone SE extensively, we have a very good idea of what we want from the iPhone SE 4. Despite the current model featuring on our list of the best iPhones, the iPhone SE (2022) is far from perfect, so we’re holding out hope for an upgrade. With that in mind, we’ve created a wishlist of features what we want to see included on the next version, which you’ll find below. 

Before that, though, you’ll find information on the phone’s possible release date and price below, along with any other news and rumors we’ve heard.

Cut to the chase

• What is it? The next affordable iPhone
• When is it out? Was thought to be 2025, but now uncertain
• How much will it cost? Expect a mid-range price

iPhone SE 4 release date and price

It’s hard to say when (or if) the iPhone SE 4 will land since, unlike most phones, we don’t get a new one every year. The iPhone SE 3 landed in March 2022, but the iPhone SE 2 was unveiled in April 2020, and the original model landed in March 2016.

So, a March or April launch seems the most likely, but the actual year we’ll the iPhone SE 4 – or whether we’ll see it at all – is more up in the air. 

For instance, seasoned Apple analysts reported in 2022 that Apple had abandoned plans to release a fourth-generation iPhone SE, owing to doubts over the series’ popularity and profitability. 

Then, two months later, the same analysts counterclaimed that Apple had restarted development on the iPhone SE 4, albeit with the company eyeing a much later release date than initially intended for the pint-sized device. 

Then, in April 2023 – see, we told you everything was up in the air… – we were given a better idea of when that release date might be, with leaker Jeff Pu predicting that Apple will release the iPhone SE 4 in 2025. As such, it stood to reason that we could have expected see the phone released sometime in the spring of 2025 (that’s between March and May, for our Australian readers). 

And yet, only a few weeks after that prediction, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo purported that the iPhone SE 4 “is not currently part of Apple’s new product planning” for the next couple of years, suggesting we shouldn’t expect to see the phone until at least 2026.

So, in other words, nobody really knows what’s going on with the iPhone SE 4. If the device really was currently in development, we’d expect analysts to have a better – and more unanimous – idea of the situation, which doesn’t seem to be the case. 

As for the phone’s price, there’s of course no news on that front either, but – if the iPhone SE 4 does eventually arrive – we’d expect it to be similar in price to the iPhone SE 2022, which starts at $429 / £419 / AU$719. That said, a price increase would be inevitable if the device boasts several significant improvements over its predecessor. 

iPhone SE 4 news and rumors

Assuming the iPhone SE 4 is in development, the phone is expected bring big changes to the line. For instance, Ross Young (a leaker) previously claimed that its screen will be 5.7-6.1 inches, which would be a big jump up from the current model’s 4.7-inch display.  

Since then, they’ve got more specific, saying that the iPhone SE 4 will have 6.1-inch screen and a notch, rather than the current design’s big bezels. That could mean Face ID may be added, too, though it’s also possible that Apple could stick with Touch ID and house the sensor in a side button instead of on the front.

We’ve now seen unofficial iPhone SE 4 renders emerge, too, that show the supposed design of the iPhone SE 4, and they largely match the details above. Incidentally, the phone in the images looks almost identical to the iPhone XR, and you can see some of them below:

Along with these renders, the source claims the iPhone SE 4 will have a 6.1-inch screen and come in Midnight (black), Starlight (white), and Product RED shades.

Yet another source has also suggested the iPhone SE 4 will have an iPhone 14-like design, complete with a notch, a 6.1-inch screen, and even Face ID. However, they add that the iPhone SE 4 will also have a customizable Action Button rather than a mute switch, and USB-C, but that it will still have just one rear camera.

Elsewhere, Ming-Chi Kuo (an analyst with a great track record for Apple information) has also said – via a note seen by MacRumors – to expect a larger screen, and that the iPhone SE 4 will have 4GB of RAM. 

Kuo has also predicted that the upcoming device will inherit the OLED display used by the iPhone 14, where Young has been touting an LCD display. For our money, the former screen option is more likely – especially if the phone isn’t arriving until 2025.  

That said, in a follow-up tweet to the below thread, Kuo has since clarified that this iPhone 14-like iPhone SE 4 may simply be an engineering prototype – so the jury is still out on which modern-day iPhone the next iPhone SE might resemble.

As for the phone’s connectivity, another Apple leaker, Jeff Pu, reports that Apple is developing a custom-designed 5G modem that will be manufactured – using a 4nm process – by the company’s chipmaking partner, TSMC. It’s not yet clear whether this 5G chip will offer any performance or power efficiency improvements over rival modems produced by the likes of Qualcomm, but it’s safe to assume that the iPhone SE 4 will offer top-of-the-range network connectivity. 

iPhone SE 4 wishlist

We don’t know much for sure about the iPhone SE 4 just yet, but we know what we want from it. Below, we’ve rounded up a few of our biggest hopes:

1. A new design

The design of the iPhone SE (2022) is more than old – it’s ancient, with even the cheapest of cheap phones showing it up in many ways.

So, we really, really want to see a design refresh for the iPhone SE 4. This shouldn’t be hard for Apple – it has plenty of phones with more modern designs that it can copy. The good news is that signs suggest Apple might actually do this.

2. More starting storage

The iPhone SE 3 has a starting capacity of just 64GB, which, in 2023, is frankly not enough, especially given its mid-range price and lack of a microSD card slot.

So, for the iPhone SE 4, we want to see 128GB as the starting size – and for that to happen without a price jump.

3. A lower price

Speaking of prices, the iPhone SE (2022) already costs more than the iPhone SE (2020), so not only is a price hike an unwanted prospect, but we ideally want a lower starting cost, so that this truly is an affordable iPhone again.

Given rumors of a larger screen and possibly a new design, this probably won’t happen, but we live in hope.

4. A larger display

The iPhone SE 3 is absolutely tiny with its 4.7-inch screen, and arguably that’s too small even for most fans of compact phones, so we’d like to see the iPhone SE 4 increase in size.

The good news is that rumors point to a 5.7-6.1-inch screen, which would be a notable increase, while still just about being compact, especially if the smaller of those sizes is used. In fact, paired with a new design and smaller bezels, the overall footprint needn’t be much bigger.

5. More camera lenses

The iPhone SE 3 has just one camera lens on the back, which even for a mid-range phone isn’t enough. Sure, it’s a quality camera, but it’s also limited, giving you just a wide field of view. So, for the iPhone SE 4 we want a second lens added, offering either ultra-wide or telephoto functionality.