Apple's Next New iPhone to Debut in the Spring: What to Expect

[TurboJobo]

I do not understand this SE 2025 model, basically an iphone 16 without the camera button?
Its the same screen, and body and even cpu.
Makes no sense.
I would honestly be happier if they made the SE the same body type with an usb c.
Rather yet keep the iphone 8 size and move the touch id to the side and make it whole screen. That it.
Give us the a18, single camera is fine, touch id on the lock button like the ipad and usb c. SOLID

 

[neuropsychguy]

There is absolutely no need for the action button anyway as it’s a gimmick that nobody needs

Maybe I don't need it but I use the action button multiple times per day. It's one of my favorite things on the iPhone 16 Pro coming from an iPhone without it.

 

[JosephAW]

I wish
To this day when I still pull out my iPhone SE (the first one that resembled the iPhone 5) it’s still my favorite iPhone design. That flush camera is so sleek!

My gf is still rocking with her Gen 1, doesn’t want anything larger.

 

[sflagel]

Here are some other possible omissions in the 2025 iPhone SE:

• satellite communications
• Ultra Wideband
• mmWave
• MagSafe wireless charging
• more than 3 (2?) colors
• more than 256GB flash storage (but 128GB seems likely as the base)
• Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be)
• an included USB-C cable (except where legally required)

I think it's also possible the 2025 iPhone SE could include a slightly cut down ("parts binned") A18 processor with a 4-core GPU and/or 14-core Neural Engine.

I wonder whether the iPhone 16's battery design improvements will make it to the 2025 iPhone SE. Apple probably wouldn't mind the higher cost battery for some recurring revenue.😐

Will the 2025 iPhone SE necessarily have Face ID? Maybe iPad-style Touch ID (on a side button) is an option?

So basically it will miss all the stuff that no one would miss?

(It will have MagSafe).

 

[nikaru]

Latest A-chip, good battery and 5G. It is all I care about. If they can put plastic back and frame for more resistance and less weight, it will be absolutely GREAT. Couldn't care less about the camera. Even an iPhone X-level shooter is sufficient for me. Couldn't care less about action button, camera button, dynamic island, 120Hz or the technology used for the display panel. Don't want titanium, Don't want stainless steel. Don't want magsafe.

 

[absynth]

I don't understand the mini fetishism; they appear on every single thread. Only 3 people on the internet bought one, and Apple has since halted production. If there was any significant sales, Tim Apple would definitely continue it.

If the specifications are accurate, this would be a far better purchase compared to the iPhone 16 Pro, at just 30% of the price.

Because from the 1000+ phones on the market not a single one serves our needs?
I don't understand people that crap on other people's needs TBH. Why would you want to buy your house when the majority of people rent? This kind of nonsonse.

When there was still a Sony Xperia Compact my two best friends, me and my neighbour all had the compact. And it was never a topic, we all just preferred usability.
So your "three people on the internet" theory is already disproven by the 4 people (me incl) in my nearest vicinity that do not have a small phone option anymore.

 

[kiranmk2]

There's no scenario where a Mini is very good for Apple IMHO.

I think there is a clear scenario where Apple would benefit from reusing the Mini design. As it stands I can see the SE draining a lot of iPhone 14 ($599), iPhone 15 ($699) and perhaps even iPhone 16 ($799) sales. Even if the new SE increases the price to $599 and Apple quietly ditch the iPhone 14, I think there will be a lot of lost iPhone 15 & 16 sales.

The SE outlined here has the same (or better) SoC, the same screen-size, can run Apple Intelligence (which is the main Apple promotional push this year). I suspect there will be lots of people who want a new phone that can "run AI" who will see a 6.1" "latest" iPhone for $499-$599 and wonder why they should pay $699-799 for a phone with the same screen size that only offers an additional wide angle camera and the dynamic island which has hardly set the world on fire.

On the other hand, people are used to phones with larger screens costing more - this has been a key part of the Apple pricing ladder for decades. A Mini-based SE can be marketed as having a larger screen than the old SE whilst being physically smaller and people will be more accepting of the $799 iPhone 16 price because they get a larger screen, meaning a Mini-based SE will cannibalise fewer iPhone 15/16 sales.

 

[sflagel]

Maybe I don't need it but I use the action button multiple times per day. It's one of my favorite things on the iPhone 16 Pro coming from an iPhone without it.

May I ask what action you programmed?

 

[winxmac]

Polycarbonate back with steel frame like in iPhone 5c but 2024/2025 edition:

iPhone 13 notch or iPhone 14 Pro Dynamic Island
2340 x 1080 resolution like in iPhone 12 mini and 13 mini
48MP camera like in iPhone 14 Pro
128GB and 256GB storage
at least 3500mAh battery
no Camera Control button
no Action button

 

[Darren.h]

$499??? I want one. 48 MP camera. I'm sold.

 

[kiranmk2]

You guys all hammering for the Mini didn’t actually buy it. That’s why Apple stopped production of the 13 Mini halfway through the year. Apple doesn’t listen to y’all anymore. Find something else to moan about.

I think it's more that it didn't give the revenues or margins Apple wanted. From the rumors, the Plus model is selling as poorly as the Mini did, but as Apple price by screen size, the same number of Plus sales as Mini sales leads to more revenue and likely higher margins.

 

[Moukee]

These specs would instantly kill off at least everything prior to the iPhone 16, and will likely make the base 16 a tough sell.

The most notable omission compared to the 16 is the ultra-wide camera. Sure, you might not get Wi-Fi 7, ultra wideband chip, satellite or even MagSafe, but I get the feeling that the target demographic of the SE (or even of the regular 16, thus they could fall back to the SE and save some money) doesn't care or even know what most of these features are. The magnet part of MagSafe can even be added with an aftermarket case.

I'm certain it'll be more expensive than the current model, but still at least $200 cheaper than the regular 16.

The 17 series will then get some features from the Pro models like 120 Hz to differentiate it enough from the SE 4.

Apple's baseline internals are now 8 GB RAM for AI it seems, and the A18 for the fast NPU to go with it. The A18 will probably be in the next base iPad as well and it'll likely be one of those chips that Apple reuses in cheaper hardware even years down the road when the A19, A20 etc. are out.

I might be wrong of course, but it seems like Apple wants to have Apple Intelligence on all of their new devices, even the cheapest models.

 

[absynth]

loving fathoming arguments based on singular feature set. Saying anything basic with a smirk and pure confidence does indeed make you stand out in today's society.

Imaging people spending 300k on a GT3 RS with slower performance than a 120k Tesla Plaid.
Or buying an oceanfront Laguna beach house with less sq-ft space than a home in Utah.

what a joke

It's literally an iphone 14 for $100 less, with a 3 generation faster CPU, more RAM, AI enabled, just without an ultrawide lens few people use or need.

So to come back to your comparison, it's a GT3 RS for $40K less then the vanilla Carrera. it's just the sleeper edition.

 

[chineseguy38]

Price increase! 😂

 

[brofkand]

There has to be a way they're gimping this phone to make it undesirable because so far, it sounds like the phone everyone should buy. All the features people want/need for way less than the bloated iPhone 16 series. I wonder if it will still have a physical SIM tray like the current SE...

 

[lenningj]

5.4 - 5.8" i'd be happy with + 3.8/3.9k mah battery and A17

 

[GuilleA]

Imagine forking out £799 for a phone with the same features as those in the £499,

Or a £999 device with the same RAM and similar chip to the cheap phone

What a joke

I've been conducting a rather informal study of my own regarding iPhone Pro users. Turns out, around 96% of all iPhone Pro users I talked to don't use ANY pro features. None. They're not even aware of them. None of them used RAW capture, ProRes, or Log. USB3 transfers? Hah... none of them plugged the iPhone to a computer, let alone capture video to an external SSD ("what's that?" was the answer). Two thirds couldn't find a difference between the ProMotion display and the regular one. "You know about LiDAR? It improves portrait in some situations", "Oh, I always forgot to use Portrait mode".

They just bought it because it was the "Pro" model.

This year the difference is even narrower between models.

 

[Kalixt]

Not everyone cares about going above 60hz.
Maybe its just me, but when I use a friend's iPhone 15 I don't notice the downgraded refresh rate unless I'm actively trying to look for it.

Its not about if you notice it or not, at this price tag, what are the reasons to not have it ?

 

[Seanm87]

I don't understand the mini fetishism; they appear on every single thread. Only 3 people on the internet bought one, and Apple has since halted production. If there was any significant sales, Tim Apple would definitely continue it.

If the specifications are accurate, this would be a far better purchase compared to the iPhone 16 Pro, at just 30% of the price.

I put most of them on ignore now. Game changer. Sick of hearing about it.

 

[AppleTO]

I have a hard time believing it will be between $400 and $500 with those specs. They might as well discontinue everything prior to the 16.

 

[AppleTO]

5.4 - 5.8" i'd be happy with + 3.8/3.9k mah battery and A17

Ideal screen size for the next SE.

 

[wanha]

Having owned an iPhone from each of the three previous SE generations, I can attest that they're great phones and great value for money.

Their one big non-obvious drawback is that they get notably worse battery life than their "regular" iPhone counterparts.

 

[ksec]

It would have a faster SoC, More Memory than iPhone 15.

Other than that.

Apple Modem, let assume this is worse than Qualcomm for now.

WiFI ? 6 / 6E / 7

Single Camera.

Notch.

 

[Anaxarxes]

It's literally an iphone 14 for $100 less, with a 3 generation faster CPU, more RAM, AI enabled, just without an ultrawide lens few people use or need.

So to come back to your comparison, it's a GT3 RS for $40K less then the vanilla Carrera. it's just the sleeper edition.

The first-generation iPhone SE was launched in 2016, Apple didn’t immediately remove the older iPhone 5s, but they discontinued it later that year.

When Apple introduced the 2nd gen iPhone SE in 2020, it immediately replaced the iPhone 8 in their lineup, which was the previous entry-level model.

With 3rd gen iPhone SE in 2022, the lineup already had iPhone 13, 12, with the iPhone 11 still being sold as an entry-level alternative. 11 was discontinued in September 2022 when the iPhone 14 series was launched.

So yea, iPhone 14 and 14 plus most likely get axed when SE4 goes on sale and maybe even standard iPhone 15, leaving only the iPhone 15 Plus model on sale from previous gen.

 

[webkit]

Imagine forking out £799 for a phone with the same features as those in the £499,

Or a £999 device with the same RAM and similar chip to the cheap phone

What a joke

Other than size, similar could've been said about the original $399 (around $530 in today's dollars) iPhone SE compared to the $649 (around $862 in today's dollars) iPhone 6S and $749 (around $994 in today's dollars) 6S Plus at the time.

The SE and 6S models had same RAM, same chip, same 4G LTE, same Touch ID, single 12MP cameras, etc.