The iPhone SE 4, reportedly launching as soon as March, could be a game changer for people who have been waiting for a modern iPhone that doesn’t break the bank.
The iPhone SE 2022 has been Apple's best (and only) affordable iPhone, but it's really starting to show it's age with its small display, Touch ID button and lackluster main camera. Here's the 7 biggest iPhone SE 4 upgrades you need to know.
A larger OLED display
The previous iPhone SE 2022 had a puny 4.7-inch LCD screen, but the iPhone SE 4 is rumored to feature a much larger 6.1-inch OLED panel. To me, that's the difference between squinting and not. Furthermore, the OLED panel would make a dramatic difference in visual quality with its richer color tones and stronger contrast.
Face ID (finally)
There's lots of people who still like the Touch ID button because you can unlock your iPhone without looking, but Face ID is easy to use and secure. And while the resulting notch on at the top of the display can be annoying, hopefully Apple will give it the Dynamic Island feature that displays live activities and alerts, such as the eta of your Uber ride.
A more powerful rear camera
The iPhone SE 4 is tipped to feature a 48MP main camera, which would be the only lens on the back on the phone. Still, this would be a huge upgrade from the 12MP on the iPhone SE 2022 model.
With that sort of resolution, you should be able to get a decent digital zoom through the help of the pixel binning tech that Apple has perfected, though ultra wide pics are out of the question. The iPhone SE 2022 is so old it also lacked a night mode, which will naturally come with the new camera.
A18 chip and Apple Intelligence
When it launches the iPhone SE 4 should be the most affordable phone that supports Apple Intelligence features, from the new Siri and Writing Tools to Image Playground and Genmoji. And that’s because it’s expected to pack the same A18 Bionic chip as the iPhone 16 series.
The iPhone SE 4 will likely be the fastest phone in its price range, as we expect to beat the Google Pixel 8a's Tensor G3 chip and the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2-powered OnePlus 12R. Although there is a new OnePlus 13R on the way.
An affordable price
To be clear, the iPhone SE 4 might not be as cheap as the current iPhone SE, which is $429. We’re hearing the new iPhone SE could cost as much as $499. That wouldn’t be too bad when you consider that the Google Pixel 8a also costs $499 when it’s not on sale. Given that that the iPhone 16 starts at $799, a $300 cheaper price is a huge deal.
Apple's first 5G modem
The iPhone SE 4 is tipped to be the very first handset to feature Apple’s own 5G modem, which would shift the company away from Qualcomm. We’re not sure how fast this modem is going to be, but with Apple in fuller control over the hardware, we could see even better battery life through the efficiency gains.
Longer battery life
The iPhone SE 2022 had a tiny battery at 2,018 mAh and lasted an okay-but-not-great 9 hours and 5 minutes. By comparison, the iPhone 16 lasted 12 hours and 43 minutes, so we would hope that the new iPhone SE 4 model would approach that with its rumored 3,279 mAh battery. We'll have to see if the iPhone SE 4 is good enough it could make our best phone battery life list.
Outlook
While inflation is somewhat under control now and some prices are coming down for certain things like gas, lots and lots of people are still hurting financially. So an iPhone SE with a bigger and better display, more powerful, better camera and access to Apple Intelligence for under $500 could be a huge hit for shoppers and for Apple.
I’m not saying the iPhone 17 won’t be exciting, and I’m very intrigued to see just how thin the iPhone 17 Air might be. But overall I think the iPhone SE 4 will be the most important phone in 2025.
