Will the 2025 iPhone SE Support Apple Intelligence?
Credit: iPhone SE 4 Concept [4RMD]
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It’s been years since Apple released a significantly new version of its wallet-friendly iPhone SE, but it looks like that will change next year with a fourth-generation iPhone SE that’s expected to be a game changer in more ways than one.
For one thing, following three generations of iPhone SE models with designs that have gotten progressively staler, the so-called “iPhone SE 4” will be a breath of fresh air, adopting a more modern look that will resemble the rest of Apple’s lineup rather than sticking out like a sore thumb.
While the original 2016 iPhone SE hearkened back to the design language of the iPhone 5s — something that many fans appreciated, especially for its smaller sizes — it still stood out a bit awkwardly alongside the larger iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus that had immediately preceded it. However, the second- and third-generation iPhone SE models felt downright anachronistic, with a bezeled screen adorned by a front-facing home button long after Apple had moved on to its gorgeous edge-to-edge designs with the iPhone X.
To put those in context, the 2020 iPhone SE arrived on the heels of the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max family, sporting the same A13 chip as those with a frame that was virtually indistinguishable from the iPhone 8. The 2022 iPhone SE has no design changes and was an upgrade intended primarily to bring 5G and a faster chip into the mix.
However, if the rumors are true, next year’s iPhone SE will fit much more naturally into the iPhone lineup, with an edge-to-edge front display, a side button, and, perhaps surprisingly, a Face ID sensor on the front. Sources suggest it will look like an iPhone 14, although the jury is still out on whether Apple will keep the notch on the front or adopt the Dynamic Island. A July report also suggested the look could be closer to this fall’s iPhone 16.
If Apple goes all the way down that road, it would be an unprecedented move, but it also makes sense for a few reasons. For one, the economy of scale suggests it’s far easier to leverage the manufacturing process for iPhone 16 frames than keep an assembly line running for older iPhone 14 models, especially since that lineup is expected to be entirely discontinued by the end of 2025. Leaving the notch in place would also be unusual at a time when the rest of the lineup has embraced the Dynamic Island, which isn’t merely a decorative component but also a significant user interface element.
Affordable AI
These are subtle differences in the grand scheme of things, but regardless of which way Apple goes with the external design, it’s what’s inside that will truly count.
It probably shouldn’t come as a big surprise that the next iPhone SE will feature the same A18 chip that Apple plans to use in this fall’s iPhone 16 lineup. If reports of Apple splitting that into two tiers, the iPhone SE will naturally get the lower one (the A18 as opposed to the “A18 Pro”), but it’s almost certainly going to be a modern chip either way.
That’s par for the course with the iPhone SE. The 2016 model has the same A9 chip that was introduced in the iPhone 6s a few months earlier, and that continued with the iPhone 11’s A13 in the 2020 iPhone SE and the iPhone 13’s A15 in the 2022 model. It would be a big surprise if Apple didn’t use the iPhone 16’s A18 in the early 2025 iPhone SE.
Since the entire iPhone 16 lineup is slated to support iOS 18’s new Apple Intelligence features, this means the iPhone SE should also be included. Technically, Apple could still hamper that by packing less RAM into the SE model — most experts believe the main reason other iPhone models can’t do Apple Intelligence isn’t their older chips, but their more limited RAM — it seems highly unlikely Apple would do that.
After all, Apple Intelligence is going to be the way forward. Apple calls it “AI for the rest of us,” and it’s in the company’s best interests to bring it to as many devices as possible. There’s a very good chance the next entry-level iPad will have an M1 chip inside for the same reason; it just makes no sense for Apple to release any new iPhones, iPads, or Macs that can’t take advantage of what it considers the next evolution of the Apple experience.
Beyond that, we can expect the 2025 iPhone SE to get an OLED display for the first time, likely the same quality as what’s been used in recent standard iPhone models, plus Face ID and, of course, a USB-C port. Some sources also suggest Apple will add the Action button from the iPhone 15 Pro, as that’s expected to become standard across the entire iPhone 16 lineup. That adds more fuel to the idea that it will more closely resemble an iPhone 16. However, there’s no word on whether it will gain the new Capture button expected to come to this year’s models, and one thing we can be sure of is that the camera system will continue to be a notch below the rest of the lineup.
[The information provided in this article has NOT been confirmed by Apple and may be speculation. Provided details may not be factual. Take all rumors, tech or otherwise, with a grain of salt.]
