Apple’s budget iPhone SE 4 is coming, and it is going to destroy the Android budget smartphone competition, specifically phones like the Pixel 6A for $450. The iPhone SE 4 is going to dominate, and I’m going to explain why in this article. However, there are going to be some changes to the iPhone lineup in terms of pricing that will cause the SE 4 to become a little more expensive, but I’ll explain later on in this article.
Now, getting into these leaks, you probably already know that last year, in December, Ming Shuko came out and said that Apple is going to cancel or postpone the 2024 iPhone SE 4. My take was, well, if they’re going to postpone it, they’re probably just going to cancel it anyway because they have it on a two-year cycle timeline. As you know, the iPhone SE 2 came out in April of 2020, and then almost two years later, in March of 2022, the SE 3 came out. So, it basically made sense for the 2024 iPhone SE to come out in the springtime, and if it was going to get delayed, then there’s no point, it has to come out in the spring of 2024.
Also Read: iPad Mini 6 Review is it Worth it?
So, I figured they were just going to cancel it, and then, guess what?
Mishiko came back in January and said Apple is no longer planning to launch it next year; it is officially canceled. But no, that wasn’t the end of the story; there was more to it. Mishiko changed his mind, and it turns out that the iPhone SE 4 is still coming next year.
Display
But guess what? It is going to be even better than any of us expected: a 6.1-inch OLED display with Apple’s 5G custom chip. And that is awesome because a couple of years ago, John Prosser leaked and revealed that the iPhone SE 4 would use the iPhone XR’s design, and it totally makes sense because Apple usually takes old designs and gives them to the cheaper phones like the SE. So, it was supposed to use the 6.1-inch LCD iPhone XR design, but it is getting even better this time around.
Not only is it getting a 6.1-inch OLED display, but it’s actually going to be a modification of the iPhone 14 that we have right now with the new flat-sided redesign, not the old design like the iPhone XR. This is the new design, and even better.
Qualcomm Chip
It’s probably going to be the first iPhone ever to come with Apple’s custom baseband 5G chip. That was actually confirmed by an executive, or the CEO of Qualcomm, which makes the current 5G chips that go into the iPhones. He says he expects Apple to use their own 5G modem chips in 2024, and that likely means that it’s going to be the iPhone SE as the first one. And why would Apple do this instead of just giving the iPhone 16 lineup the more expensive phones?
The 5G chip will work well in the iPhone because Apple is likely going to save money with their own chip compared to buying parts off the shelf from Qualcomm, which has higher prices.
However, it seems unlikely that the iPhone SE will receive the updated iPhone 14 design. The current iPhone SE 3rd gen is old and has a 4.7 inch LCD display, rounded design, and even a home button. Why would Apple give the iPhone SE4 the same design as the iPhone 14?
I believe it’s because Apple is on a mission to charge more money. The iPhone 15 lineup will probably be more expensive across the board, with at least a $100 difference on the Pro models, and possibly on the regular iPhone 15s as well.
Design
The iPhone 15 has actually been leaked, showing off its full front design with the dynamic Island at the top. This means that the notch is going away. So, the iPhone SE4 will have this design, but with a notch, while the iPhone 15 will no longer have a notch. The iPhone SE4 will likely have USBC as well. We can see the rounded design with flat sides that curve and match the 2.5D glass. According to Shrimp Apple Pro, the display on the iPhone 15 will still be around 6.1 inches, but with thinner bezels.
The iPhone 15 will have a true 6.1 inch screen compared to the 6.06 inches on the iPhone 14. We have exclusive CADs of the iPhone 15 release from Max Weinbach, and if you look closely, you can see that the bottom or sides have a flat design, but then a curve comes in compared to the iPhone 14, which does not have that curve. This means that the iPhone 15 will have a newer design and feel more fresh and premium, while the iPhone SE4 will stick to the older, completely flat side design.
However, the iPhone 15 Pro will be even better with more features packed in and new design changes that the iPhone 15 is not getting. Before I get into that, let me talk about the Magic Stand Case from our partner K SKU, which combines the best and most wanted aspects of a case into one. Not only does it have a great and durable design with stronger Max Save magnets built-in, but the Max A Freeing is literally on a hinge, so you can use it as a finger grip or a 40 to 120 degree stand.
The best part is that it folds back completely flush with the case, so it doesn’t interfere with any of your other Max Save Chargers or accessories. Check out the link in the video description below for all the discount info. Now, getting back to the iPhone 15 Pro, this phone is going to be absolutely insane. As you can see, we have a massive camera bump with this new design and USB-C, maybe even Thunderbolt. If you look right here, the camera bump is huge; it takes up a big part of the back of the phone, and the bump itself is almost as thick as the actual phone, which blows my mind. And as you can see right here, we are going to have even thinner bezels than we already have on the 14 Pro.
This design is going to be insane. Not only that, but the iPhone 15 Pro’s A17 Bionic chip is going to bring major performance and battery life gains to the 15 Pro lineup due to the three-nanometer process from TSMC. And here’s a crazy thing: Apple has basically taken the entire initial supply of three-nanometer chips from TSMC for their iPhones and M3 chip.
The A17 Bionic chip with three-nanometer could be 35% more energy-efficient, leading to huge battery life gains. And I don’t think that’s the end of it because I personally think that three-nanometer is going to bring a new core design to both the CPU and GPU, probably including ray tracing for the GPU cores, improved efficiency in other features like lower heat, less display dimming, and 8K 60 video recording, which I hope is coming.
We can’t forget the titanium finish, which is going to be exclusive to the 15 Pro models. I mean, this is going to look absolutely incredible. We also have the new button design on the 15 Pro, where it’s actually going to have solid-state buttons. Yes, just like the Touch ID button, which doesn’t actually move, or this trackpad, the Force Touch trackpad, which doesn’t move at all. Yes, those Force Touch buttons are coming to the 15 Pro models only. So because of that, I think Apple is going to increase the price of the 15 Pro models, which will allow them to increase the price of the 15s a little bit. And then that leaves a huge gap between the SE3 right now and the regular iPhone. So I think that the iPhone SE is going to end up costing at least five hundred dollars. But because of the feature set, it is going to be an absolute steal of a deal, at least compared to other Android phones, especially for the reliable iOS software. And the last piece of the puzzle is USB-C. Is the new SE4 going to get it? Well, it is going to be coming out in the spring of 2024, and technically, Apple has until the end of 2024 to have their iPhones use Lightning. The issue is that if they release it with Lightning in the spring.
They’re kind of going to have to get rid of it in the fall, or at least by the end of the year, in the EU. So, does Apple cancel it in the EU, force people to buy the regular iPhone, or do they just give it the USB-C port right away? I’m not sure, but one thing for certain is that Apple is planning MFi for USB-C, which is going to limit your data speeds and charging speeds, and if you’re using some crappy third-party cable, they’re going to force you to buy the nice USB-C MFi cables to get the best features, which is unfortunate.
Shrimp Apple Pro has confirmed this, but either way, I think the iPhone SE4 is going to be a really killer budget phone, and I’m personally really excited for it because the previous design sucked with the Touch ID button, the crappy 4.7-inch LCD display, and the new one with OLED and the new flat-sided design is going to be awesome. So let me know your thoughts down in the comment section below, and if you enjoyed this video, click the circle above to subscribe, and definitely check out one of those two videos right there. Thanks for watching, and we’ll see you in the next one.
