Why the Next iPhone SE Will Divide Longtime Fans of Apple’s Cheapest Phone

For years, the iPhone SE — which stands for “Special Edition” — has been the most affordable iPhone that Apple sells. The current model, the iPhone SE (3rd generation), was released in March 2022 and still sells for $429. However, it feels quite dated today.

The good news is that Apple is rumored to be gearing up to release a fourth-generation iPhone SE. The catch? It might lose many things that made the previous iPhone SE special.

For those unaware, Apple has made a tradition with the iPhone SE of essentially putting new guts in an old form factor. That way, it can offer a “new” iPhone while keeping costs down.

For example, the iPhone SE (3rd generation) has the same body as the 2017-released iPhone 8, but it has an A15 Bionic chip — the same processor used by Apple’s iPhone 13 line — and support for 5G. Before it, the 2020-released iPhone SE (2nd generation) had the same body as the 2014-released iPhone 6.

According to MacRumors, the rumored iPhone SE (fourth-generation) is expected to adopt the form factor of 2022’s iPhone 14, which isn’t great news for fans of nostalgic and small iPhones.

Photo by Tucker Bowe for Gear Patrol

RIP to the Home button

The current iPhone SE (3rd generation) is the only iPhone Apple sells that still has the nostalgic Home button. If the rumors are true that the next iPhone SE will adopt the body of the iPhone 14, however, it will not have the Home button.

After the iPhone X, released in 2017, every iPhone ditched the Home button (and Touch ID) and adopted Face ID instead. So, owners of the previous iPhone SE will have to get used to a new way of unlocking and interacting with their iPhones.

That’s right, it’s the end of an era.

The last of the truly small iPhones

The rumors aren’t great for small iPhone fans, either. In addition to being the most affordable model, the current iPhone SE is also the smallest iPhone that Apple still sells. (RIP to the iPhone “mini,” which Apple discontinued after the iPhone 13 mini.)

The upcoming iPhone SE (fourth generation) will have a much larger screen than its predecessor—6.1 inches versus 4.7 inches—but it will also be a bigger iPhone.

Judging by the measurements of the iPhone 14, the rumored iPhone SE will be roughly 0.3 inches longer and 0.2 inches wider than the third-generation iPhone SE. It’ll also be about 30 grams heavier.

Photo by Tucker Bowe for Gear Patrol

The next iPhone SE will be more expensive

Over the years, Apple has given each iPhone SE generation a slight increase in price — the iPhone SE (third generation) launched at $429, which was $30 more expensive than the $399 iPhone SE (second generation) at launch — and, naturally, the next iPhone SE is expected to get a price bump too.

There are conflicting rumors surrounding the starting price of the iPhone SE (fourth generation), but it’s generally agreed that it’ll go for between $450 and $499.

This is still likely to be a good deal more affordable than the upcoming iPhone 16, which — if consistent with the iPhone 15 — will likely start at $799. But the “affordable” iPhone isn’t as affordable as it used to be.

When will the new iPhone SE be released?

The iPhone SE (fourth generation) won’t likely be released this September alongside the iPhone 16 lineup. Instead, according to MacRumors, Apple is expected to release it in spring 2025.

This is consistent with the release of Apple’s previous iPhone SE models. For example, the third-generation and second-generation iPhone SEs were released in March 2022 and April 2020, respectfully.

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