Apple is nearing production of an updated iPhone SE —that will become its new entry-level model, reports Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.
Quoting unnamed “people with knowledge of the matter,” he says the release will see the SE move away from the old home button design and transition to an edge-to-edge screen. This will be the first update to the iPhone SE since 2022.
“The SE overhaul will help Apple compete in the low-end smartphone market, where it faces tough competition from Android devices — especially in China,” Gurman says. “The current model costs $429, which is hundreds less than the standard iPhone but more expensive than many of its rivals. Modernizing the SE so it looks more like its higher-end siblings should help entice budget-minded shoppers and potentially win back market share lost to brands such as Huawei and Xiaomi.”
He adds that the company is also aiming to manufacture new iPad Air models and keyboards for release around the same time.
There are other rumors about an upcoming iPhone SE overhaul. It will offer a series of major upgrades over the current model, according to the leaker known as “Ice Universe” (as noted by MacRumors). The article claims the updated smartphone will offer:
° Face ID and USB-C;
° A display size increase from 4.7 inches to 6.06 inches;
° An OLED screen;
° Use an A18 chip;
° Offer 6GB to 8GB of LPDDR5 memory
° Sport an aluminum chassis and a single rear 48-megapixel camera.
Ice Universe thanks the upcoming iPhone SE will launch between March and May of 2025 with a price of US$499 to $549.
Other rumors have said that the an upcoming iPhone SE update will be based on the same chassis as the iPhone 14. However, according to the Weibo-based leaker “Fixed Focus Digital,” the backplate manufacturing process for the iPhone SE 4 is “exactly the same” as the standard model in Apple’s upcoming iPhone 16 lineup, which is expected to be released in September.
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