Over the previous 12 months, Apple has reportedly been lining up the items for its subsequent iPhone SE, and whereas most reviews recommend we gained’t see it till 2025, it may turn into rather more on par with Apple’s mainstream iPhone lineup than prior fashions have been.
We’ve already heard hints the following iPhone SE will comply with the design of the bottom iPhone 14 mannequin — proper right down to the battery packed into it — and in addition undertake an OLED show. It’s doable it may be a proving floor for Apple’s new 5G modem chip, though that final declare has develop into a bit extra doubtful in gentle of newer reviews on Apple’s struggling efforts to construct its new modem chip.
Adopting the type of the iPhone 14 for a 2025 iPhone SE can be conserving according to Apple’s custom of utilizing a 2.5-year-old design for every new mannequin of its finances iPhone. The 2016 iPhone SE was primarily based on the 2013 iPhone 5s, and the 2020 iPhone SE was visually an identical to the iPhone 8, with the one change being the brand new A13 chip inside, taken from the iPhone 11 lineup launched just a few months earlier.
Though by that sample, the third-generation iPhone SE launched in 2022 ought to have adopted the design of the 2019 iPhone 11, that one was primarily an interim replace supposed to deliver 5G assist to the low-cost iPhone.
Nevertheless, because the iPhone 14 was launched in 2022, an early 2025 iPhone SE that featured the identical design can be par for the course. Even the rumors that it’s going to undertake Face ID aren’t that uncommon; whereas many anticipated the following iPhone SE would go together with a side-button Contact ID, much like what’s discovered on Apple’s entry-level and mid-tier iPads, that’s extra of an assumption than something primarily based on any actual proof.
In spite of everything, the iPhone 14 has Face ID, so if the following iPhone SE follows that design, there’s no motive for Apple to keep away from it aside from doable value issues. We’ve by no means had an iPhone SE with out a dwelling button on the entrance, so we’re in uncharted territory right here. Nobody outdoors of Apple is aware of precisely what the corporate plans to do.
Nonetheless, we’ve heard some reviews that it may transcend the iPhone 14 design. A few of these are probably small however needed adjustments — a USB-C port on the underside, for example — whereas others are extra uncommon, like together with Apple’s new multi-purpose Motion Button. That’s unique to the iPhone 15 Professional lineup proper now, however most agree that it’s going to come to your entire iPhone 16 household this 12 months, so it wouldn’t be a stretch for subsequent 12 months’s iPhone SE to get it within the title of uniformity. In spite of everything, there’s no motive Apple’s most reasonably priced iPhone must be the odd stepchild of the household.
Alongside the identical strains, a brand new rumor means that Apple may additionally undertake the Dynamic Island, following extra carefully to the design of the upcoming iPhone 16 as an alternative.
This report comes from leaker Majin Bu, who has a combined observe file for accuracy, and since even they’re hedging their bets, we’d advocate taking this one with a massive dose of salt.
Nevertheless, it’s not that far-fetched — at the very least not the half concerning the Dynamic Island. By the point the iPhone 16 comes out, the notch might be nicely within the rear-view mirror. Apple could also be very reluctant to successfully reintroduce the notch on a brand new telephone, particularly because it’s additionally a consumer interface factor that it’s been encouraging builders to embrace.
Whether or not Apple will undertake the iPhone 16 design is one other matter. Different latest reviews have recommended the iPhone 16 will transfer the cameras again into the vertical association we had on the iPhone 12 whereas maybe even transferring to an iPhone X/XS type capsule format for the digital camera bump.
Majin Bu additionally shared a render of what a single-camera iPhone SE would appear like in that latter configuration, and it’s not arduous to see how which may work. It additionally matches the design in renders we’ve seen of the upcoming iPad Air.
Apple may very well be going for tighter design uniformity in its 2025 iPhone lineup, permitting the iPhone SE to mix extra naturally into the remainder of the household fairly than feeling just like the odd duck. Whereas Apple often leads fairly than follows with regards to design, even Samsung has moved to a standard aesthetic throughout its total lineup of Galaxy telephones; from the extraordinarily finances Galaxy A04 to the flagship Galaxy S24 Extremely, there’s a unified design language that makes it clear all of them belong to 1 large completely satisfied household of smartphones.
Utilizing older designs for the iPhone SE made sense when Apple was going via its transition years, altering issues up each 3-4 fashions. Nevertheless, we’ve now had a constant design because the iPhone 12. Except there are vital adjustments on this 12 months’s iPhone 16 lineup (which isn’t more likely to occur), this may mark the primary time within the historical past of the iPhone that Apple has caught with the identical design for greater than 4 years.
[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.]