The latest rumors about a new iPhone SE say this model will likely be announced in 2025 with Apple’s new in-house 5G modem. The information comes from Haitong Internacional Securities analyst Jeff Pu (via MacRumors). He reports that TSMC will manufacture Apple’s 5G modem.
Pu’s analysis goes against the latest report by Ming-Chi Kuo, in which he says Apple is planning to launch the new iPhone SE in 2024.
Kuo has said that Apple will indeed adopt an in-house 5G baseband chip produced by a 4nm process (similar to 5nm) for the new iPhone SE, and it will only support Sub-6GHz as the current plan. That said, it’s still unclear if the company will use these chips for the iPhone 16 series, as “the main challenge lies in whether Apple can overcome the technical obstacles related to mmWave and satellite communications.”
In addition to that, Kuo says the iPhone SE 4 will feature a similar design to the 6.1-inch iPhone 14, meaning it will have the same design, a smaller notch, and an OLED display. Currently, Apple uses the same design as the 2017 iPhone 8 for the iPhone SE 3.
With a redesign, an OLED display, and in-house 5G support, we still don’t know which processor Apple will actually use for this device. Besides that, there are no signs of Apple adopting a dual-system camera module or if it will follow the iPhone XR trend and continue offering only one main camera.
That said, the iPhone SE 4 will also need a few other camera tricks, such as Night Mode, which is still unavailable for the current generation.
While it was rumored that the current iPhone SE could turn a billion Android owners into switchers, the lack of new features, the classic design, and a price hike made this generation sell poorly.
BGR will keep reporting on the new iPhone SE 4. This smartphone will likely launch by 2024 or 2025, depending on how Apple advances with its in-house 5G chip production.
