Not just for flagships? Apple Intelligence now rumored for next iPhone SE

Since its inception, the idea behind the iPhone SE has been to provide a much more affordable way into the Apple phone family – although it wouldn’t be correct to call the SE ‘cheap’. According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, that tradition will continue with the upcoming fourth generation iPhone SE set to launch in “the beginning of 2025” – and the new model will also pack enough punch to run Apple’s on-device AI smarts, aka Apple Intelligence.

While it perhaps shouldn’t be shocking that a new iPhone will include one of Apple’s biggest marketing points, the demanding hardware requirements of Apple Intelligence made it anything but certain. This year’s iPhone 16 will obviously have enough horsepower to drive the new AI, but only two older handsets will be compatible: the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max.

While speaking at WWDC 2024, Apple’s Senior VP of Machine Learning John Giannandrea said that you “could in theory run these models on a very old device”, but due to the bandwidth, size of the ANE (Apple Neural Engine) and “oomph in the device”, “it would be so slow it would not be useful” – which is why Apple Intelligence is exclusive to the most powerful iPhones.

So if Bloomberg’s report that we can bet the iPhone SE “will have Apple Intelligence” is correct, that not only means you won’t need to pay for flagship rates for AI access, it also means the iPhone SE 4 will be at least as powerful as the iPhone 15 Pro.

Apple Intelligence and the power associated with it isn’t the only new rumor that’s got us excited to see the new budget model, either.

Apple’s current iPhone SE uses a chassis design that’s similar to the iPhone 11. (Image credit: Future)

There have been mixed reports about its design, with some suggesting the iPhone SE could look near-identical to the iPhone XR. It seems the latest rumor, at least according to Bloomberg, is that the iPhone SE will look very similar to the iPhone 14, with a 6.1-inch OLED display that covers the entire screen.

Now, how much Apple Intelligence actually matters to normal people is questionable – but having the power and snappy performance needed to handle that AI functionality suggests the next iPhone SE will offer great bang for buck regardless.

The most recent 2022 iPhone SE 2022 launched at $429 / £419 / AU$719 but if the rumors are true, the iPhone SE 4 could see at least a small price increase – although with Apple continuing to sell multiple generations of older iPhones it honestly doesn’t have a lot of wiggle room if it wants to maintain the SE’s position as the entry-level option. Moreover, even if the price were to increase to around $529 / £499 / AU$900, it would still be considerably cheaper than the next nearest AI-compatible handset, with the iPhone 15 Pro currently costing $999 / £999 / AU$1,849.

If the iPhone SE performs better than an iPhone 15, looks like an iPhone 14 and doesn’t lose sight of its base objective of affordability, it will be one hell of an upgrade to an SE line of phone’s that we were starting to think Apple had abandoned. While we’re unlucky to nail down specifics, we should get some answers in September.