Revolutionizing the Future of Smartphones: How the iPhone SE4 Could Break New Ground for Apple
The Future of iPhone: Apple Intelligence and the Rumored iPhone SE 4
As we approach the end of the year, it’s natural to wonder what new changes will come to the tech world in the next 12 months. And, it looks like it’s going to be an intriguing year for the iPhone. While we’re used to expecting new flagship phones, this time it’s about the heavily-rumored iPhone SE 4.
We’re starting to get used to expecting a new lower-end iPhone model from Apple every couple of years. But there’s something different in these rumors that’s caught my attention – and it’s not about the rumored hardware. It’s about the strong possibility that the new iPhone SE could be coming with Apple Intelligence baked in, which would be huge for a phone tipped to be sold for under $500.
Smarter than your average budget phone
Up until now, Apple Intelligence has been firmly marketed as available on the most expensive iPhones: the iPhone 15 Pro range and the latest iPhone 16 models. While this is still all firmly speculation, to bring the AI capabilities to a lower-end model could be a huge selling point for Apple.
If it can build momentum for the features, it could help attract (and keep hold of) people who want to upgrade their smartphone but don’t care to spend huge amounts on a new phone just to get a bit of a spec bump. While some buyers want multiple cameras and have strong opinions about the notch at the top of the screen, many others just want an iPhone – it’s what they’ve used happily for years and have an ecosystem of gadgets that it slots into.
A new potential poster child
All this reminds me heavily of 2019’s Google Pixel 3a – the ‘a’ range being the budget version of the flagship Pixel phones from the search giant, the closest equivalent to Apple’s iPhone SE models. What was interesting there was that Google had brought many of the high-end photography features from the more expensive Pixel phone to the budget model. Using the on-phone AI smarts, owners of the sub-$400 phone were able to get access to advanced photography features like Night Sight (one of the earliest examples of computational photography being used to enhance night scenes).
Taking cues from Google?
If Apple does decide to make Intelligence the headline feature of the new iPhone SE 4, the success could depend on whether the new capabilities are alluring enough. Users could be loath to ditch their fingerprint sensor, or be worried about going up to a ‘big’ phone (although 6.1 inches is still below the worldwide average smartphone display size). This is where the word of mouth or demonstrations from friends will be invaluable to Apple, with people keen to show off their AI artwork or being able to quickly do tasks that used to require more effort.
Should I wait?
So what does that mean for you, especially if you’re considering buying a new phone in the near future? I’d be sorely tempted to at least wait and see if Apple does, indeed, launch a new iPhone SE in the early part of 2025. That’s because I want to know how the rollout of Apple Intelligence will continue, how long the full suite of promised features takes to arrive, and whether the rumored release date for those line up with the predicted launch of the new SE.
The key thing will depend on momentum. If Apple’s marketing campaigns for Intelligence continue apace, and showcase the new capabilities in onscreen awareness combined with enhanced photo editing or the like, then it could be a compelling reason for some to upgrade to a new iPhone for less than they might have expected.
