News and insights about the update of Apple's cheapest smartphone, the iPhone SE, are becoming more and more frequent. According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, his sources indicate that next week we can expect a full-fledged release of the new iPhone SE 4 model.
This is further indicated by the gradual disappearance of the current model from Apple's retail stores, and online ordering of certain configurations offers longer delivery times. This is usually seen just before the launch of updated devices. The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus are also running out of stock.
With a design dating back to the iPhone 8, the SE model is currently the last to have a physical Home button and a built-in fingerprint scanner, does not have a full-frontal screen, still offers a Lightning port rather than USB-C (which is why it is no longer sold in the EU)... And all of this will change next week.
The iPhone SE 4 is expected to have a more modern design than the iPhone 14, an A18 processor and 8 GB of RAM (which will allow the use of Apple Intelligence features), replace the fingerprint sensor with Face ID face scanning, and charge via USB-C.
Additionally, this model will have the first cellular modem of Apple's own production, which aims to reduce dependence on other manufacturers (currently, such modems are supplied by Qualcomm).
The current price of the iPhone SE in the US starts at $429. With the updated design, it is expected to rise, but remain competitive with cheaper smartphones from Samsung, Google, and other manufacturers. According to previous reports, the iPhone SE 4 will cost $499.
Gurman notes that there will be no separate presentation, the company will limit itself to a press release and an updated page on its website. Traditionally, Apple declined to comment.