Wesley Hilliard
Apple's generally under-featured and inexpensive iPhone SE could get quite the update for its fourth generation, says anonymous leaker, claiming Face ID, USB-C, Action button, OLED, and more.
The iPhone SE 4 has somewhat been an anomaly for the rumor cycle. It's been canceled at least once, called a testing tool for modem development, and has taken on several different designs.
The latest leak info dump comes from an anonymous source speaking to MacRumors. It seems Apple is at least testing several significant upgrades for the iPhone SE 4, but it isn't yet clear what will be available at launch.
According to the source, here's everything being tested for iPhone SE 4, codenamed Ghost:
- iPhone 14 chassis
- Action button
- USB-C port
- Single 48MP rear camera
- OLED display
- Face ID
- In-house 5G modem
Since it is using an iPhone 14 chassis as the basis of its design, the iPhone SE 4 wouldn't have the curved edges found on iPhone 15. Also, Apple hasn't finalized the camera bump design, which could be either a single bump or a plateau housing the camera and flash.
If these upgrades sound too good to be true, it's because they do — if Apple released this product today. iPhone SE 4 is due in 2024 or 2025, and many of these upgrades may still feel fresh now but could become cost-effective by release time.
We could easily foresee an iPhone SE 4 being an iPhone 14 with USB-C, OLED, and Face ID. The inclusion of the 48MP sensor and the Action button are the more questionable portions of this rumor.
The 48MP sensor is getting cheaper to manufacture and has trickled down to the iPhone 15, but that doesn't make it cost-effective for a budget model yet. That could change in a year.
The Action button is the oddest aspect of this rumor. It's only available on iPhone 15 Pro models and would require additional modifications to the iPhone 14 design — adding to costs.
However, Apple could move the Action button to be a feature for all devices in 2024 and include it in the base iPhone 16. Then, it could come to iPhone SE 4 when it launches.
Since the source is anonymous, it is difficult to grade the accuracy of this rumor. It doesn't go out of its way to add anything outlandish and is in line with other reliable sources, so we've rated it possible.
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10 Comments
I’d rate this as “very doubtful” — although having essentially an iPhone 14 for an iPhone SE price would be lovely, the costs you point out would mean the SE would be a) larger, which is not really what the audience for it wants, and b) more expensive, which the audience for this REALLY doesn’t want.
Don't want the SE to get any larger. The only, and I mean the only, reason I have for owning an SE is the size, which allows me to fit it sideways in exercise jersey pockets, so it doesn't flip out from hitting bumps on a bike ride, or impacts when running. That's it. And if it gets any larger, I suppose I'll keep my 2020 until there are no more OS updates. Then I'd probably get a cellular watch and leave the old SE at home, rather than buy a bigger phone. You hear that, Apple?
At some point, why do the SE at all and just use the previous year non-pro phone? The 14 didn’t have USB-C either so that would be another modification to the chassis besides action button. What about mag-safe? It is weird having a phone without it. I did the magnet sticker thing on my case to allow my SE3 use our holder and help with alignment. I know there was always a point when fingerprinting was going away, I chose the SE for cost and fingerprint ability.
These rumors seem pretty out there for a SE. action button, OLED, etc?
Please make it the size of iPhone 13 Mini (or even better the same size as the first iPhone SE) and make it optional to use Deep Fusion.