The Apple Intelligence is the biggest addition to iPhones this year. But with the advanced hardware requirements, it was only made compatible with the iPhone 15 Pro (review) duo. The entire iPhone 16 is widely expected to support Apple Intelligence, but besides the lineup, Apple might also give its next-gen iPhone SE a big AI treatment.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has written in its latest Power On newsletter that the iPhone SE 4 will likely run Apple Intelligence once it launches. Per the last rumor, the next budget iPhone SE could hit the scene in early 2025 as opposed to arriving at the end of this year.
What could be the chipset of Apple’s next iPhone SE
While the development will be quite surprising, it also suggests that the next iPhone SE could feature powerful internals to enable this wide range of new generative AI iPhone features.
As we all know, Apple Intelligence requires an A17 Pro chip and a minimum of 8 GB RAM to run on iPhones, so there’s a big chance the new iPhone SE could share hardware with the iPhone 15 Pro or any with the iPhone 16 model, which will adopt the A18 chipset.
In addition to the upgraded internals, the iPhone SE 4 is rumored to sport a similar design to the iPhone 14, which will be a radical departure from the 2022 iPhone SE (review) which featured an outdated exterior. It should also switch from an LCD to a wider and better AMOLED display. With an onboard Apple Intelligence, the iPhone SE 4 could be the most worthwhile entry to the budget iPhone lineup.
But to make the iPhone SE 4 more affordable than the standard iPhones, Apple could cut corners by fitting it with less capable components such as a single rear snapper and a lower water-resistance rating, among others.
However, it’s still unknown how much the 2025 iPhone SE might cost or if the added Apple Intelligence and hardware enhancements will make it pricier than the current iPhone SE, which is available for $400.
What are your thoughts on Apple leaving the older premium iPhones unsupported with Apple Intelligence and possibly integrating one with the iPhone SE 4? We want to hear your opinion in the comments.
