iPhone SE 4 live updates — all the big iPhone 16E news as it happens
Today is the day! Apple is set to announce "the newest member of the family" sometime today, February 19, and we should get our first official look at the iPhone SE 4. And it could end up being called the iPhone 16E.
You'll definitely want to pay attention to all of the info we have to share in our iPhone SE 4 liveblog, which contains everything we know about Apple's upcoming fourth generation 'budget' iPhone.
This announcement comes earlier than previous years when the iPhone SE 2022 and iPhone SE 2020 were unveiled in March and April respectively.
Given how there's been fierce competition around the best cheap phones, an iPhone SE 4 would certainly reignite Apple's position considering that it's been almost 3 years since the last one.
But there could be more that Apple could quietly announce, as whispers around a new HomePod 3 with display and new AirTag have circulated since Tim Cook's announcement on X. Here's everything we know so far.
The iPhone SE 4 could reportedly have a different name — maybe iPhone 16E
Analysts say the new iPhone SE could break sales records
The new iPhone SE could be the first iPhone with Apple's own 5G modem
Tim Cook shared the date for the next Apple event, February 19, with what appears to be a video of the Apple logo shimmering within a bubble. It's hard to infer what this imagery could hint at, but Cook's message does say that we should be ready to "meet the newest member of the family."
So far, an iPhone SE 4 announcement is the leading candidate given how there have been a lot of rumors and leaks around it in the last several weeks. Given how the last one came out in 2022, the model is long overdue for an upgrade given how the iPhone SE 2022 has become laughably dated amongst the best cheap phones conversation.
In the last year alone, we've seen strong challengers from the Pixel 8a, Nothing Phone 2a, and OnePlus 12R, which all put to shame the iPhone SE 2022.
Even before it's announced, there's optimism about the fourth generation iPhone SE model as analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says that Apple could ship 10 million units in the first half of 2025. he goes on to say that it could be "performing slightly better than previous SE models."
This record breaking mark isn't a surprise given how it's been years since the last model, with a span of three years. Paired with a much lower cost than the cheapest iPhone 16, consumers might be attracted to pick up the iPhone SE 4.
Of course, there are going to be tradeoffs going with a cheaper model, but it'll be interesting to see what Apple Intelligence features that the company decides to roll out to it.
Speaking of iPhone SE 4 rumors, there's a lot for Apple to change since the iPhone SE 2022's release three years ago. Apple's going to need to make a lot of big changes if the iPhone SE 4 has a chance at beating some of our favorite best cheap phones.
We detail all the big upgrades that could come to the iPhone SE 4, like a new Apple A18 chip, improved camera, OLED screen, and much more. Based on all the leaks and rumors, it should adopt the iPhone 14's design.
More confirmation about a potential iPhone SE 4 release comes from an accidental listing from French retailer Boulanger. While the placeholder doesn't explicitly mention the iPhone SE 4, it does translate to "Smartphone Apple new smartphone coming soon iPhone."
Another tidbit from the accidental listing includes the price, which at €9,999.05 (~$10,395) appears to be yet just another placeholder until it's confirmed. We expect the actual cost to be around $499, which would be an increase of $70 over the last iPhone SE 2022.
In the three years since Apple released the iPhone SE 2022, there's no denying that there's going to be a fair amount of upgrades in store for the iPhone SE 4. Yet, there's could be one dealbreaker that could lead some to not buy it.
A Chinese retailer accidentally listed the phone in question, with a clear indication that it would be sporting 8GB of RAM and 64GB storage. Both are pitiful by today's standards, with the 8GB of RAM being the bare minimum to run Apple Intelligence features, but the 64GB of storage would be laughable for a phone that's likely to be $499.
There's been whispers about a potential new HomePod, which could very well be the gadget in question that Tim Cook's referring to in his post on X. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claimed in December that this new HomePod could feature a "6 to 7-inch OLED" display. However, he went on to sat that it could be delayed into the Q3 2025.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman also went on to say that this new HomePod is likely to launch this year. He described the new home hub as "the most significant release of the year."
Of course, this would be an ambitious release given how it would be the first time for Apple to explore a new product category. Right now, the closest thing to a home hub of sorts is StandBy Mode on the iPhone, but this would be a standalone device much like the Amazon Echo Show.
The iPhone SE 4 is probably on track to offer Apple Intelligence features, especially given how it's rumored to be powered by an A18 chip under the hood. That's the same chipset running on the current iPhone 16, which is built from the ground for AI.
While we're confident that this would mean getting access to Apple Intelligence features as the new Siri, Photo Clean Up, Writing Tools, and more, there is probably one that it won't get. That would be Visual Intelligence, due to how the Camera Control button is tied to the feature — something that doesn't appear to be coming in the iPhone SE 4.
There's a good probability that Apple will formally reveal the iPhone SE 4 at the company's expected announcement on February 19. This would mean that shoppers could pick it up very soon, but there's also the iPhone 17 to think about as well.
In our iPhone SE 4 vs. iPhone 17 comparison, we take all the rumors and everything we know about both unannounced phones and compare them. Even though we're still a long away before an iPhone 17 reveal at perhaps Apple's fall iPhone event, there's enough leaks and rumors that give us a preview of what to expect.
Given how Apple's kept the pricing of its standard iPhone model at $799, this would effectively make it $300 more than the rumored $499 cost of the iPhone SE 4. There's a lot to mull over that price difference, but we try to break it all down.
And here we are! February 19 is the day that Tim Cook mentioned when we'll "meet the latest member of the family." All fingers point at a possible iPhone SE 4 reveal, which could be rebranded as the iPhone 16E.
Nevertheless, we'll know before the day's over as to what Apple's expected to reveal. Aside from the iPhone SE 4, Apple's announcement could also be related to something else entirely different. Perhaps we'll get a new HomePod with an integrated display? Or perhaps a much-needed upgrade for the company's popular AirTag?
The iPhone SE series has never been greeted with many color options, which is to say that it might not be that different for the rumored iPhone SE 4. Currently, the iPhone SE 3 (the 2022 version) is available in three options: Midnight, Starlight, and Product Red.
According to known leaker Majin Bu, the iPhone SE 4 will be available in white or black. That's probably accurate, but you can't count out on Apple bringing out a Product Red version at some point. The only outlier in the series was the original iPhone SE, which was available in four colors: silver, gold, space grey, and rose gold.
Good morning, and happy Apple day! This is TG's Assistant Phones Editor Richard Priday, and I'll be steering this live blog for the early shift.
Today could be the day we see the first new iPhone SE in about three years, as well as the first update to Apple's AirTag trackers. We may even hear about upgrades to the Apple Vision Pro or MacBook Air, or maybe even some changes to the HomePod. But we'll get into those properly as the morning goes on.
The iPhone SE 2022, in case you're not familiar, is based on the iPhone 8 from 2017 - an aging design that Apple really should have replaced before now! Instead, the new iPhone SE is thought to use the shell of the iPhone 14 from 2022, but with a few changes that both improve its capabilities and tone down some other specs.
We've assumed for a long time that Apple would continue with the iPhone SE name, making this rumored new model the iPhone SE 4 or iPhone SE 2025. But tipsters, including Mark Gurman of Bloomberg, who point to Tim Cook's announcement as possible evidence of a name swap to iPhone 16E.
Describing the contents of the launch as "the newest member of the family" could mean a number of things. But with the existing rumors of the iPhone 16E name circulating, it could mean Apple retires the SE title and instead markets the new cheaper iPhone as a fully-fledged member of the iPhone 16 series. If that's the case, that could be good news for features and software, as Apple would probably not compare a vastly underpowered phone to its latest flagship models.
Price is always an important consideration when buying phones, and the price of the new iPhone SE could be make or break.
The current $430 price of the iPhone SE 3 places it firmly within our best cheap phones guide, and about half as much as the cheapest flagship iPhone 16. But if Apple bumps the price up to compensate for all the upgrades the new model is tipped to offer, then things could quickly change. Phones like the Nothing Phone 2a or Samsung Galaxy A35 offer superb specs for their costs, and the iPhone SE 4 sounds like it won't be able to fully compete based on other rumors. It would still be cheaper than other iPhones, but it may not be a true budget-friendly phone.
The rumored move to a whole new design for the iPhone SE means we could end up with an iPhone line-up without any models using the Touch ID home button.
Touch ID has been used on iPhones since the iPhone 5s launched in 2013, although the arrival of Face ID in 2017 with the iPhone X made it clear that its days were numbered. While it will live on through the iPad and iPad Air's power button-mounted versions and also the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro and Magic Keyboard, Apple only selling iPhones using Face ID is a historic moment.
Another feature the iPhone SE 4 could abandon is the Lightning port, Apple's proprietary charging connector that was in regular use up until the iPhone 15 series.
With the EU having passed legislation requiring all mobile devices to use a common charging standard, Apple has fallen in line with its Android rivals and adopted USB-C. This is the connector we should see on the iPhone SE 4, even though the iPhone 14 it's based on still came with Lightning.
Just like with Touch ID, the iPhone SE series has been carrying the torch for this outdated Apple tech for the past few years by itself. While the move to USB-C has been pretty smooth and certainly makes charging easier, it's funny to think we're seeing the end of Lightning for good.
Leaving the iPhone SE 4 to the side for a moment, today could see big changes to other Apple products.
The HomePod, Apple's smart speaker, last got an update in 2023, but is effectively the same kind of product as it was before. But the new HomePod 3 (or perhaps HomePad) could change things up dramatically by adding a display to the speaker, in the style of an Amazon Echo Show or the Google Pixel Tablet.
A new MacBook Air armed with an M4 chip like the latest MacBook Pros and iPad Pro could also be on the cards for today, or at least arrive within the next month.
No other big changes are believed to be coming to Apple's lightweight laptop, which is presumably why it's tipped to get a low-key launch announcement. But using Apple's latest silicon would mean a nice performance bump, helping the MacBook Air fare better against similar machines like the Snapdragon X Elite-powered Dell XPS 13 or Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x.
Whatever the iPhone SE 4 ends up offering, it's likely to be a big seller, with analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicting that the new iPhone SE will hit 22 million units sold by the end of the year.
This would make sense given the likely sub-$500 pricing. Buying a new iPhone is an expensive undertaking, so if a new one appears with a more easily justifiable cost, it could persuade a lot of holdouts into switching iPhones.
Whatever Apple calls the new cheap iPhone, it was assumed for a long time that it would be using the body of the iPhone 14, as well as several of its components inside and out. But new rumors are now suggesting that the iPhone 16E properly merits the name as it would be based on the latest iPhone 16 model instead of the two-year-old iPhone 14.
Granted, without an Action Button or a Dynamic Island, the only real difference the iPhone SE 4 would have from an iPhone 14 is the USB-C port and the unique camera layout. But using a more modern basis for the new SE would help futureproof the new budget iPhone for longer.
Assuming that the iPhone SE 4 does stick to a similar price as before, then it'll be eligible for our best cheap phones guide. And although these are far from flagship phones, there are still some real contenders.
The current top dog is the Google Pixel 8a, an Android phone that offers a bevy of features and a long software update schedule, plus an AI-ready chipset and strong display and camera specs. It's going to be hard to dethrone the Pixel, but if Apple's made enough changes to the new iPhone SE, it's possible it could claim the top spot for itself — or at least climb several places.
There's potentially good news and bad news with the iPhone SE 4's modem. The good news is that it should be Apple's first in-house 5G modem, and with Apple in total control of that hardware we could see longer battery life when surfing the web.
However, a recent report out of South Korea (via GSM Arena) says that Apple's modem will lack support for mmWave 5G and perhaps offer fewer carrier aggregation features as Qualcomm's latest modem. The result could be slower upload and download speeds, something we'll be testing for ourselves at Tom's Guide.
If the rumors are true, we could see iOS 18.4 launch alongside the iPhone SE 4 / iPhone 16E today. But some of the most exciting promised features may be delayed.
iOS 18.4 reportedly was going to include big Apple Intelligence changes, especially to Siri. These include on-screen awareness, better understanding of personal context and deep app control. However, this may not happen now until iOS 18.5.
We could see Apple Intelligence roll out in more languages, though, along with improved news summaries, new emoji and the ability to set your default map and translation apps (at least in the EU).
The iPhone SE 4 is tipped for big upgrades, like getting an OLED display and 48MP main camera, but one of the new features that could be flying under the radar is the Action Button.
Although it's technically not new to the iPhone stable, it is for the SE series. Rumors have hinted at the alert slider being swapped for the Action Button, which should give the iPhone SE 4 more functionality than ever before.
With this mappable side button, it can be programmed to perform simple and complex actions. Given the budget nature of the series, this new addition would only amplify its value.
So far, the rumors hint at the iPhone SE 4 getting an upgraded 48MP camera, which would be up from its predecessor's 12MP one. Yet, there's very little know even now about the video recording capabilities of this new camera.
At the very least, we suspect it would offer the same shooting modes as the current iPhone SE 2022 — so that would be 4K video recording at 24 fps, 25 fps, 30 fps, or 60 fps. There's also slow motion, which again we think will match the current model's support for 1080p at 120 fps or 240 fps.
It's unclear if Apple will improve on these modes, as they pretty match up what the current iPhone 16 offers. However, it'll be interesting if the iPhone SE 4 ends up getting Cinematic mode for video, which could be problematic due to the lack of an ultrawide camera. Although, Apple could lean on AI to effectively get the same result.
Apple could announce the iPhone SE 4 at any moment now, but if you're pressed for time and want all the juicy details, then watch our video on all the last-minute rumors for the anticipated iPhone SE 4.
From the new design that it's reportedly going to have, to Apple Intelligence features it could get, our own global editor-in-chief, Mark Spoonauer explains what to expect.
With the iPhone SE 4 tipped for a big redesign that would make it look a lot more like the iPhone 14, it would also mean having a much larger battery. In fact, it's almost guaranteed to beat its predecessors in the battery life department.
In the table above, you'll see how all previous iPhone SE models rank according to Apple's video playback rating. The most recent iPhone SE 3 from 2022 barely made an improvement at 15 hours, while the iPhone 14 goes the extra distance at 20 hours.
More importantly, though, is how they compare in our own battery benchmark test. You can see how all the models, including the iPhone 14, barely get over 9 hours from a full charge. Given how the iPhone SE 4 is expected to have an A18 chip, we can certainly expect it to be extremely power efficient. We'd be surprised, in fact, if it ends up getting anything less than 10 hours.
Every time I turn on my iPhone SE 2022, I'm reminded most about one thing — its boring looking LCD screen. It's a throwback like no other after years of being accustomed to the OLED panels used in many of the best phones around.
That's why an OLED display for the iPhone SE 4 is a big deal. Not only would it make feel more modern, but it could also make it much more usable. The iPhone SE 2022 reached a pitiful peak brightness of 596 nits with its LCD display. In comparison, the iPhone 14 reached 758 nits.
Visually speaking, an OLED display on an iPhone SE 4 would make it pop a whole lot more and we suspect even brighter results with the panel.
When Tim Cook shared a post on X about being ready to "meet the newest member of the family," he also shared a short video of what appears to be an animated version of Apple's logo.
However, a closer inspection could yield clues that uncover what exactly this new member could be. At a certain point in the short clip, we see a faint circular outline that indicates perhaps a new AirTag.
But looking closer at the animation of the Apple logo, we can see a reflection of some kind with edges. It's hard to say if this is the iPhone SE 4 in question, but it could be. All of the rumors over the past week indicate it's going to be the next generation iPhone SE. Apple could officially announce it at any point now that the big day is here. What do you think?
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