Apple is set to reveal a significant update to the iPhone SE in the coming days, aiming to modernize its budget-friendly model to boost sales and attract users from competing brands. The announcement could happen as soon as next week, with the device expected to hit the market later in the month, Mark Gurman reports for Bloomberg News citing “sources familiar with the plans.”
Mark Gurman for Bloomberg News:
Apple is unlikely to hold a launch event for the device, opting to reveal it on its website instead, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the plans are private.
The debut will mark a major shift for an oft-overlooked smartphone, which Apple first introduced in 2016 as an entry-level model. The existing version — released in 2022 — has grown dated: It’s the only iPhone that still has a home button and lacks Face ID. The new version will look more like the iPhone 14 and also include Apple Intelligence, the company’s AI software.
There are already telltale signs that the new phone is coming. Inventory of the current iPhone SE has dried up at Apple retail stores in many parts of the US, which typically happens before a refresh.
MacDailyNews Take: Again, if Apple can get the starting price to $499, this will be a very successful iPhone, especially in developing countries!
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It’ll be the “special edition” of popular and proven iPhone 14 design, updated with A18 and USB-C. No other obvious changes. $499 price seems unlikely, since iPhone 14 is in current lineup at $599. Perhaps Apple will continue to sell current A15 iPhone SE at $399 (down from $429) to keep a lower-cost and smaller choice. I’ll keep using my SE3 as long as possible, not get a bigger SE4. OR maybe Apple gives the old reliable (iPhone 7) design one more update (to A18 and USB-C), the ultimate pocketable one-handed iPhone as envisioned by Steve Jobs. Rename it iPhone Classic or iPhone Zero, $399.
“It’s the only iPhone that still has a home button .” It also has a phy sim card slot and no notch… Which is why I still have a brand new unwrapped one waiting in the wings for when my current SE3 stops working.