The iPhone SE shows how a giant like Apple thinks when it comes to affordable phones. Unlike other Android brands that design a new phone from scratch, Apple doesn’t want to compromise with the user experience and hence, relies on old designs with new chipsets to deliver the intended experience. That’s why the iPhone SE 3 launched in early 2022 looks like the vintage iPhone 6 but with the processor from the iPhone 13 and a new design. For the iPhone SE 4 though, Apple is said to be moving to a newer generation of its discarded iPhones.

Apple leak guru Jon Prosser said in a recent podcast that the next generation iPhone SE, dubbed the iPhone SE 4, is likely to be based on the same form factor as the iPhone XR. This would be a big change from the present iteration of the iPhone SE, which is based on the iPhone 8. The iPhone XR will mark a major departure from the core values the iPhone SE introduced back in 2016 with the first generation model.

iPhone XR is coming back in the future

If you have been buying the iPhone SE every generation, then you need to know what you can expect with the 4th generation model.

Display

The iPhone SE will ditch the vintage 4.7-inch display design in favour of a 6.1-inch edge-to-edge display. It will still use an LCD display but the increase in space could be a big upgrade from long-time iPhone SE users. This also means iPhone SE users will need to adjust to the Face ID system of biometric verification instead of the Touch ID system.

Size

With a bigger display, the iPhone SE 4 will also get bigger. The iPhone XR was a big phone by all means and substantially heavy too. Hence, iPhone SE 4 may lose its compact form factor. It will however come with an IP67 water and dust resistance rating and wireless charging, which is the same as the iPhone SE 3.

Chipset

Apple may also use the latest iPhone processor in this new iPhone SE, as has been the norm with previous models. If the iPhone SE comes out in 2024, we can expect it to be powered by the A17 Bionic chip from the iPhone 15.

Battery

The iPhone SE has always suffered from poor battery life but the iPhone SE 4 could benefit from the iPhone XR’s larger battery. This means you finally have an iPhone SE that can easily last over a day with moderate to heavy usage. If it comes out in 2025, Apple could also be blessing the iPhone SE 4 with a USB-C port for charging.

Cameras

The iPhone SE 3 reused the same camera hardware from the iPhone 8 and we expect the same formula to be applied on the iPhone SE 4. The 4th generation model could borrow the camera hardware from the iPhone XR, meaning it will have the same 12MP rear camera and the 7MP front camera.

Prices

The iPhone SE has always seen a launch price of around $400 and this year, it went upwards. With the iPhone SE 4, we expect the prices to go further up, considering the USB-C modification and the new iPhone 15 chipset on the old iPhone XR. Don’t be surprised if Apple asks $500 for the base 64GB model of the iPhone SE 4.