The cheap and cheerful iPhone SE range is due a new addition in the next few months, with the follow-up to the 2022 iPhone SE expected to offer improvements across the board. Leaks point to a handset that looks more like the iPhone 14 without the bezels or Home button, an OLED screen and a processor that can go toe-to-toe with the best phones you can buy.
Since 2014’s iPhone 6, Apple’s smartphones have often sported two size options, yet, to date, the SE has only ever had the one. But a surprising new post from Mactakara speculates that Apple may yet produce two versions of the iPhone SE 4, after it sourced a pair of differently-sized dummy units.
The site claims it sourced 3D-printed mockups from “Alibaba sources,” and while one does appear to be based on the 6.1-inch iPhone 14 as most leaks suggest, a second version appears inspired by the iPhone 14 Plus.
Although the site refers to the larger version as 6.5 inches, said handset was actually 6.7, so that’s likely a typo. Indeed, Mactakara’s sources state that while the iPhone SE 4 was originally developed to match the iPhone 14 Plus, the regular 14-based version was added later.
So could we get an iPhone SE 4 and an SE 4 Plus? That appears unlikely given the lack of any previous leaks and the fact that the Plus-sized iPhones have struggled to sell well.
Even Mactakara itself doesn’t sound wholly convinced in the (machine-translated) text. “Although the final exact design and size range have not been decided, it seems possible that there will be only one size, like the current iPhone SE (3rd generation)”, the piece concludes.
Leaving aside talk of a super-sized cheap handset, there are some other interesting tidbits in the piece. While the dummy units line up with previous rumors — a single rear camera, a mute switch instead of the Action Button and a notch for Face ID at the top — it seems that the iPhone 14 DNA is sufficient that it actually fits accessories built for the 2022 model.
Mactakara proves this by putting the 6.1-inch SE 4 into a soft clear case designed for the 14 — though the single lens on the upcoming model makes the camera space on the case look oddly empty. The site also manages to apply a screen protector intended for the 2022 smartphone which fits perfectly.
Aside from the single camera, the only differences Mactakara notices between the SE 4 and iPhone 14 are pretty minor. There’s USB-C instead of Lightning, of course, and both the camera lens and mute switch appear smaller. The latter is also placed slightly higher.
While it sounds like the iPhone SE 4 will be a huge upgrade on its predecessor, the big question is price. With significant improvements reportedly incoming, it seems unlikely Apple will maintain the $429 starting price of the last model, and how much higher it goes will ultimately decide where it ultimately places on our list of the best cheap phones in 2025.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25690382/Screenshot_2024_10_20_at_5.15.01_PM.png?w=238&resize=238,178&ssl=1 "Michelle Yeoh’s Star Trek spy movie has a release date")
