So far, if you want to experience Apple’s Intelligence features on an iPhone, you’re pretty much limited to the iPhone 15 Pro. However, the entire iPhone 16 lineup is expected to include these features when it drops this fall. And, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman in his latest Power On newsletter, you can “bet on” the upcoming iPhone SE—possibly arriving as early as early 2025—having these features too. If that turns out to be true, resisting Apple’s most affordable phone might become a lot harder.
The iPhone SE has always been about getting a reasonably priced, fairly powerful iPhone that sticks to an older design (lately, the iPhone 8). It’s never been a secret that the SE is Apple’s way of offering a budget-friendly option!
But for a while now, rumors have suggested that the next SE will ditch the iPhone 8 look for an iPhone 14 chassis. This would mean saying goodbye to the big forehead, chin, and home button from the pre-iPhone X era. It might even come with a 6.1-inch OLED screen. Add to that the fact that Apple’s on-device AI features won’t run on the iPhone 15 because it lacks the necessary power, and it starts to sound like the next iPhone SE could be both powerful and pretty up-to-date.
Of course, the iPhone 16, which should be announced soon, is still expected to offer some extra perks, like dual cameras and the action button from the 15 Pro—features that haven’t been rumored for the iPhone SE. But how much do those things really matter to the average person? If the next SE looks like an iPhone 14, performs similarly to the iPhone 16 lineup, and is priced like, well, an iPhone SE, will people still pay more for the extras in the pricier iPhones? We might find out soon.
