iPhone SE Rumors Bring Apple's Value Phone Into View With A Release Date

Apple might be announcing the next iPhone SE much earlier than expected. How does next week sound to you? Will it sell like hot cakes? Can we make a mid-range iPhone relevant again? These could be some of the questions Apple executives and bean counters are asking as they try to snag a larger share of the ultra-competitive mid-range smartphone market. In short, the new iPhone SE has a lot of work cut out for it.

Initially slated for a March release, Tim Cook and Apple gang have apparently decided to move the fourth-generation iPhone SE announcement to next week. It's been three years since the last model and unfortunately, the mid-range phone market has since shifted, at least within Apple's product lineup, if not globally. In the last two years, all top-selling iPhones were flagship iPhone 14s and 15s, perhaps indicating Apple customers' buying power and preference for the best of the best. 


Nonetheless, Apple is keeping its mid-range phone dreams alive with the new iPhone SE. Releasing it now potentially does a couple of things: first, it gives the cheaper phone more room to breathe away from the iPhone flagships that traditionally launch in September. Secondly, releasing ahead of the Mobile World Congress in March would give the visibility/sales boost the phone needs ahead of the competition. 

We're not sure these will be enough to help the SE succeed, though. Sure, iPhone SE fans are probably eagerly waiting to buy the new one, but phone buyers nowadays are leaning towards faster innards and more camera sensors—whether they need them or not is another matter—which the new SE, after a quick look at its specs, doesn't offer.

For example, the iPhone SE 4 is expected to have a single 48 megapixel camera. It's the same sensor from the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus, but it'll be limited to 2x optical zoom. Apple's Dynamic Island reportedly won't be onboard either, instead the phone will sport a display notch like the iPhone 14. The processor is believed to the latest A18, but potentially underclocked, and paired with a meager 128GB storage (some even say 64GB). 

Nonetheless, the iPhone SE will be equipped with Apple's first in-house made modem, have USB-C charging, and IP68 dust-water resistance. We'll see how well it fares soon, if the rumors of a launch next week prove accurate.