Apple's upcoming affordable iPhone will reportedly combine features from last three flagships

The iPhone SE lineup is long overdue to see a new addition, and a recent report from Bloomberg suggests that the SE 4 could land in early 2025. While past reports have already hinted at the specs the upcoming affordable phone could pack, the latest report from 9to5Mac shares some specific details.

According to 9to5Mac, the iPhone SE 4 will incorporate features from the past three flagships. More specifically, the phone is said to feature the Apple A18 chip, which is the same SoC that powers the latest non-Pro iPhone 16 models. This would be a substantial upgrade from the 2022 SE as it features the aging A15.

9to5Mac further reports that the 2025 iPhone SE will have no physical Home button like its predecessor. Instead, there will reportedly be a 6.1-inch screen with a notch, resembling the iPhone 14 (128 GB renewed curr. $450.60 on Amazon). This would also make the upcoming affordable smartphone sport Face ID instead of Touch ID.

On the note of the design change, it was previously hinted at by the CAD models leak from March of this year. That leak also suggested that the phone may feature only one rear camera, and 9to5Mac backs it up by saying that there will be a single 48 MP sensor on the back of the iPhone SE 4.

This 48 MP camera is said to be the same primary sensor as the iPhone 15. That suggests that the sensor will retain the 2x optical zoom capability. As for the front, the SE 4 will reportedly feature the same 12 MP selfie camera as the iPhone 15. Both of these cameras would be proper upgrades from what Apple offered with the 2022 model.

Besides these, 9to5Mac says that the iPhone SE 4 will be the first smartphone from Apple to feature an in-house 5G modem, which reportedly has the "Centauri" codename. It is said to be possible due to the 2019 acquisition of the Intel modem division, and Apple is believed to experiment with it with an affordable phone first.