Apple's Next New iPhone to Debut in the Spring: What to Expect

[neliason]

You guys all hammering for the Mini didn’t actually buy it. That’s why Apple stopped production of the 13 Mini halfway through the year. Apple doesn’t listen to y’all anymore. Find something else to moan about.

People did buy the mini, which is why they actually made the 13 mini after the 12 mini. The market may be small, but it‘s a market.

It looks like I’ll hold onto my 12 mini until it dies. I’d buy a new phone right now if it was the size of the mini. So Apple isn’t getting money from me. There are others like me.

Maybe the mini market isn’t one that supports a new phone every year. But Apple releasing a mini every three years may be a decent market.

 

[TheNewLou]

- Dynamic Island vs Notch
- Brighter Display in iPhone 16
- M14 OLED Material vs M12 OLED Material
- Dual Rear Camera vs Single Rear Camera (Possibly no 2X Sensor Crop)
- Ceramic Shield 2.0 vs Ceramic Shield/No Ceramic Shield at all
- U2 Chip vs U1 Chip (UWB) (Possibly)
- A18 vs A18 Binned (Possibly One Disabled GPU Core or Underclocked across the board)
- Slightly bigger battery in iPhone 16
- Upto 40W PD vs Upto 20W PD Wired Charging
- Qi2 vs Qi (Gen 1) Wireless Charging (Possibly)
- No MMWave Module (Apple's 1st Gen 5G Modem is rumored to support only Sub-6 5G Module)
- No Satellite Comunication Module
- No Camera Controls (New Haptic Button)

Possibility of color-infused rear glass panel is low but can't be ruled out at this point, since it makes sense for Apple for multiple reasons.

Edit:
Addendum- They'll most likely put several artifical restrictions like No Night Mode etc. in the software side of things and some stupid omissions to make the iPhone 16 look better to justify its price. :/

This explains it all. I have the first two SEs and people said the same thing about the regular iPhones at the time —that they wouldn’t sell because they’re too close in value.

Now look at Apple TV ads and tell me with a straight face that Apple is selling “value” 😂.

Apple is selling trendiness (as that other guy said, all his friends bought the Pro simply because of the name).

Humans are egotistical: You can tell a phone is a Pro by the 3 lenses on the back. Soon you will be able to tell an SE by the notch instead of the island. People too worried about what people think of them will not buy the SE just so they don’t look cheap or “poor“.

 

[Chuckeee]

What’s going to be the difference between the SE and the 16?

The only differentiator would be the ultrawide camera many people don't really care for.

I do not understand this SE 2025 model, basically an iphone 16 without the camera button?

The most notable omission compared to the 16 is the ultra-wide camera.

There has to be a way they're gimping this phone to make it undesirable because so far, it sounds like the phone everyone should buy

is the only difference between an iPhone 16 and the rumored iPhone SE a notch vs Dynamic Island?

The obvious difference that most seem to be ignoring is:

Apple-designed 5G modem.

The lower price includes a v1.0.0 Apple modem that consumers are paying to beta test. It might be great. Or it might be gimped based on its Intel modem heritage and avoiding Qualcomm industry leading patents. Or is just might be a buggy v1.0.0 mess. But it will be cheaper and perhaps consume less power.

It does give Apple the platform to test & refine the Apple modem before the iPhone 17 Air.

I would rather not pay to be a Guinea pig. But heck, it might turn out just fine

 

[AppDave]

For those saying Apple would never make a "mini" version again because of the wide spread speculation that 12 and 13 mini were discontinued because of poor sales, are missing an obvious point, the iPhone SE is a "mini" iPhone. It's has a 4.7" screen, smaller than the 12 and 13 mini, and has been kept and updated for many years now. So there has clearly been enough of a market for Apple to offer small iPhone.

 

[klasma]

You guys all hammering for the Mini didn’t actually buy it.

I bought several. They sold a couple million, more than some Android models.

In addition, the marketing was abysmal. Nobody wants to have a “mini” phone, and carriers basically didn’t market it at all. Moreover, the SE2 just came out just six month before, and many who had been holding out for years with an SE1 or similar for a new compact iPhone had already jumped on the SE2.

 

[HJM.NL]

Imagine paying premium price for mobile with 60hz refresh rate screen.

Compared to other mobile phones from competitors at $ 500,- it needs 120hz screen refresh, more than 8 gb of RAM, super amoled display, at least a true 48 mp lens, usb-c is standard, wireless charging, 256 gb storage, newest WiFi and Bluetooth, A18 processor… oh wait… that’s almost more than the iPhone 16pro has to offer 😬.

I’m afraid Apple manages to ask premium prices for tech widely available in 2024 by competitors. When the iPhone SE comes out in spring 2025 it will be less capable as the iPhone 16 for sure.

I’m curious what the competition has to offer in February at the world mobile conference in Barcelona 2025. The gap is getting bigger and bigger.

 

[ProbablyDylan]

For those saying Apple would never make a "mini" version again because of the wide spread speculation that 12 and 13 mini were discontinued because of poor sales, are missing an obvious point, the iPhone SE is a "mini" iPhone. It's has a 4.7" screen, smaller than the 12 and 13 mini, and has been kept and updated for many years now. So there has clearly been enough of a market for Apple to offer small iPhone.

Right? People said the mini is too small a screen - the current SE is even smaller!

 

[TheNewLou]

For those saying Apple would never make a "mini" version again because of the wide spread speculation that 12 and 13 mini were discontinued because of poor sales, are missing an obvious point, the iPhone SE is a "mini" iPhone. It's has a 4.7" screen, smaller than the 12 and 13 mini, and has been kept and updated for many years now. So there has clearly been enough of a market for Apple to offer small iPhone.

As much as I’d like a m*ni iPhone, lazy web developers and UX designers now assume everyone has a large phone, so I’ve seen websites where there’s maybe one vertical inch of scrollable space on an SE with the rest of the screen taken up with ads, a header, and tabs on the bottom.

 

[ProbablyDylan]

Compared to other mobile phones from competitors at $ 500,- it needs 120hz screen refresh, more than 8 gb of RAM, super amoled display, at least a true 48 mp lens, usb-c is standard

CMF Phone 1 has all of that for south of $300.

 

[siddavis]

If the specifications are accurate, this would be a far better purchase compared to the iPhone 16 Pro, at just 30% of the price.

That's how you know the rumored specs are not accurate. No way they put the same chip as the 16 and 8GB or RAM. I get that they want Apple Intelligence across the lineup, but they can't possibly do that and keep a 400-500 price point. Are the mfg costs of the 15Pro chip too high?

 

[HJM.NL]

CMF Phone 1 has all of that for south of $300.

Well, the iPhone 16 pro doesn’t even bring this to the table and shows exactly the growing gap compared to competitors. Apple’s positioning and pricing becomes laughable.

 

[Chuckeee]

The other issue with the mini is:
While mini uses might complain, at the end of the day they will just “hold their nose” and buy another iPhone anyways. The other major phone suppliers don’t make a mini sized alternative. So in the end there is no impact to Apples market.

And there are people who dislike smaller phones, and at a $500 price there are many alternatives that “mini hating” consumers could change to instead. And this would hurt Apple’s market share.

The other factor in this are foldables. But they tend to be premium offerings, not low cost alternatives. And when foldable phones are opened up, they tend to be large phones too

 

[skitidetdu]

might be a worthy upgrade from my Xr.

 

[ProbablyDylan]

Well, the iPhone 16 pro doesn’t even bring this to the table and shows exactly the growing gap compared to competitors. Apple’s positioning and pricing becomes laughable.

Something to consider is that very many iPhone buyers don't cross-shop noname Chinese brands. Moreover, many don't even look at Android phones.

Lots of people make smartphones. Only Apple makes iPhones.

 

[HJM.NL]

Something to consider is that very many iPhone buyers don't cross-shop noname Chinese brands. Moreover, many don't even look at Android phones.

Lots of people make smartphones. Only Apple makes iPhones.

You’re right about that. If Apple consumers were more selective and technology aware they would have switched years ago. I’m curious how long Apple is able to appeal to loyal followers because competitors offer the same ecosystems (software) better technology for a fraction of the price. That gap is widening every year. First comes mobile world conference 2025 in Spain Barcelona and Apple will follow with the iPhone SE after that. The rumored specifications of the SE sound already dated today.

 

[ThomasJL]

Apple's Next New iPhone to Debut in the Spring: What to Expect​

What to expect? Design and pricing decisions based on Tim Cook's corporate greed.

 

[klasma]

I have the 2nd gen , 2020, SE and could be interested in this. The screen size increase from 4.7 to 6.1 is significant but that is on the diagonal and if there is no home button the physical dimensions of the phone may only increase by a few mm .

It’s only a few millimeters (8.3 x 4.2 plus the camera bump), but still significant:

 

[klasma]

They must comply with the European Union's USB Type-C regulations.
Failure to do so would prevent them from selling any "low-cost" iPhone from January 2025 until the release of the SE4.

They can continue selling existing models as long as they like.

 

[smogriver]

Just make a sub 5.7" display. There is obviously SOME demand. And for whoever dislikes this comment.. Just get the other larger iPhones??? What the heck

 

[GuruZac]

A single lens iPhone 12/13/14/15/16 6.1" OLED iPhone with 8GB of RAM and A18 processor. In black, white, and red.

 

[klasma]

Why do you need to unlock phone while pulling it out of your pocket when it unlocks when you look at it...

Because then it’s already unlocked when you start looking at it. There isn’t the extra second of “let’s wait for it to finish unlocking”.

 

[Wasp14]

Some of this doesn’t make sense as it’d be a better phone than the iPhone 15 hardware wise which they’re still selling. If it has 8GB of ram and the A18 it’s a good deal even though it’s missing newer features like the Dynamic Island.

 

[ProbablyDylan]

Some of this doesn’t make sense as it’d be a better phone than the iPhone 15 hardware wise which they’re still selling. If it has 8GB of ram and the A18 it’s a good deal even though it’s missing newer features like the Dynamic Island.

Didn't A16 recently enter production in Arizona? If SE replaces 14 in the lineup, I can see it launching with that.

 

[eatrains]

I don't understand the mini fetishism; they appear on every single thread. Only 3 people on the internet bought one, and Apple has since halted production. If there was any significant sales, Tim Apple would definitely continue it.

If the specifications are accurate, this would be a far better purchase compared to the iPhone 16 Pro, at just 30% of the price.

Being able to use a mobile phone on the go is now a fetish? I don’t know why everyone thinks phones are meant to be used while sitting on the couch.

 

[johntherazz]

Interesting move (if indeed it does come to pass). iPhones have now become so expensive that I can’t imagine buying a new one again any time soon. An 18 month old phone costs 1/3 the price of a new one and runs all the latest software (or did, until Apple Intelligence, which the jury is still out on, but since despite years of development Siri is still thick as a brick, I’m not exactly holding my breath). Getting the price down to a sub-laptop level again might possibly change my mind…