iPhone SE 4 Rumored to Feature Action Button, USB-C, Face ID, and More

[JayMysterio]

Do many still buy the current SE? It's so dated and not exactly cheap either

It's the phone that organizations for the blind recommend. As it has an easy to reach home button, and Siri. The visually impaired don't need the latest phone with the best screen, so there isn't a need for them to pay high end prices. They just need easier navigation that doesn't require site and an assistant to do things like dial & read back messages and such. It still makes for the most affordable option if you aren't an android phone user.

The phone basically serves another niche besides those complaining about the size of phones, cameras, and screens. It's just a very useful & relatively affordable smart phone for others.

 

[VertPin]

I got a stern warning from the mods for suggesting that account is a bot despite its posting frequency and contradictory comments.

No way, really? I didn't want to mention the accounts highly frequent use of posting images without crediting the authors (which, wouldn't be so much an issue but they do it in a high count of their posts), alongside their usual one lined-phrase comment that also frequently uses an HTML tag. It's just a bit weird, glad I'm not the only one who noticed.

 

[d686546s]

The visually impaired don't need the latest phone with the best screen, so there isn't a need for them to pay high end prices.

Which is probably also sadly the reason that keeping the TouchID SE around for this demographic makes little economic sense.

 

[DarthDon]

I think some people liked the mini iPhones. The problem is the numbers of sales didn’t support Apple producing them as sales faltered badly.

The iPhone SE represents the least expensive entry into a brand-new iPhone. So what you’re talking about is Apple bringing something back whereas what the iPhone SE is as a current model is a less than the other iPhones for a far lower price. It’s an entry-level device.

I agree, that Apple could put an iPhone mini into a cycle of maybe every three or four years. I actually think it may be a better way for Apple to sell this cash cow. Hear me out.

Apple introduces a new iPhone Pro one year along with a Pro Max. The next year new regular iPhones. The third year, a new iPhone SE and mini. Create a rotational model where Apple upgrades as true innovation can be introduced every few years. It doesn’t need to be this structured, but the point is there truly isn’t enough being added every year for the people to want to update every model. And the one thing that may get someone to buy should be more of a group of things.

This could allow Apple to reduce development costs of adding a few features every year. When the iPhone was considered a Star product, it made sense to update it annually. But as a cash cow, it really would make more sense to surprise people.

I also believe Apple should offer an “ultra” model that has more than just the Pro models. What I would like to see here is substantial add-ons that improve the experience. Better camera? Massive battery? Display technology that’s completely different than the other models? Something for those of us who want more. Make it a display with no interruptions. No notches or anything like that. FaceID if necessary under the display. Camera, if necessary, under the display. A purist iPhone. Sure it wouldn’t sell as many, but I say make it a high-end/high-cost device. Build it in the free world and there are a subset of us who would buy it at 5x the price.

In this model of selling its cash cow, it could surprise people. Increase real performance of a new SoC. Real improvements in RAM. Actual new technologies all in one device. Super cycle it. Whether a buyer looks for the cheapest model or the everything version, there’s a real reason to buy and a real reason to upgrade every three years. I believe this would truly result in more profitability from iPhones also.

Then, work on the real problems of the iOS experience. Say you start with an A20 SoC in the Pro devices, you optimize that and sell that SoC for at least three years of versions. So, you keep Improving the software experience by taking an approach of removing all the bugs relentlessly. If you want to market the iPhone as a secure device, truly make it secure.

And for those people who say they want something new annually, I am not saying Apple can’t do color changes. A lot of people who buy every year don’t really get anything different except a color they like that shows off they have the newest device.

What I am saying is strategically, Apple could be doing massively better in both profitability and user experience by taking a different approach. It would create year after year of super cycles for iPhone based on the people targeted and by having real reasons for each group of iPhone buyers to upgrade.

This would allow real hardware changes all at once instead of a nickel-and-dime strategy with customers who really only get a new color and a few features that could have been put on the device to begin with but Apple saved them all up to get a few new sales each year.

There would be no more debating do I upgrade this year? No, Pro users would definitely upgrade. All the rest probably upgrade but the Pro models and the Ultra model thrown in one of the off-Pro years would allow Apple to capitalize.

What do you think? What iPhone do you currently have? Would you upgrade for certain every three years to get all of the features you would have got over three years? Would you update as a Pro user to get the new Purple color-way edition?

Good idea. i had a xs max, until it fell unfortunately down an broke display and hardware inside. for now - xr until the 15 pro max takes his job over. It will stay until 6G. To be honest - i don't think there will be ever a ultra. Apple just doesn't have the hardware for that. Innovation? Zero... Ideas? Same way. That's why i think, a 1,2,3 years old mini woul'd be the perfect Joyce for a SE. Hardware and his price are then already there. They could play with it, "Ipod plus", colors, whatever. But since Stevie is gone, no actually surprises anymore...

 

[DarthDon]

A mini with updated internals and better battery life would be a great device… I own a 13 mini and it's been serving me perfectly well.

I am thinking to get a 13 mini as a second device. it is a great phone.

 

[JayMysterio]

Which is probably also sadly the reason that keeping the TouchID SE around for this demographic makes little economic sense.

It may make seemingly little economic sense, but Apple is the kind of company that likes to be known for their accessibility features.

Being known as the possible preferred phone by organizations for the visually impaired, is something they may like.

Ditch that niche group, and one wonder who the phone is for if people keep complaining for features that Apple intentionally keeps on their more expensive phones.

 

[zhtfreak]

Speaking for myself as a blind, though power iPhone user rocking a 12 mini, imo people would adapt if Apple ditched Touch ID in the next SE. They always replace features they drop with something equivalent. It took me maybe an hour to get used to the new swipe gestures and I don't miss the home button at all. Some blind people were annoyed that with the shift away from Touch ID, they can no longer unlock their phones without taking them out of their pockets, but I personally don't care about that.

I can see organizations recommending the SE to older folks who may be less techy, but for more techy people or people willing to learn, I would think Apple would push them toward the Pros. After all, many of the new accessibility features for the blind -- at least the ones they promote -- require the lidar sensor that's only on the pro iPhones and iPads. That's probably why my next phone will probably be a pro, just so I have those features if I ever want to use them.

I'm not sure how practical those features are in every day life though. In iOS 16 they added a feature that's supposed to help you find a door if you're close to it but aren't quite sure where it is. I've played with it before and don't find it reliable at all. In 17, they're adding another feature that's supposed to use lidar to help you read text on things like microwave buttons which are just on a flush surface. Sounds cool in theory, but to me, it sounds complicated to use because you have to hold your phone steady in one hand while it tracks what your other hand is pointing at. I've heard from people who have tried it say it doesn't work well and that it won't replace the good ole no tech put a raised dot on the button thing that people already do.

I love my mini, but would adjust going back to a bigger phone. I miss the battery life of my old XR, but hated how wide it was. I used to call it my pop tart phone. lol

 

[6787872]

i wish my 12 mini could last until the rumored 2025 release date of this but the battery is really showing it's age

 

[AriaAmaris]

X

 

[webkit]

Can anyone really explain what the SE stands for??????? because for God sake there's nothing about Special Edition on this category. Apple Really Messed up on what The SE supposed to be.

The SE (Special Edition) is and can still be at least "special" in price as the low end budget model relative to other new iPhones in the lineup.

 

[webkit]

Yes, but didn't the plus still sell less than the mini?

Although Plus sales have been lower than expected, various Plus versus mini articles seems to conclude that the Plus sold better. If accurate, the Plus sold better even though it costs more.

However, Apple doesn't provide official sales data so no one outside of the company knows for sure.

 

[MacBH928]

my thumb must reach all sides of the screen and be able to operate it one handed

 

[MacBH928]

Ask for Home Button -> Gets Action Button

 

[Dionte]

I hope it’s the size of the 13 mini, if so I might upgrade that one.

 

[FlyingTexan]

Honestly for people saying to add the dual cameras. If it’s like the 13mini they can keep the .5 lens. What a waste of space.

 

[macfacts]

Zero courage to call it a Siri key. .

 

[Tagbert]

Apple only made a few products 15-20 years ago, and the point remains: It was stupid then and it's stupid now. Apple continues to use it, despite having changed the name of other products. iTunes is still iTunes, but now it's called Music. Yet we still have iMac and iPhone.

So, Apple stopped using the “i” in iTunes and now has “Music”? What was your point again?

Are you asking for Apple to rename the iPhone to make you feel better about the name? Good luck with that.

 

[svish]

Will be good to see the entire iPhone lineup with iPhone X like design

 

[Dylan33x]

With or without these features the device should be 13 mini size

 

[maximillianmj]

I do wonder what the future lineup will look like.

According to the sales they will be dropping the iPhone 16 Plus.

So potentially:

iPhone 16 (6.3)
iPhone 16 Pro (6.3)
iPhone 16 Ultra (6.9)
iPhone SE (6.1)

I don't personally see the point of the regular iPhone when price is almost the same as a Pro.

If I were Apple I would have iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Ultra and iPhone SE. 3 different sizes with the regular 16 being essentially being what the smaller pro and the SE for people wanting to spend less. The base model iPhones don't seem great value for money anymore.

 

[return2sendai]

Apple is changing strategy, the market is so saturated already and they have to give people who might still be hanging on to a second gen SE, iPhone X and iPhone 11 a reason to upgrade. There are people who really like the iOS experience, but they are not gonna pay an arm and a leg for it. My fear is Apple bumps the price up to 499 especially with the rise inflation to really bring all these features to an otherwise budget phone. Then again, it might heal the chasm of not wanting to spend 1299 on an iPhone Pro.

I’m an SE2 user whose only reason to upgrade is when my phone dies. Also an iPod Classic user until I die.

 

[Stuartglossop]

The fourth-generation iPhone SE will have an iPhone 15 Pro-style Action Button, among several other significant new features, according to the leaker known as "Unknownz21."

Earlier this week, the leaker described the fourth-generation iPhone SE as "effectively an iPhone 14 derivative," echoing previous reports from the likes of Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

In their latest tweet, Unknownz21 provides some new details about Apple's next low-cost iPhone and reiterates that its design will be based on the iPhone 14. The device will apparently feature a USB-C port, moving the iPhone SE away from Lightning for the first time. It will also purportedly have Face ID, dispelling previous rumors that the iPhone SE could retain a Touch ID button.

Most interestingly, they claim that the device will sport an Action Button like the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. This would be a clear differentiator between the iPhone SE and the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus, which are not expected to offer the feature. The iPhone SE will also reportedly retain a single rear camera setup like the current model.

Earlier this week, it was reported that manufacturers are currently bidding to receive orders from Apple for the fourth-generation iPhone SE's OLED display panels, which would be a significant upgrade over the existing model's LCD. The next-generation iPhone SE is also believed to be among the first to contain Apple's long-rumored custom 5G modem. It is not expected to launch until 2025.

Article Link: iPhone SE 4 Rumored to Feature Action Button, USB-C, Face ID, and More

I think this will be my next phone after my 13. Seems like a nice upgrade if the price is right.

 

[MobiusStrip]

They always replace features they drop with something equivalent.

What absolute BS. Touch ID has not been replaced. The headphone jack has not been replaced. The Home button has not been replaced.

Get a grip and stop shilling for regressions.

 

[d686546s]

What absolute BS. Touch ID has not been replaced.

FaceID

The headphone jack has not been replaced.

Fair enough

The Home button has not been replaced.

Gestures

Get a grip and stop shilling for regressions.

Your personal mileage may always vary whether or not you like or prefer the new features over the old ones, but I don't think it's fair to say that they haven't provided alternatives for many of the things they have taken away.

 

[Wanted797]

I like most don’t care about the design whether it’s 12/13/14 but I hope Apple offered the SE in 5.4” (mini) AND 6.1” (normal)

Hell I’d be happy with 5.8” (X and 11 pro) again!