Apple's Most Affordable AI-Powered Phone Set to Launch in Early 2025

 The iPhone SE 4 is set to launch in the first quarter of 2025 and is expected to bring about a major change compared to the previous series.

The first iPhone to be fitted with Apple's own 5G modem, codenamed "Centauri," will be this new model. This marks an important step toward Apple becoming less dependent on Qualcomm.

With the baseband chip supply chain in-house, Apple can reduce its cost of production, making it possible to sell the iPhone SE 4 at a more competitive price.

Price vs Value:

Recent leaks coming from a Japanese telecom channel, and also through tipster yeux1122's blog on Naver, indicate that the iPhone SE 4 will come in under $500. That is a bit more than the $429 at which the iPhone SE 3 launched, but this new model comes with enough upgrades to make it well worth it. This is notably lower than the $799 starting price of the iPhone 16 series.

The Upgrades:

There's even a rumor that the iPhone SE 4 will be much better both in terms of internal and external improvement compared to its predecessor. The phone is reported to have the A18 SoC, 8GB of RAM, and a 6.06-inch OLED screen. While it won't have ProMotion on the screen, the configuration is still a huge upgrade compared to the prior iPhone SE.

According to promises by the A18, which is also part of the base iPhone 16, performance will be excellent. The SE 4 will come with 8 GB of RAM to deliver on Apple Intelligence, including generative AI features. The A18's neural engine has been upgraded and offers better RAM, so this model will be the cheapest from Apple with AI.

Launch Timeline:

Although still without an officially announced date, Apple will reportedly present the iPhone SE 4 in the first quarter of 2025. According to rumors, however, Apple is to release the M4 MacBook Air line at the beginning of this year, which might accompany a product launch event.