Apple’s iPhone SE 4 will matter very much indeed

It might not be the biggest-selling or most expensive product in Apple’s basket, but a very important part of Apple’s future will be defined by the upcoming iPhone SE upgrade in 2025. That’s because it is expected to bring in a new Apple-made 5G modem, impressive camera improvements, and support for Apple Intelligence.

And all of those will require more memory and a much faster processor.

To recap recent claims, here’s what we expect for the iPhone SE 4:

An Apple-made 5G modem

Apple has been working on its own 5G modem for years and has spent billions on the task. Bloomberg tells us the company is almost ready to go with its own home-developed modem, though will continue using Qualcomm modems in some devices for a while yet, in part because they support mmWave, which the new Apple modems allegedly do not.

Apple’s first modems will appear in the iPhone SE4 and iPhone 17 Air. The good thing is that the new modem will enable Apple to make thinner devices; the bad news is it might deliver reduced download speeds in comparison to Qualcomm modems on some networks. The plan is to deploy Apple modems across all iPhones and iPads by around 2028 — and we might also see 5G arrive in Macs, at long last.

And a better camera

One report claims the iPhone SE 4 will include a single-lens 48-megapixel rear camera and a 12-megapixel TrueDepth front camera. That’s a big improvement on the current model, which offers just a 12-megapixel rear camera and a measly 7-megapixel front camera. These improvements should make for better photography and videoconferencing, and hints at good support for camera-driven object recognition using Apple Intelligence.

The phone is also expected to support FaceID and to host a 6.1-inch OLED display.

Apple Intelligence

That the fourth-generation iPhone SE will support Apple Intelligence isn’t surprising, as on its current path all Apple’s hardware is expected to integrate AI to some extent. What that means in hardware terms is that the new iPhone will have a higher-capacity battery (because running large language models is thirsty work), 8GB of memory, and a faster processor. That almost certainly means an A18 chip, as fielding an A17 processor would date the product even before it even joined the race.

For Apple Intelligence to truly succeed, Apple needs to invest in growing the size of the ecosystem, which is why it makes sense to go for the A18. We shall see, of course.

Made in India?

There are a handful of additional improvements, including a built-in eSIM, USB-C, and a better battery. Much of the reporting suggests the company will roll out its lowest-price iPhone sometime around March 2025, which itself means mass production has probably begun. We don’t yet know whether they will be manufactured in India, particularly if Apple wants to keep the price at around $500 or below. 

It seems possible. 

After all, rumor has it that Apple hopes to manufacture around 25% of all its smartphones in India by the end of 2025. It’s also true that India’s traditionally value-conscious consumers are increasingly prepared to invest in pro smartphones, despite which there is a massive market of people who don’t have these devices yet; market penetration is around 40%.

With the economy growing fast, the idea of introducing a lower cost but powerful India-made iPhones equipped with a powerful processor and support for AI could resonate quite strongly in India, where Apple’s efforts to build market are already having a positive impact. A range of cool colors and a ‘Made in India’ label on the box could help Apple convince some of those who don’t yet have smartphones to ready their Rupees for an AAPL stock-saving smartphone sale. And even if that doesn’t happen, the device itself could prove critical to the company’s 2025 efforts in that market.

What about the modem?

The 5G modem is, of course, the big Apple story here. Bloomberg has claimed Apple is working on three models at the moment: the first to be introduced in the iPhone SE that lacks mmWave support, a second that does enjoy such support, and a third “Pro” modem that answers or exceeds what the best available 5G chips can do. 

The thing is, 5G isn’t the only story in town. Apple continues to make big investments in satellite communications, as recently confirmed in a series of investor reports from its preferred network supplier, GlobalStar. The company already offers a range of satellite-based services in several nations through that partnership, and it’s reasonable to expect whatever 5G chips Apple comes up with to continue and enhance support for these life-saving services. 

Apple’s “whole widget” approach when it comes to communication services pretty much demands its network of space satellites and accompanying smartphone modems sing from the same hymn sheet, and it will be interesting to see if the song remains the same once they do. I think this connection (along with the ability to maintain current price points by swapping out Qualcomm kit for something else) will remain two strategic imperatives for Apple through 2028. Is it possible Apple’s AI servers will reduce the environmental impact of using them by being based in and cooled by space?

That’s a very long shot, of course, but feasibility studies to do just that have already taken place. 

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