A less-expensive iPhone that still has AI features could help Apple out in China

• Apple plans to release a new iPhone SE in early 2025, Bloomberg reported.
• An Emarketer analyst said a cheaper AI iPhone could boost sales in Greater China.
• The new iPhone SE will reportedly feature an edge-to-edge screen design similar to the iPhone 14.

Consumers will reportedly soon be able to get Apple Intelligence at a more affordable price. That could give the tech giant a sales boost in a key market where it’s been struggling against increased competition: China.

Bloomberg correspondent Mark Gurman wrote that a new iteration of the iPhone SE is in the works for early 2025, according to people familiar with the project, and will have Apple’s long-anticipated AI features.

As it stands, only those who own an iPhone 15 Pro or later will have Apple Intelligence on their phones when it begins rolling out later this month. The 15 Pro starts at $899, while the new iPhone 16 starts at $799. The current iPhone SE costs $429; it’s also smaller than these newer models.

While Bloomberg didn’t say what the forthcoming SE might cost, an AI-powered phone at a lower price point than iPhone 15 or 16 models has the potential to boost sales in regions where Apple has faced headwinds, like Greater China, analysts told Business Insider.

Apple has been struggling in the region, partly because of competition from domestic smartphone makers. Huawei, for example, has seen much success from the Mate 60 Pro and Pura 70 Ultra releases in 2024. Sales in the nine months through August 1 fell almost 10% in Greater China.

But “by offering affordability coupled with Apple Intelligence features, the tech giant could reignite interest among cost-conscious consumers,” Jacob Bourne, a tech analyst at BI sister company Emarketer, said.

Still, Gene Munster, managing partner at Deepwater Asset Management, called China Apple’s “big unanswered question when it comes to Apple Intelligence.”

Munster said addressing that issue relies on the company’s ability to partner with a Chinese company to bring AI features to the region and “getting the price right.”

But generally, an iPhone with AI at a lower price point would allow US consumers to test Apple Intelligence features without spending close to $1,000 on an upgrade, Munster said.

The new iPhone SE 3 will also get a new look, Bloomberg reported. Unlike the current iPhone SE 3, which was released in 2022, it won’t have a home button but will feature the edge-to-edge screen design that Apple has become known for. Instead of looking like an iPhone 8, the upcoming device will resemble an iPhone 14, Bloomberg said.