Apple Forced To Replace Beloved iPhone SE

As 2024 comes to an end, Apple’s popular iPhone SE will be withdrawn from key markets in Europe. Yet fans of the mid-range iOS smartphone know that the New Year will bring them something special… a replacement iPhone SE that will be better than it was; better, stronger, and faster.

Apple was always going to replace the current iPhone SE when the newer model arrived. No doubt Tim Cook and his team would have preferred to keep the iPhone SE launched in 2022 on sale for another four or five months until the 2025 version arrived. Alas, the European Union’s mandate for USB-C to be the universal charging port on consumer electronics has put paid to that.

Apple’s Beloved iPhone SE

2022’s iPhone SE, as well as the iPhone 14 family launched that same year, are Apple’s oldest current iPhone handsets on sale. They are also the last iPhones to ship with the lightning port for charging. While existing retail supplies can be sold, Apple will stop shipments by December 31 2024 to comply with the regulation that comes into effect on January 1 2025.

Since it was launched, the iPhone SE has been rated highly in consumer satisfaction surveys, although this year saw Samsung’s Galaxy hardware match Apple’s iPhone hardware. When the next iPhone SE arrives, Apple will hope that the new smartphone will continue to score highly with consumers. Given the features we can expect, that shouldn’t be too much of an ask.

A Stronger iPhone SE

The current iPhone SE was launched in 2022 and is powered by Apple’s A15 Bionic. At the time, this matched the current iPhone 13 model and allowed the SE to be pitched as an equal to the vanilla iPhone range. The main iPhone line has been updated annually, but the iPhone SE still ships with a chip approaching three years old.

With Apple relying on Apple Intelligence in its marketing campaign it would be inconceivable that the iPhone SE would launch without support for iOS’ generative AI suite. That will require the latest A18 processor in the specifications, returning the SE brand to equality with the main line.

A Faster iPhone SE

Alongside the improved chipset to cope with the demands of generative AI, Apple will need to boost the memory of the iPhone SE. The iPhone 16 saw a higher-than-expected increase in memory when it was launched in September 2024. While this benefited Apple Intelligence, it also improved the full iOS environment, bringing faster switching between apps and more working memory for apps to address.

The user experience of the next iPhone SE will include this speed increase.

A Better iPhone SE

Speaking to Forbes’ contributor David Phelan, Apple CEO Tim Cook is confident this current wave of AI-influenced iPhones—including the upcoming iPhone SE—have a huge potential to positively impact your life:

“Artificial intelligence is a horizontal technology in that it will touch everything in your life over time. It will change everything. because it will be like having an assistant, to prepare things that it would have taken you longer to do, to free you up to spend more time, pulling that string of curiosity or creating or following your passion”

That’s true from the nearly $2,000 iPhone 16 Pro Max to the mid-range iPhone SE. Apple has worked to keep the price of iPhones from rising between generations, which means Cook’s potential could be available for as little as $430.

Get Ready For Your New iPhone SE

While the current iPhone SE will leave the stage in two weeks’ time, Apple is expected to launch the iPhone SE in the first half of 2025, potentially as early as March but certainly in time for the company’s Worldwide Developer Conference in June.

Now read the latest iPhone SE, MacBook, and iPad Mini headlines in Forbes’ weekly Apple loop news digest…