If the eye-watering pricetag of the iPhone 16 has put you off upgrading your tech, there is finally some good news.
Leaked images suggest that Apple’s new budget iPhone SE 4 could soon be on its way.
Images shared online show the first cases designed for the wallet-friendly smartphone and hint at some major design changes.
If rumours are true, the next generation iPhone SE could arrive early next year and will cost around £419 ($429 US price).
However, the leaks suggest that the budget iPhone won’t be upgraded with the Action Button or the iPhone 16 Pro’s new Camera Control.
Leaked images show the cases for the upcoming iPhone SE 4. This next instalment in Apple’s line of ‘budget’ smartphones could arrive as early as next year
The leak was shared by Sonny Dixon, a well-established and usually reliable Apple tipster.
The photo shows a plain black case with Mandarin text reading: ‘Apple iPhone SE 4 full matte-black’.
Designs for cases are frequently leaked in advance of a new phone’s release as manufacturers are provided with early size and shape specifications.
If these images are correct, they suggest that the SE 4 won’t stray too far from the design of the SE 3.
The case suggests the rear camera bump will be the same size and in the same position as the earlier model.
The iPhone SE 3 (pictured) was released in 2022 starting at £419 ($429 US price) and came in a wide range of colours
Likewise, the cutouts for the mute switch and charging ports are in the same place, as are the raised regions for the volume and power buttons.
The leaked image suggests that the iPhone SE 4 is likely to miss out on some of Apple’s biggest design changes.
The iPhone 15 Pro, 15 Pro Max, and all iPhone 16 models feature an ‘Action Button’ in place of the classic mute switch.
This is a customisable button which can be programmed to activate several different shortcuts.
On Apple’s official cases, this button is covered by a raised bump like those over the volume buttons – rather than a cutout section.
The absence of a raised bump suggests that the iPhone SE 4 is likely to stay with the mute switch over the newer action button.
Likewise, the leaked image does not feature a cutout which would give access to the ‘Camera Control’ found on the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max.
Unlike official cases for the iPhone 16 (pictured) these leaked cases do not have a raised bump for the ‘Action Button’ which has been on all iPhones since the iPhone 15. This suggests it is likely to stick with the older mute switch
The case also lacks a cutout to access the ‘Camera Control’ which was added to the iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max (pictured)
Instead, earlier leaks suggest that the biggest update to the iPhone SE 4 will be the changes to the screen.
The SE 3, which was released in March 2022 was one of the last iPhones to feature the home button at the bottom of the screen.
However, the iPhone SE 4 is rumoured to be the first in the series to ditch Touch ID and the home button in favour of Face ID.
That would make the iPhone SE 4 appear much more like the iPhone 14 which featured a notch at the top of the screen to house a front-facing camera.
The SE 4 is also certain to feature the USB-C charging port found on all models since the iPhone 15, rather than the lighting charger currently used on the SE 3.
Further leaked designs suggest the new phone will have a 6.1-inch display which is quite a bit bigger than the 4.7-inch display on the iPhone SE 3.
Earlier leaks (pictured) suggest the iPhone SE 4 will have a 6.1-inch display, a USB-C charging port, and a single primary camera at the back
These leaked renders also suggest that, like more recent models, the iPhone SE 4 will ditch the home button and Touch ID in favour of Face ID
However, it isn’t clear whether this next-generation budget smartphone will benefit from Apple’s biggest recent change: Apple Intelligence.
The suite of AI products was supposed to arrive with the launch of the iPhone 16 earlier this year but customers are still waiting for the arrival of most flagship features.
It has been suggested that the iPhone SE 4 could boast 8GB of RAM and Apple’s A18 chip which could be able to handle AI tasks.
But we will have to wait and see whether the phone will be compatible with any Apple Intelligence features.
Of course, the most important detail for a ‘budget’ iPhone is the price.
The iPhone SE 3 launched at a starting price of £419 ($429 US price) which, while not exactly cheap, made it significantly less costly than many smartphones on the market.
The iPhone SE 4 is almost certain to switch from the Apple Lighting Cable charger (left) to the USB-C charger (right) which has been standard on iPhone models since the iPhone 15 (stock image)
Even with the most expensive hardware, the SE 3 costs a maximum of £579.
For comparison, the cheapest model of the Google Pixel 9 starts at £799 ($799 US price).
Apple is yet to announce a price point for the SE 4 but analysts have suggested that launch prices may stay close to those of the SE 3.
That would make the iPhone SE 4 the only iPhone available for under £500.
Apple could unveil the new iPhone SE model at its rumoured Spring event ‘on or about’ March 8.
However, nothing has yet to be confirmed so Apple fans will need to wait a while longer to find out more.
MailOnline has contacted Apple for comment.
