Something to look forward to: In a world where most tech giants are making increasingly larger and usually more expensive phones, it’s good to know that Apple isn’t giving up on the iPhone SE. Cupertino’s smaller, cheaper handset is reportedly getting an update next year that will introduce several features seen in its high-end siblings, including Face ID and the ability to run Apple Intelligence.
The report that an updated iPhone SE is in the works comes from Bloomberg’s Apple expert Mark Gurman. He writes that the device, codenamed V59, will be the company’s new entry-level model, but it will feature a number of upgrades over the last update: the 2022 iPhone SE (third generation), which offered 5G connectivity as the most notable improvement over the 2nd-gen handset.
Probably the last Apple device to feature a home button
One of the biggest updates in the next iPhone SE will be the removal of the home button, writes Gurman, switching to the now almost ubiquitous edge-to-edge display instead of featuring thick forehead and chin bezels. Not having a Touch ID button almost certainly means the new iPhone SE will join other Apple devices in using Face ID. The device will most closely resemble the iPhone 14, including the notch cutout.
Another first for the iPhone SE series will be the switch from an LCD to an OLED display, though one thing that isn’t changing is the number of rear cameras: the fourth-gen model will still have just one.
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Gurman expects the next iPhone SE to offer plenty of performance. It will likely be powered by the A18 chip, thereby enabling support for Apple Intelligence, which is currently only available in the iPhone 15 Pro series and iPhone 16.
Apple is also said to be launching new versions of the iPad Air – the company released the new M2 iPad Air this year. It sounds as if they will offer incremental improvements, with most of the upgrades focused on the internals, though Gurman never went into any specifics.
Gurman says that Apple will introduce updated versions of the Magic Keyboard for both the 11-inch and 13-inch versions of the new Air. They will offer some of the features that had been previously introduced on the latest iPad Pro version of the keyboard.
Following with tradition, Apple could announce the devices sometime in March or April next year.