The iPhone 16 is out now and, as you would expect from a company that’s been making smartphones for 17 years, Apple has once again produced an excellent smartphone.
But waiting in the wings is something cheaper and — potentially — not that much weaker. Apple hasn’t refreshed its iPhone SE range since 2022, and in 2025 we’re expecting big changes to bring the budget range fully up to speed.
So should you wait? Here’s how we’re expecting the iPhone 16 and iPhone SE 4 to compare.
iPhone SE 4 vs iPhone 16: Price and release date
The iPhone 16 is already available to buy and has been since September 2024. It starts at $799 if you’re happy with 128GB of storage, but versions with 256GB and 512GB are available for $899 and $1,099 respectively.
If you want something physically larger, there’s also the iPhone 16 Plus. It’s identical specs-wise, except for the larger 6.7-inch display (and heftier battery as a result). It’s priced between $899 and $1,199 for the same storage capacities.
The iPhone SE 4’s price and availability is still up in the air, but rumors are strongly pointing to a date in “early 2025” — probably spring if past releases are anything to go by.
While the 2022 iPhone SE started at $429, the 2025 version is tipped for a price increase, with a $499 starting MSRP floated. Given the upgrades you’re about to read about, this might yet prove optimistic — we shall have to see.
iPhone SE 4 vs iPhone 16: Design
Plenty of people will have been put off the last iPhone SE thanks to its somewhat dated design. In a world of phones with edge-to-edge displays, the SE has remained a throwback to the 2010s, with thick bars bookending the top and bottom of the screen. It’s the only iPhone that still has a fingerprint reader, rather than adopting Face ID.
That’s all set to change with the iPhone SE 4, which is apparently based on the iPhone 14’s design. That means a 6.1-inch edge-to-edge display with minimal bezels (a big upgrade on the 4.7-inch panel on its predecessor) and — yes — Face ID at long last.
In short, the iPhone SE 4 will look a lot more like the iPhone 16, which itself isn’t a million miles away from the iPhone 14 in terms of looks.
But the iPhone 16 will still have its advantages. The most instantly noticeable will be Dynamic Island, where the Face ID camera array is kept away from the bezels, and treated as part of the UI in neat ways. The SE, meanwhile, is set to bring back the notch for its camera array.
It also seems that the iPhone SE will bring back the Mute Switch rather than introducing the programmable Action Button. And there’s no suggestion that the cheaper version will get the dedicated Camera Control either.
iPhone SE 4 vs iPhone 16: Specifications
As well as looking more like a modern iPhone, the new SE might also match the iPhone 16 on the internal specs that matter.
In the past, the iPhone SE has matched its more expensive siblings in terms of the processor used, with the most recent 2022 model packing the same A15 chipset as the iPhone 14. If that happens again in 2025, then the iPhone SE 4 will have the same A18 silicon used in the iPhone 16. Not only is this ludicrously fast, but it opens the door to all the AI tricks incoming with Apple Intelligence.
That might seem unlikely given most current iPhones can’t run Apple Intelligence due to RAM limitations, yet Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says that the upcoming iPhone SE will indeed support some form of it. That suggests the iPhone SE 4 will have at least 8GB RAM — that’s double the 4GB in the current SE.
Perhaps the most exciting improvement, however, is the screen technology in place. While previous SE handsets have stuck with LCD panels, 2025 will apparently be the year that Apple adopts OLED for its cheapest iPhones. That means more accurate colors, deeper blacks and perfect contrast.
Don’t expect 120Hz ProMotion support, though: for the moment that remains a Pro exclusive feature. But even without it, on the inside, it appears that the iPhone 16 and iPhone SE 4 could be perfectly matched with each other.
But there’s one big exception to that…
iPhone SE 4 vs iPhone 16: Camera
The iPhone 16 has a pair of cameras — a 48MP main camera and a 12MP ultrawide lens. While there’s no telephoto lens, it can achieve good 2x zoom results via pixelbinning, and the improved 12MP ultrawide lens offers macro photography for the first time too.
The SE, on the other hand, has stuck with a single camera lens for all three of its iterations to date — and that looks set to continue with the 2025 model.
The good news, however, is that this too is expected to be a 48MP lens, which should hopefully allow for 2x zoom without a dedicated telephoto lens. Nonetheless, those who really value the flexibility of multiple cameras will have to look for something more expensive.
iPhone SE 4 vs iPhone 16: Outlook
We led our iPhone 16 review with the tagline “no more Pro envy” due to Apple closing the feature gap between the regular iPhones and their Pro siblings.
If all the rumors we’re hearing about the iPhone SE 4 come to pass, then we could end up with a similar tagline for the cheapest model. No more dated design, an OLED screen and internal specs to go toe-to-toe with any of the best phones you can buy.
Assuming these rumors are all correct, there’s just one potential hitch: price. While we’ve heard $499 — itself a $71 price hike on the 2022 model — that sounds optimistic with all the upgrades we’re looking at.
But if Apple can pull off that price point, or close to it, then it looks like we’ll have a new champion to top our list of the best cheap phones in 2025.