Sources: the iPhone SE 4, coming in spring 2025, will have Apple's first 5G modem, the iPhone 15's rear camera, and an A18 and 8GB of RAM for Apple Intelligence
Apple has been working on a new generation of the iPhone SE, and a recent Bloomberg report revealed that it should be introduced …
Context & Ripple Effects
The reported SE 4 configuration follows a longer effort to bring Apple-designed cellular hardware to this model: a 2023 report said the project had restarted around an Apple-designed 5G modem for the SE 4. It also marks a larger break from the prior SE generation, which arrived with 5G and an A15 chip but retained the classic home-button design.
The significance is less any one component than their combination in Apple’s entry iPhone. Later related coverage described the SE as the launch vehicle for Apple’s first in-house modem, before a second generation moves into higher-end products.
First-order effects
- If the report holds, the SE 4 becomes Apple’s first shipping test bed for its own 5G modem, giving Apple direct operational responsibility for cellular performance in a mainstream iPhone.
- An A18 and 8GB of RAM would make Apple Intelligence part of the SE proposition, narrowing the capability gap between Apple’s lower-cost iPhone and newer premium models.
Second-order effects
- Using the SE as the modem debut concentrates early validation in one product line before Apple expands the component elsewhere, as the subsequent report’s higher-end roadmap indicates.
- Apple’s lower-end iPhone positioning would shift from offering a pared-back design to pairing prior-generation camera hardware with current AI-oriented compute, increasing pressure on feature-based segmentation within the iPhone range.
Third-order effects
- If Apple can advance its modem through successive iPhone generations, more of the iPhone’s core connectivity and AI-enabling hardware stack will be controlled by Apple rather than defined solely by external component roadmaps.
- The SE could increasingly serve as a controlled proving ground for Apple silicon transitions, although the corpus does not establish how quickly that model will extend beyond the reported modem rollout.
The trend: Apple is using its lower-cost iPhone line to extend vertical integration while making AI-capable hardware a broader baseline across the iPhone portfolio.