iPhone SE

The 4.7-inch iPhone SE was discontinued on February 19, 2025, ending Apple’s last small-screen iPhone as coverage shifted to its anticipated successor.

Who they are

The iPhone SE is Apple’s lower-priced iPhone line, historically distinguished in coverage by a compact 4.7-inch design, Touch ID-era hardware and a $429 starting price. Stories place it at the intersection of Apple’s entry-level iPhone strategy, its broader iPhone lineup and recurring efforts to modernize older product designs.

The recent arc

Coverage revived sharply in late 2024 after a relatively quiet 2023, driven less by an on-sale model than by reports of a redesign. Bloomberg reported in October that Apple was nearing production of an iPhone SE without a home button for early 2025, while an August look at Apple’s plans also included a new SE. Reporting connected the proposed model to an in-house modem and a move away from LCD toward OLED across iPhones.

The recent arc

The story then moved from rumor to portfolio transition in February 2025. Tim Cook’s teaser for a February 19 announcement, alongside Mark Gurman’s report that Apple would update the SE, preceded reports that Apple discontinued the 4.7-inch iPhone SE. The contemporaneous pricing comparison between the $429 SE and the $599 iPhone 16e frames the shift as more than a refresh: Apple’s low-end iPhone positioning appears to have changed.

The tension

Coverage centers on Apple’s attempt to keep an accessible iPhone tier while retiring the attributes that made the SE distinct. A home-button-free, potentially OLED-equipped successor would bring the line closer to the mainstream iPhone family, but the reported $599 starting price for the iPhone 16e versus the SE’s $429 highlights the affordability trade-off. Regulation added pressure: the Lightning-based SE did not meet the EU USB-C requirement, and reports said Apple would cease EU sales alongside the iPhone 14 series.

Why it matters

If Apple continues replacing legacy entry models with more modern, larger-screen devices, the SE’s retirement could mark the end of a distinct compact-and-cheap iPhone proposition rather than simply a model update. The outcome will depend on whether the newer low-end offering can serve budget shoppers while supporting Apple’s design, display and modem ambitions; the coverage does not establish how buyers will respond.

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