September saw the launch of the iPhone 16 series, Apple’s flagship smartphones for the next 12 months with improved cameras, battery life and the promise of its new AI features called Apple Intelligence coming to UK models in December.
These new phones cost from £799, which is hardly pocket change for millions of Brits. If you would rather spend less then you might be waiting to see if Apple updates its iPhone SE, and rumour is that will happen very soon.
We’ve rounded up all the leaks and rumours on the iPhone SE 4 here, but it’s thought Apple is readying the cheaper iPhone for early 2025, possibly with a March release. The previous three models of iPhone SE were all released about six months after the latest crop of flagship iPhones and we expect Apple to stick to this schedule.
The new fourth-generation iPhone SE is said to resemble the iPhone 13 and iPhone 14, with a notch at the top of the screen rather than the Dynamic Island seen on recent iPhones, though this would spell the end of the Home Button on all Apple devices. As with the pattern of previous SE models, the attraction is that despite an older design, the internal specs could be as good as those in the iPhone 16.
If another new iPhone early next year weren’t enough, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has reported he thinks Apple may surprise us all by also announcing a brand new iPad Air model alongside the iPhone SE 4.
“Apple is also aiming to manufacture new iPad Air models and keyboards for release around the same time,” Gurman reported his sources as claiming. This is a little surprising as Apple only recently refreshed the iPad Air lineup, giving it an M2 processor back in May, so if the firm updated it again alongside the iPhone SE, it would only be about a 10 month gap, if rumours are correct.
Notably, Gurman’s sources say the iPad will be launched around the time and perhaps not at the same time, so Apple might be waiting till May to give the iPad Air either an M3 or M4 chipset – a year after the M2 version.
“The new iPad Air models — codenamed J607 and J637 — will focus on internal improvements,” Gurman said. “Apple also is preparing an updated version of its Magic Keyboard accessory, codenamed R307 and R308, for both the 11-inch and 13-inch versions of the new Air. These will bring some of the features of the iPad Pro keyboard down-market.”
Before all of this, we also expect (and hope!) Apple will update the iPad mini. This is long overdue as the diminutive tablet was released in 2021, and has languished a little unloved by Apple in the iPad lineup.
