Apple’s next iPhone will be introduced from 2025, and the network is eagerly awaiting the iPhone SE, which promises to be one of the top disruptive iPhones in recent years. When will you be buying Tim Cook’s newest smartphone?
The iPhone SE will be the fourth generation of the SE. Unlike the regular numbered iPhone releases, the SE is not on an annual release cycle—the last SE was released in 2022. There is no solid rule of thumb on the release date in the same way you can say “the second Tuesday of September” for the cardinal iPhones. Nevertheless, the drumbeat is rising for a late Q1 release of the SE.
While no set date was set for an iPhone SE version, several of Apple’s second-tier products were introduced from last past, in early April. This includes Apple’s first silicon iMacs, M2 MacBook Pro laptops, iPad Air 5, and more. The iPhone SE, Apple, is expected to debut the iPad 11 and iPad Air this spring.
One of the most significant indicators of the iPhone SE release is Apple’s next update to its generative AI suite. The awkwardly backronymed Apple Intelligence launch has been staggered through the significant iOS releases. iOS 18.1, launched in Oct 2024, brought the first wave of tools, with iOS 18.2 adding additional features, including the toemic ChatGPT.
iOS 18.4 is expected to finish Apple’s first wave of AI tools (just in time for the second-generation roadmap to be presented at Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference in June 2025). The code will go into public beta after the launch of iOS 18.3 in late January. You guessed it, The full release date looks like early to mid-March.
Aligning the next edition of Apple Intelligence with the next edition of an iPhone allows the two products to advertise all other cross-fertilizers. The iPhone SE will be Apple’s cheapest iPhone, and Apple Intelligence Aid will expand the AI software user base to the widest audience imaginable.
Apple Intelligence, iOS 18.3, the iPhone SE, the new iPads, a potential refresh of macOS on the desktop… It’s a packed portfolio, yet it’s unlikely that Apple will bundle all the hardware into a single showcase event in The Steve Jobs Theatre.
Since the coronavirus pandemic, Apple has launched more products “by press release” rather than an in-person event. It’s likely that the iPhone SE will go down this path; the public will get their first view of the device in a typically slick YouTube video alongside specs and highlights on Apple’s website. That will likely be augmented with online reviews of the new iPhone SE thanks to review units being seeded by Apple’s PR team to influencers and reviewers.
An online-only launch also offers Apple more flexibility. If it needs to be brought forward or pushed back, it’s a few digital edits rather than a jolly of journalists forced to change hotel bookings and flight reservations. Which also makes it harder to pinpoint an exact date.
Apple’s iPhone SE will launch into a crowded market of high-specification mid-range smartphones. Yet the image of luxury that Apple’s name retains, along with the soft lock-in of iOS and the App Store, will ensure this fourth SE stands out to existing iPhone owners and those looking to upgrade and join the ecosystem.
They don’t have to wait long.
Now read the latest iPhone SE, iPad and AirPods Pro headlines in Forbes’ weekly Apple Loop news digest…
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