Earlier this week, some sources begun to claim that the next generation iPhone SE, which is expected to debut this spring, won’t actually be called ‘iPhone SE’ at all. We’re now starting to hear that it’ll be called ‘iPhone 16E’ instead. This may be a weird rumor, but I think it actually makes a lot of sense, given what we know so far about the iPhone SE 4.
iPhone SE 4 rumors
To quickly recap, here’s everything we’re expecting with iPhone SE 4:
It’d definitely be the biggest upgrade in the history of iPhone SE. Apple hasn’t done a form factor upgrade with iPhone SE since the 2nd generation model in 2020. When the iPhone SE 3 was released in 2022, it retained the same form factor, just with an A15 Bionic chip and support for 5G. The iPhone SE 4 will be the first major iPhone SE refresh in 5 years.
Too good to be true?
While I have no skepticism over the actual rumors of iPhone SE 4, I’ve always been skeptical about the price. A lot of people have thrown around $499 as a potential price tag for iPhone SE 4, but that’s never made a ton of sense in my head. Apple currently sells the iPhone 14 for $599, and the iPhone 15 for $699.
Yet somehow, a newer phone with components from both of these (plus an even newer chipset) is apparently supposed to cost substantially less?
There are two things that could lower Apples costs for the iPhone SE 4:
- The new in-house modems, allowing them to ditch Qualcomms pricier modems
- Not using Samsung OLEDs, and instead relying on BOE and LG display for more affordable panels
These two components are some of the most expensive components in the iPhone. It’s very possible that Apple could sell the iPhone SE 4 for $499 and still have decent margins. However, the bigger question is: would they?
‘iPhone 16E’ in the iPhone lineup
If the iPhone SE 4 were $499, it’d be $300 less than the iPhone 16 at $799. Between those two phones, you’d be paying a $300 price premium for Dynamic Island, the Action Button, and an ultra wide camera. I don’t know about you, but to me, it sounds like the iPhone SE 4 would be way too good of a deal compared to iPhone 16.
That’s why the iPhone 16E naming makes sense to me. If they ditch the SE branding, they could sell the phone for $599 without a ton of backlash. On top of that, the iPhone 15 will likely still be sold after the iPhone SE 4/16E releases. With the upcoming SE being called 16E instead, it’d be a great way to highlight that the iPhone 15 is an older phone without support for Apple Intelligence, despite carrying a higher price.
iPhone SE has also historically been known as the smaller phone, and with a 6.1-inch display, it’s hard to call it small.
iPhone 16E would also be a cleaner name for consumers, signifying that the phone is part of the current lineup. This would probably help sales to some degree. With the current SE branding, you can’t really get a great sense of its age, unless you do your research. However, Apple could mitigate that by switching to years instead of generation numbers.
Wrap up
Personally, I just like the “iPhone 16E” branding. “iPhone SE” always carried a bit of a cheaper stigma that I think turned some people away from it. With the first iPhone SE redesign in five years, it could be a great time to reshape how people view the product.
What do you think about the “iPhone 16E” rumor? Let us know in the comments.
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