The Next iPhone Could Arrive Early Next Year to Showcase Apple Intelligence on a Budget

The iPhone 16 won’t be the only Apple mobile device to take advantage of Apple Intelligence. According to a new report, Apple intends to unveil a 4th-gen iPhone SE early next year, around the same time most expect the Cupertino, California company to launch a rejuvenated Siri full of AI improvements. Finally, the SE is set to ditch the home button and feature a full edge-to-edge screen.

It will be the biggest SE redesign since the first iPhone SE debuted in 2016. Based on anonymous sources, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported Tuesday that the SE 4, codenamed V59, will have a notch like the iPhone 14. Otherwise, it will include a full screen. The 2022 iPhone SE with 5G capabilities still had the home button, but the next cheaper iPhone could bring the screen to the edge, just like every other standard iPhone since the iPhone 9.

According to Gurman’s sources, it will also support Apple Intelligence. Given that hint, we have to assume the next cheap phone would have a minimum of 8 GB of RAM, the same as the iPhone 15 Pro. Apple has all but outright stated that its AI suite requires that much memory plus a quality chip. That means it needs to have a CPU equivalent to the 6-core A17 Pro or the A18 found in the latest iPhones. 

Apple is facing stiff competition for cheap phones, especially considering just how strong a contender the Google Pixel 8a is and how the Google Pixel 9a is on the horizon. The current iPhone SE costs $430, while the modern, cheaper Pixels sell for $500. I wouldn’t be surprised if Apple raised the price to compensate for the added processing capabilities needed to support AI. 

We may see even more cheap Apple products by the end of this year. Gurman’s sources suggested there may be a new iPad Mini. The last 8.3-inch iPad came out in 2021 and sported the mobile-focused A15 Bionic chip. The new model could arrive before the end of 2024, though that seems a little hairy since there are plenty of rumors to say we’ll see new MacBook Pros and a Mac Mini with M4 chips this month.

But that’s not all. Gurman noted that Apple has plans for two new iPad Air models. They may look the same on the outside but could get upgraded internals. The last two iPad Airs from this year included an M2 chip. Perhaps the next models could get the jump to M3. I doubt it would get the M4 treatment. The iPad Pro 2024 marked the launch of the M4, and it would make the two devices way too close in performance to justify buying the more expensive model.

As much as these releases suggest Apple wants to regain its footing in the cheaper mobile device market, it also speaks to just how important Apple Intelligence is to its prospects. As good as the iPhone 16 lineup is, it’s still missing many promised features, including AI capabilities. According to the latest reports, the most important of which is the revised Siri, which won’t arrive until early 2025. Only the latest iPhones will get these capabilities. When competition like Google is already rolling ahead with Gemini on Android devices, Apple needs to look like this was the plan all along once Siri gets its promised AI makeover next year.