I have loved the concept of the iPhone SE since the beginning. The introduction of the first-generation iPhone SE back in March 2016 managed to surprise me in a way that later iPhone introductions did not. At the time I remember thinking it was a very un-Apple move to make. Not because it didn’t make sense; quite the contrary — it felt like an unusually user-friendly decision. Having a phone with (most of) the capability of the then flagship iPhone 6s and 6s Plus models, but in a smaller package that retained the iPhone 5/5s size and design (what I consider the best iPhone design) and at a more affordable price range — the 16GB iPhone SE cost €250 less than the 16GB iPhone 6s in my country — felt like Christmas in March. And for those users who weren’t thrilled about the size of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus the year before, and the 6s and 6s Plus now, the iPhone SE truly was a Christmas gift delivered in spring.

That first-generation iPhone SE for me really embodied the idea of a ‘Special Edition’ iPhone. The classic, iconic design of the iPhone 4/4s/5/5s, was being relaunched with a more modern engine under the bonnet. The different timing (March, not September) immediately suggested a different pace, a separate timeline. Moving in an eccentric, inclined orbit, the Pluto of iPhones. One of the first things my nerd friends and I chatted about some days after the iPhone SE was available, was whether there was going to be a second-generation iPhone SE. Our first impression, our gut feeling about that iPhone was that it was going to be one of a kind. A Special Edition iPhone. Maybe Apple would not discontinue it after just one year; maybe it would last a bit more. Different timeline, different orbit, remember?

It did last two years. In March 2017, the iPhone SE was refreshed with new storage sizes, more reasonable storage sizes for the time. Instead of the initial 16 and 64GB capacities, now it was available in 32 and 128GB. 

The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus introduced in 2014 were a huge success for Apple. It’s been a while since I bothered to look at statistics and graphs, but I believe that these iPhone models are, to this day, the most sold in the history of the iPhone. Oh, apparently Wikipedia has a List of best-selling mobile phones and indeed, the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus are the best-selling iPhone models, with a total of 222.4 million units.

Yet that didn’t mean people stopped liking smaller phones. I remember crafting a cardboard mockup of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus to see how they would fit in my hand. I had an iPhone 5 at the time, and was considering an upgrade, but I found the sizes of the bigger iPhones difficult to handle, especially the Plus model, which felt heavy, awkward, and unpleasant to use one-handed. A lot of friends and acquaintances found the sizes of the iPhone 6 and 6s off-putting. And it’s interesting to see on that list of best-selling phones that, while there’s no trace of the first-generation iPhone SE, the iPhone 5s is actually the third Apple best-seller (164.5 million units sold), after the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus (222.4 million), and the 6s and 6s Plus (174.1 million). 

After a while, that question came up again: would there be a second-generation iPhone SE? And if so, what would it look like? I remember an email from one of my readers, back in late 2019: they were hoping Apple would maintain the iconic design, maybe simply making the SE a bit bigger, and giving it the specs of the previously-released iPhone XS, like the A12 Bionic chip, and the same camera array. And this reader wasn’t alone in their hopes; many others — perhaps thinking I had some kind of special access to otherwise secret product information, or could talk to someone at Apple to let them know my readers’ wishes — wrote me expressing their idea of the iPhone SE. That it should either be a once-in-an-iPhone-lifetime model, or an iPhone that essentially remained the same on the outside while being updated on the inside. Again, a Special Edition, a constant iconic presence along with the new iPhones on the block.

But Apple had less ambitious, more pragmatic plans in mind. In April 2020, the second-generation iPhone SE was revealed and it was, more mundanely, an iPhone 8 on the outside, with the internals of the iPhone 11 for the most part. At that point, us fans of the iconic design (and size) of the iPhone 5 and 5s, realised that the iPhone SE had very little ‘Special’ in its ‘Edition’. The pattern seemed to be more like, The SE is just last-generation design integrating modern-enough tech specs. Or perhaps Apple’s executives were underwhelmed by the sales of the first-generation iPhone SE and didn’t want to risk re-proposing something with the same design or with the same size.

When the third-generation iPhone SE was expected in spring 2022, then, I anticipated a product with the internals of the iPhone 13 line and with the design of the iPhone X. On the one hand it made sense considering the previous two iterations, on the other that would have been a bummer for me, because in 2022 I found myself needing to upgrade from my iPhone 8, and didn’t want an iPhone with a notch and without a Home button with Touch ID (that was the reason why I purchased an iPhone 8 instead of an X when both models were released in 2017). So imagine my surprise when the third-generation iPhone SE came out and it featured the same exact design of the second-generation iPhone SE (and the iPhone 8). 

And imagine my joy: the last time I was like, Shut up and take my money! had been when I purchased the iPhone 4 more than ten years prior. Well, in all honesty, I would have been happier if the iPhone SE line had preserved the size and look of the iPhone 5/5s/SE1, because that’s what had been feeling more comfortable and with a big-enough screen for me. But ever since purchasing the iPhone 8 I had grown accustomed to its physical size over time. Anything bigger still didn’t work for me: for work-related reasons (testing the UI of localised iOS apps on a bigger iPhone screen) I also bought a second-hand iPhone 7 Plus, and while I could see why smartphones this big may appeal to many people, I also couldn’t see myself rocking such a big phone on a daily basis and when out and about. The only articles of clothing with pockets big enough to accommodate a ‘plus size’ iPhone were my winter jackets and my raincoat. Considering how little it rains where I live, and considering that I may be wearing my winter jackets only occasionally over the course of one month and a half in a whole year (because that’s how long is the ‘cold’ season here, typically), taking the iPhone 7 Plus with me when not at home was a rather awkward affair and had to put it in my backpack or laptop bag. Even in the biggest pockets of my cargo pants it was uncomfortable to carry. As for the handling, it’s always been a two-hands phone for me.

But I digress. I was happy to upgrade to a third-generation iPhone SE in 2022, but I was also puzzled by Apple’s decision to keep the previous design without any external change. The ‘pattern’ I seemed to have identified two years before went straight out of the window. Was Apple reconsidering the concept of a ‘Special Edition’ iPhone and settling on a definitive design, deciding to keep offering a ‘small’ iPhone with Touch ID and a proper Home button for all those users who preferred this solution over Face ID and a no-Home-button iPhone? 

Or, less imaginatively, was Apple more satisfied with the sales of the second-generation SE — which did sell respectably according to that afore-linked Wikipedia page, 24.2 million units — that they decided to play safe and keep the previous design? Not that risking an upgrade to the iPhone X look would have been such a risk, however, given that the iPhone X has sold 63 million units (source: that same Wikipedia page). Was it simply a matter of having lots of parts available for manufacturing, and therefore not changing the SE design was the path of least resistance?

I don’t know, but looking at how the main iPhone lineup’s design has evolved over the years, I was starting to like the idea that Apple had made a more ‘conceptual’ choice and settled on the older, ‘new classic’ design of the iPhone 6/7/8 to keep offering a reasonably-sized phone, with a classic, properly rectangular display unmarred by dreadful notches, and with a reasonably reliable Home button with Touch ID. If Apple released a fourth-generation iPhone SE that looked like this while featuring most of the internals of the iPhone 16, I would, for the first time in my life, camp outside the local Apple Store the night before the official release and be among the first to buy it. (Yeah, I can hear your snark from here — It wouldn’t be such a long queue, Rick, don’t worry).

However, since the fourth-generation iPhone SE was expected in spring 2024 but didn’t materialise, with some even speculating that maybe it was the end of the line for the SE spinoff, the rumour mill has been active for a long time by now, and it would seem that the most likely scenario for the next iPhone SE is that it will probably feature the internals of the iPhone 16 and the outer design of the iPhone XR.

Pragmatically speaking, it would make some sense. If the pattern for the iPhone SE line is indeed, The SE is just last-generation design integrating modern-enough tech specs, then an iPhone SE with the size and design of the XR would fit such pattern. Given the current sizes of the main iPhone lineup (6.1 inches for the regular 16, 6.3 inches for the iPhone 16 Pro, 6.7 inches for the iPhone 16 Plus, and 6.9 inches for the iPhone 16 Pro Max), the iPhone SE 4 would still be a small-ish iPhone by current standards. And it would feature the new notched look introduced with the iPhone X back in 2017, marking a decisive departure from the iPhone 6 look. This notched look is apparently considered ‘iconic’ by Apple and many fans (who have no design taste at all, but that’s a flame war for another time), so, again, in many ways an iPhone XR-looking fourth-generation iPhone SE would make sense.

Would it really, though?

At the time of writing, the iPhones Apple is still producing and selling are the current iPhone 16 line, the non-pro iPhone 15 and 15 Plus (starting at $799), the non-pro iPhone 14 and 14 Plus (starting at $599), and the third-generation iPhone SE (starting at $429).

This is exactly the same situation we had when the third-generation iPhone SE was introduced in spring 2022. At the time the lineup was the then-current iPhone 13 line, the non-pro iPhone 12 and non-pro iPhone 11 offered at slightly lower prices than when they were new. 

And rewinding a little more, in April 2020, the lineup was the then-current iPhone 11 line, the iPhone XR, and the second-generation iPhone SE. 

Of course, back in 2016 things were a bit simpler: the first-generation iPhone SE only shared the spotlight with the then-current iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, and discounted iPhone 6/6 Plus models. Keeping the 5s still in production made no sense, obviously, given that the SE looked exactly the same.

The iPhone SE has historically been positioned as the most affordable iPhone, and engaging in a sort of trade-offs battle with the oldest regular iPhone model still on offer. 

• The first-generation iPhone SE had better internals (CPU and camera) than the discounted iPhone 6 models, but was cheaper; on the other hand it had a smaller screen with older display technology.
• The second-generation iPhone SE had better internals than the iPhone XR (better CPU, same camera, to be precise), was significantly cheaper ($399 versus the XR’s $599), but again, it had a smaller display, it didn’t have Face ID, and worse battery life.
• The third-generation iPhone SE was decidedly better than the iPhone 11 Apple was still selling in April 2022, but had also a better CPU than the iPhone 12; on the other hand, the iPhone 12 had a bigger and better display, better camera array, better network performance. Still, the iPhone SE was $429, the iPhone 12 $599.

For those wanting a smaller, more affordable iPhone with a powerful-enough CPU, the iPhone SE 3 remained an interesting pick. And given that the iPhone 14 still retains the A15 Bionic chip of the 13 Pro and the iPhone SE 3, and is currently offered at $599, the $429 iPhone SE 3 still remains a viable solution for those with a tight budget.

Now, imagine a hypothetical fourth-generation iPhone with an A18 Bionic chip (or perhaps a specially-designed A17 Bionic, sort of a nerfed-A18?), the single-camera setup and technology of the iPhone XR, and of course the external design of the iPhone XR, featuring a 6.1‑inch screen (maybe with a slightly updated display technology), Face ID, etc. Let’s say it would replace both the third-generation iPhone SE and the iPhone 14 in Apple’s current offering. Its trade-offs battle would be against the regular iPhone 15. And it would be a tough one. Yes, it would have a better chip, but given how recent performance gains in iPhones have become basically imperceptible in everyday use, would such an iPhone SE 4 be a better proposition over the 15 when all it had would be same or better CPU speed and a lower price? The display would have the same size, the display technology would be worse, it would feature a notch while the iPhone 15 has a dynamic island, it would feature a decidedly worse camera setup… Sure, $429 would be a bargain compared to the $699 of the iPhone 15. But its form factor is too similar and, apart from the CPU, all the rest would be the same stuff but worse in all respects. Unless Apple is planning to do some unexpected changes, like offering a single-camera setup but with a better camera than the XR’s 12-megapixel affair, to make the next iPhone SE more appealing, I don’t see anything particularly special or worth considering in it. 

Sure, the iPhone XR has been an unexpected hit — the combined total sales of the XR, XS and XS Max have been 151.1 million units (source: that same Wikipedia page) — so it’s understandable that its design and form factor would be a good candidate for the iPhone SE 4.

But you know what I think would make more sense? I know I come from a biased position, but to me it would make more sense if the design and form factor of the next iPhone SE would be those of the iPhone 12/13 mini. Maybe the 13 mini, since it has a smaller notch on the front and a better battery performance. 

It makes more sense for me because the trade-offs against the iPhone 15 would be more interesting. You would have a better display technology compared to the iPhone XR’s, but on the other hand you would have a smaller 5.4‑inch display. Those who are happy with bigger iPhone screens could choose the 6.1‑inch iPhone 16 or 15, while those who still love smaller iPhones could see in the SE 4 the long-awaited refresh of their beloved iPhone 13 mini. The camera array could be the same as the 13 mini, too: worse than the one in the iPhone 15, but not that comparatively bad as the one in the XR. Overall, it would still feel like a ‘Special Edition’ phone: compared to the mainstream iPhone lineup, it would be different/special enough, appealing enough, modern enough, all the while maintaining that classic, truly iconic design that harks back to the lines of the iPhone 4 and 5. Apple could even sell it at $499 instead of $429. Heck, I could even put aside my long-standing deep-seated distaste for the notch if I could buy a smaller iPhone with current tech specs.

I’m too cynical to really hope Apple would make such a design choice, though. Oh well, one can dream.