A preview from Apple CEO Tim Cook hints at the release of iPhone SE 4 next week, at which time the company will provide the masses with a more affordable solution to enter the iOS ecosystem while taking advantage of flagship features. According to multiple sources, including spec sheets, the "low-cost" phone will feature an A18 SoC and 8GB of RAM, meaning it will be eligible to run Apple Intelligence out of the box.
Assuming analysts' estimates are in line, these attributes and more will allow iPhone SE 4 to generate up to $11 billion in revenue for the company.
The latest data provided by Tianfeng International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo mentioned that iPhone SE4 shipments are expected to reach 12 million units in the first half of 2025 and 10 million units in the second half. These estimates suggest that the most affordable model in Apple's entire lineup will be the most popular compared to all of its direct predecessors, mainly due to a new design and the ability to run generative AI features on the device thanks to superior hardware.
The base model is rumored to start at $499, and Ming-Chi Kuo estimates iPhone SE 4 will bring Apple $11 billion in revenue, but more importantly, the device will be the first to feature the tech giant's first homemade 5G modem. While this is a major technological breakthrough and one that the California-based giant can finally rely on from Qualcomm, Kuo also shared some bad news on this front. Obviously, a custom 5G modem would likely trigger some form of patent litigation from Qualcomm, but Apple could circumvent that by charging licensing fees.
In addition to the massive hardware overhaul, the design of iPhone SE 4 will be very different from previous versions, as it will ditch the physical home button and adopt a full-screen display, which may mean it will support FaceID.