With the turn of the new year, all eyes are on Apple to announce a date for the much anticipated iPhone SE 4 launch. The rumors are already flying around, and while one relatively reliable tip site suggested earlier this week that a January reveal could be on the cards following a report from an anonymous tipster, an even more trustworthy Apple insider is instead pointing to April for the big launch.
The latest is courtesy of Forbes’ Mark Gurman, stating on social media that we’ll see the iPhone SE 4 and iPad 11 by April 2025. Apple tipsters don’t get much more reliable than Gurman, so we think the best bet is to take his word over the anonymous leaker suggesting the phone could arrive in the next couple of weeks. Fortunately, March isn’t all that far away, so we should still have a more affordable entry for our list of the best gaming iPhones before long.
Interestingly, the launch rumor isn’t the only new suggestion surrounding Apple’s next mid-range device floating around over the last week or so. Another leak has suggested that Apple might launch the new device as the iPhone 16e, rather than the iPhone SE 4, copying Samsung’s approach of releasing a mid-range entry to its flagship series months after launch. Of course, we won’t know for sure until Apple reveals the device itself.
In terms of what we’re expecting from the iPhone SE 4, it looks like it could be a big upgrade from the previous model. A lot of rumors have suggested that the mid-ranger is losing its home button in favor of a bigger display, which is ideal if you’re planning on using it to play some Apple Arcade games, while others have posited that we can anticipate the device to pack the same A18 chip as the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus. That would make it Apple Intelligence capable, which makes sense given how heavily Apple is leaning into AI features in its recent marketing campaigns.
Of course, we’ll keep an eye out for any official updates from Apple over the next few weeks as we get towards the rumored March or April iPhone SE 4 launch date. If you can’t wait until then for a new phone, be sure to check out our picks for the best budget gaming phones and the best mid-range phones while you’re here.