iPhone SE 4 could be Apple’s secret weapon to gain more market share

14/3/2023

Apple was never known for selling cheap phones but that didn’t stop the Cupertino giant to take 8 spots on the top 10 most recently sold phones in 2022.

That goes to show that now, more than ever, a lot of people want an iPhone in their pockets and Tim Cook’s company seems to be willing to thrive even more, now aiming also for the lower-tier segment with the upcoming iPhone SE 4.

The long-rumored device may be a very strong competitor to phones like the Google Pixel 6a and the Samsung Galaxy A53, which are good examples of very popular Android smartphones in the present time.

iPhone 14 DNA but only with a single camera on the back

As for when the new budget-friendly iPhone will be released, recent rumors from The Elec backed up by the already-known analyst Ming-Chi Kuo suggested that we may see this new device being announced only in the spring of 2024.

A great surprise, according to the latest rumors, is that the next Special Edition iPhone should ditch the outdated 9-year-old design and go for something more modern, closer to what we already have in the iPhone 14 series — this may come as a very good surprise since many tech websites also suggested that the looks could be the same as the super-popular $750 iPhone XR from 2018.

Aside from that, we can also expect in this new iteration of the iPhone SE:

6.1″ OLED panel with 60 Hz
A16 Bionic SoC
4 to 6 GB of RAM
128 GB of storage (or 64 GB if Cupertino wants to go even cheaper)
USB-C port (but with USB 2.0 speeds)
Camera system inherited from the iPhone 14 (Face ID + 12 MP selfie camera and a 12 MP single-sensor on the back)

An expected price bump
Another very important factor for the iPhone SE 4 success is indeed the Price — the iPhone SE (2022) was launched at US$430 (almost half of what the $800 iPhone 14 costs), but it’s improbable that its successor will be able to keep the same price tag since we have seen noticeable price bumps worldwide in the latest releases. We can expect something around $405-500(~S$545.91-~S$673.96) for the US and around €700(~S$1009.07) for markets like Europe.

Since the most wanted mid-tier Android phones usually cost around US$450-650(~S$606.74 to S$876.40), this price bump may not be something that will make customers interested in migrating from Android to iOS give up, unless Google makes terrific work with the upcoming Pixel 7a, Pixel 8 and the Galaxy A33.

The next cost-benefit king?

The Way Samsung and Apple aim for their budget-driven customers is very different; the first goes above and beyond, offering large batteries, higher refresh-rate panels, and multiple cameras, while the second provides a recycled design with the most advanced chipset available.

And if we consider the recent selling numbers, it looks like Apple’s strategy is paying off. OS preferences aside, maybe throwing the top-tier Soc, an OLED panel, and a Face ID sensor, and raising the price a bit will end up getting more attention than offering things like a 90Hz or 120Hz panel — could we be looking at the next cost-benefit king? Only time will tell.