Don't expect the iPhone SE 4 before 2025, analysts say

iPhone SE render similar to iPhone XR in white

(Image credit: Front Page Tech)

Anyone holding off buying a new iPhone while Apple gets around to updating the iPhone SE might want to reconsider because that wait just got longer.

Reports on when the new iPhone SE 4 will arrive have varied in recent months but it looks increasingly likely that the iPhone SE isn't going to get any love for a good long while. Not until 2025 at the earliest, it would appear.

That's after not one but two analysts said that they believe that Apple is "unlikely to launch" a refreshed iPhone SE in 2024.

No new iPhone for you

And that's a shame because the iPhone SE is the best iPhone for a lot of people and now the 2022 model looks set to hang around for some time yet.

Writing in a research note seen by MacRumors, Barclays analysts Blayne Curtis and Tom O'Malley shared that they believe a 2024 release is unlikely for the new iPhone SE. That's based on "multiple conversations" with people in Apple's supply chain, we're told.

The current iPhone SE is the only one that still sports a Home button, and that should tell you a lot. It also has a small 4.7-inch display and a 12-megapixel rear camera, all things that we would like to see Apple improve with any future upgrade. Priced at $429, it's the cheapest iPhone you can buy but with older iPhones often available refurbished and for a great price, it might not be the best iPhone to choose right now.

And considering the iPhone SE now looks set to run all the way through 2023 and 2024 as it is, that's definitely going to be the case long before an updated model ever ships.

When it does ship, the new iPhone SE could well borrow design cues from Apple's more modern devices including a notch and the removal of the Home button. It isn't clear whether that will also include the addition of Face ID, or if Touch ID will be built into the power button, however.

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.