iPhone SE Inventory 'Quickly' Dwindling at Apple Stores Ahead of New Model With These Upgrades

Apple is widely rumored to be planning a new iPhone SE, and there is now a fresh hint that the device's launch is approaching.

iPhone SE 4 Thumb 1
In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said iPhone SE inventory is "quickly" dwindling at a "large number" of Apple Store locations in the U.S., and he believes this is a "reliable sign" that a new model is on the horizon.

The current iPhone SE is still available to order on Apple's online store.

According to Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the iPhone SE 4 will be released around the quarter mark of 2025. That means the device will likely be released this March or April, just like all previous iPhone SE models were.

The new iPhone SE is said to have a similar design as the base iPhone 14. Rumored features for the device include a 6.1-inch OLED display, Face ID, a USB-C port, a single 48-megapixel rear camera, a newer A-series chip and an increased 8GB of RAM for Apple Intelligence support, and the first Apple-designed 5G modem.

The current iPhone SE looks similar to the iPhone 8, with outdated features such as a Touch ID button, Lightning port, and thick bezels around the display. Pricing starts at $429, but at least a slight price increase seems probable for the next model.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 13 New Features

Wednesday April 23, 2025 8:31 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of April 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
iphone 17 dummies sonny dickson

iPhone 17 Air Almost as Thin as Its Buttons, New Images Show

Thursday April 24, 2025 2:14 am PDT by
If you missed the video showing dummy models of Apple's all-new super thin iPhone 17 Air that's expected later this year, Sonny Dickson this morning shared some further images of the device in close alignment with the other dummy models in the iPhone 17 lineup, indicating just how thin it is likely to be in comparison. The iPhone 17 Air is expected to be around 5.5mm thick – with a thicker ...
iPhone 17 Air Pastel Feature

iPhone 17 Air Launching Later This Year With These 16 New Features

Thursday April 24, 2025 8:24 am PDT by
While the so-called "iPhone 17 Air" is not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the ultra-thin device. Overall, the iPhone 17 Air sounds like a mixed bag. While the device is expected to have an impressively thin and light design, rumors indicate it will have some compromises compared to iPhone 17 Pro models, including only a single rear camera, a...
AirPods Pro 3 Mock Feature

AirPods Pro 3 Just Months Away – Here's What We Know

Friday April 18, 2025 5:16 am PDT by
Despite being more than two years old, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 still dominate the premium wireless‑earbud space, thanks to a potent mix of top‑tier audio, class‑leading noise cancellation, and Apple's habit of delivering major new features through software updates. With AirPods Pro 3 widely expected to arrive in 2025, prospective buyers now face a familiar dilemma: snap up the proven...
iphone 17 air dummy unbox therapy

iPhone 17 Air's Extreme Thinness Demoed in New Video

Tuesday April 22, 2025 10:22 am PDT by
Apple plans to release an all-new super thin iPhone this year, debuting it alongside the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max. We've seen pictures of dummy models, cases, and renders with the design, but Lewis Hilsenteger of Unbox Therapy today showed off newer dummy models that give us a better idea of just how thin the "iPhone 17 Air" will be. The iPhone 17 Air is expected to be ...
Global Close Your Rings Day Pin

Apple Stores Giving Away a Limited-Edition Pin For Free Today

Thursday April 24, 2025 10:15 am PDT by
Starting today, April 24, Apple Stores around the world are giving away a special pin for free to customers who request one, while supplies last. Photo Credit: Filip Chudzinski The enamel pin's design is inspired by the Global Close Your Rings Day award in the Activity app, which Apple Watch users can receive by closing all three Activity rings today. The limited-edition pin is the physical...
Apple Logo Spotlight Blue

White House Hits Back at Apple's Massive EU Fine

Thursday April 24, 2025 5:57 am PDT by
Apple's $570 million fine from the EU has triggered a sharp rebuke from the White House, which called the fine a form of economic extortion, Reuters reports. The fine was announced on Wednesday by the European Commission, following a formal investigation into Apple's compliance with the bloc's Digital Markets Act (DMA), a landmark piece of legislation aimed at curbing the market dominance of ...
ipad air magic keyboard feature

iPadOS 19 Rumored to Show Mac-Like Menu Bar When Connected to Magic Keyboard

Thursday April 24, 2025 12:09 pm PDT by
When an iPad running iPadOS 19 is connected to a Magic Keyboard, a macOS-like menu bar will appear on the screen, according to the leaker Majin Bu. This change would further blur the lines between the iPad and the Mac. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman previously claimed that iPadOS 19 will be "more like macOS," with unspecified improvements to productivity, multitasking, and app window management,...

Top Rated Comments

Populus Avatar
14 weeks ago

I was planning on waiting for just before the SE 4 is released but it looks like I need to order an SE 3 now if I want one.
Yeah, if you want an SE 3, order it now. The last iPhone with Touch ID, a great device for those that still love LCD displays in a compact form factor. Even today, its A15 chip with 4GB of RAM is very capable of almost anything.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jouster Avatar
14 weeks ago
The main camera on my 12 has failed, so I will be in the market for the SE or a 16. Curious to see how the two are differentiated.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ThatsMeRight Avatar
14 weeks ago

If it has a 6.1 inch screen, won’t it be too similar to the iPhone 16 models? The SE is cheap and small and all these changes will do the opposite.
Don't forget the new SE is not only positioned against the 16, but rather also against the upcoming iPhone 17. They're setting up their new holiday line-up, starting with the SE 4 (or whatever they'll call it). The SE 4 won't be updated for years, so at some point it will also be up against the 18 and likely the 19.

It's going to be the iPhone for those that want things to just work, but don't need fancy features:

- No action button
- Just a single good camera, not 2 or 3 cameras
- No camera control
- No ProMotion (which the 17 will likely get)
- Lower screen brightness
- Maybe no camera features like Audio Mix, Wind Noise Reduction, etc.
- Maybe no new UW chip, no thread, etc.
- 'Old' notch design

In other words: it's an iPhone and you'll get the iPhone experience as it will have a very good camera, very nice display, very good chip, etc... but you're still going to miss out on features. For many people, the notch will feel dated already and they'll automatically rule out an SE 4. Apple has a very good upselling strategy. Just look at their iPads: for 90% of the people, the base iPad is actually all they need... but for just a little bit more, you get the Air with some nicer features... and then, when you're mentally in that territory, the Pro isn't farstretched either.

Apple will do the same here: you'll get a very decent SE... but just for a few hundred more, you get the iPhone 17 with modern notch design, ProMotion, extra cameras, action button, camera control, etc. + whatever new the add to the 17 this fall. (I bet something like ProMotion 90 or even 120).

And then for another $100 or $200, you can actually get the 'very cool looking and ultra slim iPhone 17 Air'.

Oh, and now you're only $100 away from a 17 Pro model.

Edit:

iPhone 14 is going to be $599 starting next month.

The new SE is bound to be cheaper to produce, because according to rumors it will share the same ‘base’ manufacturing lines along with other iPhones.

They’re also going to skimp on some features, like the removal of cameras.

It’s safe to say that the new SE will retail min. $499, max $599.
I was guessing $499 earlier in this thread. It's become $599. Fits perfectly in the 'replace iPhone 14' strategy.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Saturn007 Avatar
14 weeks ago
Still looks like far too big a phone for many of us!

How will its actual physical dimensions compare to those of the iPhone SE 2022 — or, of more importance, at least to many of us, to those of the iPhone SE 2016?

I have big hands, but the modern slab iPhones are simply too big and uncomfortable to hold. The iPhone SE 2016 remains the perfect size. Give me a physical home button every day of the week!
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MacBH928 Avatar
14 weeks ago
high demand for touchID ,home button, and phone size that can be operated by one hand. They shouldn't take this model away.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Expos of 1969 Avatar
14 weeks ago

...and almost no one will pay that. It'll be free with a phone contract, or deeply discounted with pre-paid plans...so the listed price is nearly irrelevant.

The only ones paying almost full price will be corporate customers. The only phone my company offers is the SE.
Not true at all for Europe and possibly other areas outside the US.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)