So far, the only way to try Apple Intelligence features on iPhone is through the iPhone 15 Pro. The entire iPhone 16 lineup is expected to get these features this fall, but “you can also bet” that the iPhone SE launching “as early as early 2025” will also have it. BloombergMark Gurman on today’s show Power on communication. If that’s true, it might be a lot harder to ditch Apple’s cheapest phone.
The purpose of the iPhone SE is to give you a cheap, reasonably powerful iPhone that recycles an outdated form factor (the recent iPhone 8). Clearly, this is a budget compromise from Apple!
The upcoming iPhone 16 is still expected to have other advantages, such as dual lenses and the action button of the 15 Pro, which have not yet been rumored for the iPhone SE. But how important are these features to the average person? If the next-gen SE looks like the iPhone 14, performs about the same as the iPhone 16 series, and is priced similarly to the iPhone SE, will they skip those savings in favor of the benefits of a pricier iPhone? I guess we’ll find out soon.