A new rumor out of China claims Apple’s upcoming iPhone SE 4 will use the same rear chassis manufacturing process as the upcoming iPhone 16.
Weibo-based leaker “Fixed Focus Digital” claims the backplate manufacturing process for the iPhone SE 4 is “exactly the same” as the base model in Apple’s upcoming iPhone 16 lineup. While the iPhone 16 lineup is expected to debut in September, the iPhone SE 4 is expected to arrive in spring 2025.
The latest rumor throws a bit of shadow on a previous rumor that suggested Apple would use a modified iPhone 14 chassis as the basis for a fourth-generation iPhone SE. Previous reports from November 2023 claimed that inside sources familiar with the manufacturing process had said the dimensions of the iPhone SE 4 “perfectly matched” those of the base model iPhone 14.
Apple possibly chose to adopt its newer rear chassis process for the upcoming fourth-generation iPhone SE simply to hold down costs. It i also possible that the change was due to the decision to use a different camera system on the iPhone SE 4. The iPhone SE 4 was previously rumored to include a single 48-megapixel rear camera with a custom backplate for the device.
Apple is reportedly using a new vertical camera lens arrangement for the iPhone 16 in place of the current diagonal lens layout on the iPhone 15. The new layout is reportedly designed to allow the standard iPhone 16 to capture Spatial Video for use on the Apple Vision Pro headset.
Apple is reportedly shooting for an under $500 base price for its fourth-generation iPhone SE model. The SE 4 will replace the Home button and Touch ID with Face ID, and the display size is expected to increase from 4.7 inches to 6.1 inches. An Action button and a USB-C port are also expected to make an appearance on the device.
