iPhone SE 4 could resemble the iPhone 14 with a single rear camera
Rumors spread on Tuesday that Apple would release the new iPhone SE and iPads alongside iOS 18.3 later in January, but they have been quickly dismissed by a more reliable source.
Apple is expected to have a packed early 2025 lineup spread from now until WWDC, however, recent rumors have assumed an even faster timeline for some products. That has all been put to bed thanks to an insight from a reliable source making better sense of the available data.
According to a post from Mark Gurman, Apple is indeed developing the iPhone SE 4 and new iPads with iOS 18.3 in mind for the launch. However, he states that Apple would release these products “by April if all goes to plan.”
Apple will allegedly release the new hardware ahead of iOS 18.4, which is due before WWDC in June. The post arrived after a private social media account suggested that Apple would release the new hardware alongside the iOS 18.3 update.
This April timeline lines up with previous rumors that place the iPhone SE 4, iPad Air with M4, and iPad 11 after a MacBook Air update earlier in 2025. That still leaves room for a potential new product reveal in May or during WWDC for the square display Home Hub device, though some believe that’s been pushed back to the fall.
The iPad 11 is expected to be a straightforward update that brings Apple Intelligence to the tablet thanks to the A18 processor. If Apple does update the iPad Air, it will be with M4, which would portend the arrival of the M5 equipped iPad Pro rumored for the fall.
January doesn’t work anyway
Apple can release a product whenever it wants, but it does tend to follow a pattern, especially with iPhones. Flagship models tend to launch in the fall, and iPhone SE has always launched in the spring.
There are two driving forces behind Apple’s product release cycles — supply chain and demand.
The holiday quarter is Apple’s most intense for maintaining supply chain inventory while also being Apple’s most lucrative in iPhone sales. The iPhone SE didn’t launch in the fall to ensure customers would purchase more expensive flagship models, but it also can’t launch in January because everyone in the market for a new device already got one over the holidays.
The supply chain would also struggle with an iPhone SE 4 launch in January due to simple part demand. The A18 processor destined for the iPhone SE 4 that enables Apple Intelligence is also used in the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus. So, the supply chain inventory for that chip was likely fully utilized through winter.
An April launch of iPhone SE would line up with previous releases, enable the supply chain to catch up with chip demand, and coincide with customers that upgrade in the spring. Also, there’s a non-zero chance iPhone SE 4 could be Apple’s first carbon neutral iPhone, which would be great for Earth Day.
So far, the iOS 18.3 betas appear to be bug fixes and other minor updates preparing the way for the new hardware and future Apple Intelligence features. It is expected to release sometime in January or early February.
