Forget the new iPhone 16, Apple has something much better

Updated August 6 with details on ChatGPT’s delayed arrival to Apple Intelligence.

Apple will launch the new iPhone 16 in early September, but a new iPhone is coming that is much more exciting for consumers than the vanilla iPhone 16. How long will you have to wait for this fourth generation iPhone SE and is it worth the wait?

The current iPhone SE launched in 2022, and the previous model in 2020. Many in the Apple community were hoping for another two-year gap and the release of an iPhone SE in 2024, but that hasn’t happened. While Apple has not confirmed any SE plans, the sheer volume of leaks and data from supply and production channels all point to a new SE being prepared for launch.

Unlike the flagship iPhones, which see annual announcements on the second Tuesday of September, there isn’t a close tie to the exact day of previous iPhone SE release dates. The original SE was launched on March 21, 2017, the second generation on April 15, 2020, and the third generation on March 8, 2022.

Apple has traditionally launched a wave of products between mid-March and mid-April each year. Sometimes, these are the aforementioned iPhone SE models, but the last Q1 window has also been used to release new iPads, MacBooks, and Macs. While there’s no indication of an exact launch date for the rumored iPhone SE 4, you shouldn’t be too far off if you go with a late March reveal.

One of the biggest impacts of the release date will be Apple Intelligence. While Tim Cook and his team will make a limited subset of its AI-generating software available in September and allow iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro marketing to incorporate AI, it appears “in a way that only Apple can,” the generally accepted package. of “this is generative smartphone AI” won’t arrive until the first quarter of 2025, a date that lines up nicely with the launch of the iPhone SE.

Update: Sunday 4th August: New details released this weekend highlight the trouble path the iPhone 16 is on, and why waiting for Apple to address some issues is the practical solution, even if there wasn’t a cheaper, more capable iPhone SE waiting in the wings. wings.

Writing for the Power On newsletter, Mark Gurman confirms the late arrival of Apple Intelligence. It’s meant for iOS 18.1, which won’t be available until the first half of October. With the new iPhone 16 family expected to launch on Tuesday 10 September (with retail availability from Friday 20 September) they will launch without Apple Intelligence. With the launch of Google’s Pixel 9 family later this month and the debut of the second generation of Android’s generative artificial intelligence, the iPhone will be further behind the most in-demand feature of 2024.

And even when iOS 18.1 comes, it will be an incomplete AI suite. The latest iOS 18 beta contains this initial subset of data, and it’s not particularly special or groundbreaking, as Gurman points out:

“After testing the first beta version of Apple Intelligence, I can tell you that the features have yet to live up to the hype. In their current state, they are far from the game-changing technology that fans and investors are hoping for. Apple Intelligence will be.”

It may not live up to the expectations of those chasing the growth of generative AI, but it will allow Apple to market the iPhone as “coming with AI.”

Update: Tuesday 6th August: One of the biggest identifiable brands in generative AI is ChatGPT and it’s coming to Apple Intelligence. But like many of the features consumers expect in an AI smartphone, ChatGPT will roll out long after Apple announced to the public that “iPhone will deliver AI in a way only Apple can” in September.

Speaking to investors, Apple CEO Tim Cook stated that ChatGPT will be available on three major operating systems by 2024: iOS 18, iPadOS 18 and macOS Sequoia. He also stated that it will not be available until the end of the calendar year.

Expect ChatGPT responses to be available through Siri questions. Generating text and images is available through Apple’s cross-platform writing tools. Basic access will be available for free (and those with a premium subscription to ChatGPT will have access to the extended software package).

Apple executives have been heavily pushing Apple Intelligence and the inclusion of generative AI in future iPhones. It is seen as the main driver of sales for new devices. However, the AI ​​benefits already available on Android handsets won’t be available for a few months after launch. A subset of AI tools are currently part of the iOS 18 developer beta, but these won’t be available to the public until October. To that list, we can add ChatGPT in December and the full suite of tools in the first quarter of 2025.

The true picture of what Tim Cook and his team will be able to deliver through Apple Intelligence won’t be clear until March 2025. At that point, the iPhone SE will be available with all the advantages over the iPhone 16, and will provide an informed choice about AI for consumers.

It’s a safe bet that Apple will include generative AI with the iPhone SE—considering the increasing number of mid-range Android phones launching with AI, it would be a bold decision not to include it. Given the demand this has on iPhone chips, the iPhone SE will have to launch with the latest A18 Apple Silicon to have the required hardware capability. This wouldn’t be an unusual choice for SE; the last two generations of the SE launched with the same chipset as the current vanilla iPhone (it matches the iPhone 11 and iPhone 13, respectively), although you may see an A18 chip with fewer GPU cores compared to the iPhone 16 Pro).

However, the iPhone SE could leapfrog the iPhone 16 and debut a new device. Renowned analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reports that after years of delays and disappointments, Apple is finally considering using its own 5G modem design in its hardware. The iPhone line currently relies on Qualcomm for a cellular connection, forcing Apple to accommodate third-party hardware. Owning the modem would mean efficiency in iOS, which could provide faster connections while using less battery power. Kuo also reports that the new modem could debut with the iPhone SE.

If the iPhone SE can offer a full set of AI tools, a faster and more efficient modem, and the same powerful specs at a lower price than the iPhone 16, the launch date becomes a crucial part of the decision-making process on it which iPhone to buy. March 2025 is not that far away to get the first consumer-focused iPhone for a new generation.

Now read the latest iPhone, iPad and Mac headlines in Forbes’ weekly Apple Loop news roundup…