Most Reliable Sources are on ‘Team Notch’ for the iPhone SE 4
Over the past year, there’s been some debate about whether Apple’s upcoming iPhone SE will feature a notch or a Dynamic Island on the front display. However, another reliable analyst is weighing in to say Apple’s next-generation budget iPhone will indeed feature a notch — just like the iPhone 14 expected to inspire its design.
We began seeing reports that the so-called iPhone SE 4 would follow the base iPhone 14 model near the end of 2023, which seemed to make sense as we continued to hear rumors of the launch date being pushed into 2025. The original 2016 iPhone SE adopted the design of the 2013 iPhone 5s and the 2020 iPhone SE mirrored the 2017 iPhone 8, so it stood to reason that the 2025 iPhone SE would follow the 2022 iPhone 14 design. The only outlier in that whole pack was the 2022 iPhone SE, an oddly early release that made no design changes but also seemed to exist for the sole purpose of bringing it into the 5G era.
However, unlike the previous iPhone SE models, the fourth-generation iPhone SE was expected to make at least one departure from its design mentor: a single camera. This led some to suggest that if Apple was going to change that, it could easily make other design changes as well.
In early 2024, leaker Majin Bu put forward the idea that the iPhone SE 4 would adopt the Dynamic Island. This came on the heels of Apple’s decision to embrace the new UI element across its entire iPhone 15 lineup, so the notion didn’t seem too far out. There was a certain logic to the idea of the iPhone SE joining the Dynamic Island club since it was expected to arrive only a few months before Apple discontinued the iPhone 14, otherwise ending the notched-screen era.
Some mid-2024 reports seemed to confirm that Apple might go for a more iPhone 16-esque look by using a backplate with an identical manufacturing process to Apple’s latest models. Other reports hinted that the Action button could also come to the next iPhone SE, lending credence to the idea that it could resemble an iPhone 16 more than an iPhone 14. A January 2025 rumor from Majin Bu even suggested Apple might call it the “iPhone 16E” instead of the iPhone SE.
However, that last one was pretty dubious by the time it landed since nearly every other prominent source, from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman to anonymous but reliable sources speaking with 9to5Mac, agreed that the iPhone SE would be like the iPhone 14 in every way except for the cameras — meaning a notch in the front screen and no Action button, which was more recently confirmed by a leaked set of photos of dummy units shared by Sonny Dickson two weeks ago.
That seemed to be the end of the matter until another reputable leaker, Evan Blass (@evleaks), offered a dissenting opinion. Blass shared code references with visual assets that pointed to a Dynamic Island and even highlighted its existence.
Although another set of dummy photos and a video clip recently shared by Majin Bu seemingly refute that, those weren’t entirely conclusive. In addition to not having an entirely clear view of the front screen, dummy units are fabricated by case makers from specs provided by Apple or leaked out of Apple’s supply chain. It’s possible for them to get some of the details wrong, especially for something like the front screen, which wouldn’t impact the design of most cases.
Now, display analyst Ross Young, who is more often right than not about all things pertaining to Apple’s display technology, has weighed in, pointedly confirming that it will have a “notch like iPhone 14.”
As we’ve suspected for some time, it’s likely the notch will be identical to the one on the iPhone 14. One of the key ways to keep the iPhone SE cost down is to avoid reinventing the wheel, and Apple already has all the pieces in place to manufacture the iPhone 14. Plus, with the production of those models winding down, it’s a perfect time to switch things over to a “new” model. It’s likely the iPhone SE will be so similar to the iPhone 14 that you’ll be able to use the same cases — as long as you’re willing to live with a larger camera cutout.
Like its predecessors, the iPhone SE is still expected to have only one camera. If the rumors are accurate, that will be a 48-megapixel Fusion camera similar to the one found on the iPhone 15 and iPhone 16, but it will still stand alone. This could be the only significant design difference from the iPhone 14, but it’s also not a difficult change, as it involves only the backplate. The iPhone SE 4 will also continue the tradition of using Apple’s latest available silicon — the A18 chip, in this case — and will almost certainly get 8 GB of RAM so that it’s ready to handle Apple Intelligence.
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