Apple’s Next-Gen iPhone SE, With Custom 5G Modem Could Launch In 2025: Report

Apple is reportedly considering the launch of a new iPhone SE in 2025 that would feature a custom-made 5G modem, with manufacturing support from TSMC, according to analyst Jeff Pu’s recent research note with Haitong International Securities.

According to a report by MacRumors, Apple is working on a possible 4th gen iPhone SE with a 6.1-inch OLED screen and a custom 5G modem—built on TSMC’s 4nm technology. And, two months ago, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicted that Apple had restarted the development of this device and that mass production would start in the first half of 2024. Qualcomm’s CEO also suggested that a 2024 release date could be likely possible, but now, analyst Jeff Pu believes that the launch has been pushed back to 2025.

Apple last updated the iPhone SE in March 2022, which is in its third-generation currently—powered by the A15 Bionic and Qualcomm’s custom Snapdragon X57 chip for sub-6GHz 5G. It features the same home button-based design, with the 4.7-inch IPS display, Touch ID biometric authentication, instead of Face ID and large top and button bezels. According to Ming-Chi Kuo, the 2025 model could offer a design similar to iPhone 14, with support for Face ID.

Further, MacRumors notes that Apple bought most of Intel’s smartphone modem unit in 2019 to make its own iPhone modem—reducing dependency on Qualcomm. But only time will tell  if Apple’s modem turns out to be better, or perhaps, even matches that of Qualcomm’s in terms of power efficiency or 5G speed.

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