Is this the next iPhone SE? Leaked images claim to show Apple's next budget smartphone - including some huge upgrades

• Apple’s next ‘budget’ smartphone is in the works, new renders reveal 
• The tech giant is already expected to unveil the iPhone 16 in September 

Apple is already gearing up to release the iPhone 16 later this year.

But leaked renders show the tech giant could also have another new smartphone in the works – the iPhone SE 4.

The latest in Apple’s ‘budget’ SE line, it will have a 6.1-inch display, a USB-C charging port, and a single primary camera at the back, the images suggest.

Insiders expect it to cost about $500/£500 when released next year, which, although a hefty sum, would still make it one of the cheaper smartphones on the market.

iPhone SE is commonly described as Apple’s ‘budget’ line of handsets, although the latest model, iPhone SE 3, costs up to £579.

Leaked renders show the tech giant’s upcoming ‘budget’ smartphone the iPhone SE 4, which is the first in the SE line since 2022

It will have a 6.1-inch display, a USB-C charging port, and a single primary camera at the back, the images suggest

READ MORE: iPhone 16 ‘leak’ reveals new camera design

The new renders of the iPhone SE 4, obtained by 91mobiles, are CAD (computer-aided design) files, which are given to third-party manufacturers of iPhone cases ahead of a device’s launch.

According to the site, iPhone SE 4 will have a 6.1-inch display – quite a bit bigger than the 4.7-inch display on the iPhone SE 3, which was released in 2022.

And while the iPhone SE 3 has a home button – a physical button below the screen – this will be absent on the iPhone SE 4, the renders show.

What’s more, the front of the new phone will have a notch, similar to the iPhone 13 and iPhone 14.

The notch is the black area at the top of the screen that houses the front camera and the Face ID module, which allows users to unlock their device with a glance.

The renders also suggest iPhone SE 4 will have a single primary camera on the back and a USB-C charging port, just like iPhone 15.

Starting from last year, Apple had to ditch its own Lightning charging port (discernable by the eight pins) and replace it with USB-C, due to EU legislation.

iPhone SE is commonly described as Apple’s ‘budget’ line of handsets, although the latest model, iPhone SE 3 (pictured) goes from £429 to £579

Apple wasn’t happy when it was forced by the EU to ditch its own Lightning charging port (discernable by the eight pins) and replace it with USB-C

READ MORE: Is Apple preparing its first foldable phone?  

According to MacRumors, iPhone SE 4 will also feature the ‘Action Button’, although it’s hard to tell if this is true from the new renders.

The Action Button – the little button above the volume controls on the edge of the phone – can be used to turn a chosen setting on or off.

On last year’s iPhone 15, only the two Pro models got the Action Button, while the standard and Plus models kept the mute switch from previous years.

iPhone SE 4 is expected to be released in spring 2025, but 91mobiles says Apple will give a sneak preview of it at the unveiling event for iPhone 16 in September.

Apple doesn’t release an SE model every year – there have only been three since the first one was released in 2016.

Even so, they generate a considerable amount of hype, especially among Apple fans who can’t afford Apple’s pricey ‘flagship’ devices, of which iPhone 15 is the latest.

iPhone 15 starts at £799/$799 for the standard model, while the most expensive variation, the Pro Max, starts at £1,199/$1,199 and goes up to £1,599/$1,599 for 1TB of storage.

The next flagship model, iPhone 16, due in September, will be even more expensive, according to some reports.

According to the latest leaked images of iPhone 16, the tech giant is making a radical change to the camera lenses on the back of the upcoming flagship phone.

Its first ever foldable phones that look like classic 90s-style flip phones are said to be in the works, although these may not arrive this year.

Apple has also recently scrapped a multi-billion-dollar project to make its own electric car to rival the likes of Tesla.

Out of the blue, Apple told employees in an internal memo that the project would be ending, which largely came as a shock to the near-2,000 employees working on it.

Social media mocks Apple as it scraps its autonomous electric car plans after a decade of work – as one user jokes ‘they realised it would require Windows!’ 

Despite spending billions of dollars on the project in the past 10 years, Apple has scrapped efforts to build its own self-driving electric car.

Social media users have been mercilessly mocking the tech giant, which is reportedly set to fire employees who worked on the ambitious scheme.

Taking to X, one joked that Apple cancelled the car ‘after realizing it would require windows’, in a nod to the software from rival tech firm Microsoft.

Another user said that the ‘charging solution proved a bit inconvenient’ with a shot of an upside-down car with a charger plugged into it.

Yet another posted an image of the ‘original Apple car’ – driven by Lowly Worm the fictional earthworm from the classic 1960s children’s books.

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