Apple's iPhone SE 4 Set to Boost AI Adoption and Revenue with Apple Intelligence

Apple's most affordable iPhone should be a lot more popular thanks to Apple Intelligence - 9to5Mac

Apple is expected to replace the iPhone SE 3 next week with a new affordably-priced model that has several upgrades. Those upgrades, including Apple Intelligence support, are expected to make the next iPhone much more popular than previous entry-level iPhones. That's according to supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who expects Apple to ship 12 million units of the iPhone SE replacement in the first half of this year, followed by another 10 million units across the second half of this year. That 22 million unit expectation compares to less than 20 million iPhone SE units typically shipped during the first year after release, Kuo explains. The analyst notes that the benefits for Apple from next week's new iPhone model are threefold. First, Apple enjoys a bump to the typical seasonal dip when it introduces a cheaper iPhone model in between flagship iPhone launches. Second, bringing Apple Intelligence to an iPhone that's more affordable than the iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 16, and iPhone 16 Pro means wider adoption for Apple's artificial intelligence features. Third, Apple is expected to ship its first-ever modem developed in-house with the iPhone SE replacement. Testing the Apple modem in a model that's less critical to the iPhone lineup is crucial for Apple. Meanwhile, Kuo expects Qualcomm to utilize its modem patents to still collect licensing fees from Apple -- even if the iPhone maker is moving away from Qualcomm modems. We'll see how it all begins to play out on Wednesday. That's when Apple is set to hold its recently announced product launch. Apple has a variety of unreleased products that are expected in the next few weeks, including the iPad 11 with Apple Intelligence and MacBook Air with Apple's M4 chip.

Apple Could Generate A Whopping $11 Billion In Revenue From The iPhone SE 4 Launch, Analyst Believes This Model Will Accelerate Company's Generative AI Features Adoption

A teaser from Apple CEO Tim Cook hinted that the iPhone SE 4 would be unveiled next week, and with it, the company would offer a more affordable solution for the masses to enter the iOS ecosystem while also taking advantage of flagship features. Based on multiple reports, including a specifications sheet, the 'low cost' handset will ship with an A18 SoC, along with 8GB of RAM, meaning that it will immediately qualify to run Apple Intelligence. These attributes and more are what will allow the iPhone SE 4 to generate up to $11 billion in revenue for the company, assuming an analyst's estimates hit the mark. The latest figures provided by TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo mention that the iPhone SE 4 shipments are expected to reach 12 million units in the first half of 2025 and 10 million in the second half. These estimates suggest that Apple's most affordable model in the entire lineup will be the most popular compared to all of its direct predecessors, primarily thanks to the new design and the ability to run on-device generative AI features thanks to sporting superior hardware. At its rumored starting price of $499 for the base model, Kuo's estimates hint that the iPhone SE 4 will generate $11 billion in revenue for Apple, but more importantly is the fact that the device will be the first to tout the technology giant's first in-house 5G modem. While it is a major technological breakthrough and one where the California-based giant can finally obtain dependency from Qualcomm, Kuo has shared some bad news on this front. Apparently, the custom 5G modem may invite some form of patent litigation from Qualcomm, but Apple could circumvent that with a licensing fee. In addition to the massive hardware overhaul, the iPhone SE 4 design will be vastly different than previous iterations, as it will ditch the physical home button and adopt a full-screen display, which likely means that it will support Face ID. As for the rest of the specifications, we will update our readers next week on everything there is to know about Apple's latest iPhone member, so stay tuned.