iPhone SE 4 will be the first iPhone equipped with Apple’s 5G modem

Just a day later Bloomberg Mark Gurman revealed new details about the upcoming iPhone SE 4 launch, 9 to 5Mac shared additional context in her own report. According to reliable sources on the Apple blog, the next-generation iPhone SE will actually be the first iPhone to feature an all-new, in-house developed component from Apple.

Apple’s 5G modem is alive

Sources say Apple’s long-awaited 5G modem, codenamed “Centauri,” will first ship on the iPhone SE 4 next year. Apple has been trying to create its own modem since acquiring Intel’s modem business in 2019, but numerous reports have detailed the behind-the-scenes struggles to get a 5G modem off the ground.

9to5Mac Sources suggest that Apple’s modem will support Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and the phone’s GPS, and will also drastically reduce battery consumption, especially when users enable Low Power Mode in the Battery menu in the Settings app.

The plan is to eventually include the modem in every iPhone model, but that gives Apple a chance to experiment with the technology before launching a flagship phone.

More details about iPhone SE 4

Sources say that apart from the modem, the iPhone SE 4 will be most similar to the iPhone 14, with flat sides and an OLED panel with a notch at the top. Although owners of the new budget model won’t get Dynamic Island, Apple will eventually introduce Face ID to its cheaper product line, leaving Touch ID behind for good.

Apple will reportedly use the same 48MP wide camera and 12MP front camera as the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus, but there will be no ultra-wide or telephoto cameras.

Finally, Apple Intelligence support will be possible thanks to the A18 chip, which Apple plans to use in the new iPhone SE. It will be the same chipset found in the iPhone 16, along with 8 GB of RAM and a 5-core graphics processor.