Apple Preparing New Low-End Phone for Early Next Year, Report Says

Key Takeaways

• Apple reportedly is preparing to announce an updated version of its lower-cost iPhone SE without a home button early next year.
• The current model is Apple's last smartphone with a home button.
• The tech giant also is working on new models of iPads and Mac computers that will launch over the next year, Bloomberg reported.

Apple (AAPL) reportedly is working on new versions of a number of its products, including the low-cost iPhone SE, with plans to release them over the next year.

Most notably, the new iPhone SE would come with a redesign that includes removing the home button, as the current SE model is Apple's last smartphone with one, Bloomberg reported.

Apple iPhone SE To Lose Home Button, Gain AI Features

People familiar told Bloomberg that the new iPhone SE model is being prepared for an early 2025 launch, and said it will receive the artificial intelligence (AI) features that Apple focused on for much of last month's launch event for the iPhone 16 and other products.

The new SE model, the first since a 2022 launch of the iPhone SE 3 with upgrades including 5G capabilities, reportedly will remove the home button and switch to the larger, corner-to-corner screen design that has become standard across the rest of Apple's iPhone lineup.

New iPads, Macs in the Works

Apple is also developing a new iPad Air and keyboards to be released early next year, a new iPad Mini that could be released before the end of 2024, and new models of its Mac computer lineup, set to be launched later in 2025, according to Bloomberg.

Apple did not immediately respond to an Investopedia request for comment.

Shares were down 1% soon after markets opened Wednesday. They had been trading near record highs but declined nearly 3% yesterday after Barclays warned that demand for the iPhone 16 could be subdued. 

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