Apple’s Next Major Upgrade Will Weaken The New iPhone 16

Updated July 29 with details on the iPhone 16’s delayed AI software.

CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 12: Attendees look at the brand new Apple iPhone 15 during an … [+] Apple event on September 12, 2023 in Cupertino, California. Apple revealed its lineup of the latest iPhone 15 versions as well as other product upgrades during the event. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

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Two months before its release, a new leak suggests the next iPhone SE could quickly supersede the upcoming iPhone 16. It’s all thanks to the new hardware Apple will pack into the cheapest new iPhone on the market.

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reports that Apple will introduce its 5G modem to its 2025 handsets. That means the iPhone 17 family should pick up the new technology. Kuo also states that the fourth-generation iPhone SE, scheduled for an early 2025 release date, will also pick up the new modem.

Debuting new hardware on the closest iPhone Apple has to a budget modem is a courageous choice. It means Apple will undercut the new iPhone 16 six months after its launch.

The iPhone 16 is the nearest competitor to the iPhone SE. Thanks to the push to bring generative AI to the full range of new iOS devices, the iPhone 16 will be running the same Apple Silicon A18 chipset as well as increasing the memory to allow for the smooth operation of the Apple Intelligence software. Apple’s AI will not run on older hardware, and the Apple Intelligence software suite will, the company hopes, be a key point of differentiation that will drive sales of new iPhones. It would be inconceivable for Apple to launch the iPhone SE without supporting Apple Intelligence.

An Apple iPhone SE smartphone, taken on August 5, 2020. (Photo by Phil Barker/Future Publishing via … [+] Getty Images)

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Update: Monday July 29. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has published details on the public release of Apple Intelligence. He notes that the first version of iOS with generative AI will arrive not with the iPhone 16 family in September but later in October with the first update to iOS 18. Apple has generally planned on an iOS rollout in the month after an iPhone launch to catch any bugs or security issues that come to light from the feedback of millions of new users.

The hubristic Apple Intelligence will reach the public more than a year after Google debuted the idea of an AI-first smartphone with the Pixel 8 family before Samsung brought it to the mainstream with Galaxy AI. Apple has been slow to react to this sea-change, and the iPhone 16 will be one of the first iOS-powered devices to bring generative AI to its captive audience.

Yet, the iPhone software that will no doubt be heralded by Apple as a breakthrough will be at the bare minimum. The software that will match the Android offering—including the ability to use on-device data to process personalised AI searches and analyse what is on-screen for more context—will not be available until early 2025… the same timescale as the arrival of the iPhone SE.

As more of Apple’s plans for the iPhone over the next 12 months become clear, the iPhone 16 is looking weaker. Unless you have a burning desire for a new iPhone that isn’t priced as a top-of-the-range flagship, waiting for the iPhone SE, with its newer hardware, breakthrough technologies and revolutionary AI, looks to be the smartest choice available.

Apple CEO Tim Cook during a launch event at the Fifth Avenue Apple Store on September 22, 2022 … [+] (Photo by Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images)

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Last week, there were reports that Apple would offer the iPhone SE with an OLED display. Again, the SE is set to match the iPhone 16 specification. Assuming a similarly competitive price to previous SE models compared to the vanilla iPhone, it’s going to be hard to recommend the iPhone 16 knowing there is better value for money arriving in a few months later.

Now consider the benefits of equipping any iPhone with an Apple-designed 5G modem. You would have tighter hardware and software integration as the chipset would not need to be universal, one phone platform, one modem, and no compromises or compatibility needed. You would have closer integration of the software stack, giving the OS an intricate knowledge of the only modem it will ever talk to.

Just as the move to Apple Silicon allowed for more performance, efficiency and endurance. so will the move away from Qualcomm’s modem technology to Apple’s own.

The iPhone 16 will miss out on this benefit. The iPhone SE will be the first to benefit. And those who wait will be the first to find a brave new world when Apple makes its own connection.

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