Welcome to our weekly Apple Breakfast column , which include all the Apple news you missed last workweek in a ready to hand bite - sized roundup . We call it Apple Breakfast because we think it goes slap-up with a morning cup of coffee berry or tea , but it ’s cool if you require to give it a read during lunch or dinner hours too .
Simply Economical
It ’s been a rollercoaster ride for the iPhone SE since the glory days of the 2nd - gen fashion model from 2020 , with rather more downs than ups . But now , ground on a serial of out of the blue bright leaks , it looks like we might be point for an uphill section .
Earlier this calendar month a Weibo account drop down some beguiling contingent about theiPhone SE 4that made it vocalize like thebest $ 499 smartphone ever . Boasting a 6.1 - in organic light-emitting diode blind , grimace ID , and an A16 C.P.U. , the new phone would correspond a huge upgrade over the 2022 model , and that ’s before you even get to the 48MP rear - facing camera , LPDDR5 RAM , and chunky barrage .
But wait ! There ’s more . This week another leak emerged touch to the next - gen SE , and this time it concentrate heavy on the equipment’sphysical dimensions , which will apparently be a little bigger than those of the iPhone 15 . The report bear out the Face ID and single - tv camera elements of the former leak and strongly suggest that the 6.1 - inch screen door part is right , too .
There are a few conclusions to be drawn from the multiple rumors that have been work up lately about the SE 4 . One is that the line is n’t dead : there ’s interest , and there ’s speculation , and nobody want the SE dangerous undertaking to be over . Another is that the years of the modest phone appear to be gone for good ; and I have it away some lector wo n’t be happy about that . The SE has historically had a recession as both the pocket-sized and the cheapest phone Apple makes , and that ’s credibly about to change . But the positive is that , by embracing a narrower remit as but the loud phone on its roll , the ship’s company may free itself up to deliver something altogether more compelling .
reader with irritatingly estimable memories may echo this very column opining that the iPhone SE linecannot be saved , and I remain firm by most of that literary argument . But one element appears to have alter for the better , and that is Apple ’s understanding of what made the 2d SE so just , and what made the third SE so bad . If the making water are accurate – and that is by no means a given – then they suggest that Apple is going to return to the original mind of up - to - date entrails in an older design at a down in the mouth price , a via media that many customers will receive invoke .
By meliorate the bombardment and the camera , it ’s addressing two of the most notable weaknesses in previous SE models . And by bumping up from the archaic design with a base button to something relatively more modern , it ’s making an exploit to regain the sweet smudge between too older and too raw which was so compelling in 2020 . Add a $ 499 cost tag — just $ 70 more than the current out-of-date SE — and you ’ve got the best budget telephone in the business .
The best Android budget phones in this range are probably the Google Pixel 7a and OnePlus 12R , and this rumored iPhone SE will give them both a run for their money , with a dandy screen , better camera , far well biometric security , and what should be excellent battery life sentence .
I still hold that the sweet smudge is n’t as sweet-scented as it was back then , and may never be again , for the uncomplicated reason that the switch from home plate button to full screen was a one - off transmutation that left a significant rump of user temporarily interested in keeping an elderly design . In that sense the on-key glorification mean solar day of the SE probablyaregone for good . But in the absence of a straight smash hit , the signs suggest that Apple may get up with the next best affair , which is merely a very good budget smartphone .
Foundry
Apple’sbold new Visionisvery intemperately to seeright now .
Although … youcall Vision Pro a flopat yourown risk .
Why I ’m not switchingmy most powerful Intel Mac toApple siliconjust yet .
As nomadic machine become more pop , Apple siliconiskilling the background Mac .
Apple TVdeservesbetter than tvOS .
Theseincredible X - ray scansshow off Vision Pro’sbrilliant complexity .
Podcast of the week
Apple has file a civil lawsuit against Apple , and it ’s a bad one . On this installment of the Macworld Podcast , we babble out about the fount – what it ’s about , why was it filed , what this means to Apple , what it means for users , and more .
you may catch every episode of the Macworld Podcast onSpotify , Soundcloud , thePodcasts app , orour own web site .
Reviews corner
The rumor mill
Thenext major stepfor Apple chipscould materialize next class . And the AI - packedM4 chipis comingsooner than we believe .
New iPadswill ‘ probably’arrive week of May 6 , says trusted analyst .
iPadOS 17.5 betaconfirms thenew iPad Pro ’s biggest upgrade .
iPhone SE leakpaints a portraiture of thebest $ 499 smartphone ever .
Thenext Apple Watchcould have anew low - power exhibit .
Apple Pencil 3with anew credit crunch gesturecould be total soon .
Apple ’s work on afolding iPadhas hit apotentially fateful barrier .
If you really recall Apple ismaking a robot , I have aniCarto trade you .
Report : Apple idiot box with abuilt - in camera‘discussed ’ at Apple .
2024 iPhone colors : What ’s number , what ’s going , andwhat ’s the red-hot young trend ?
Software updates, bugs, and problems
Applewarns user in 92 countriesofspyware attack .
‘ Ghost Touch ’ bugaffectsmore Apple Watchesthan previously imagine .
iPhone 16is the next iPhone to arrive in September 2024 , and will be followed in 2025 by theiPhone 17andiPhone SE 4 . The new iPhone will come at aSeptember launch consequence – find outhow to follow the Apple September event bouncy stream . For iPhone SE 4 and othernew Apple products , seewhen is the next Apple event . You might also like ouriPhone buying guide , good iPhone deals , andcomparison of every iPhone that is usable to buy today .
