This is the iPhone you should buy once the iPhone 16 launches, if you’re on a budget

I told you a few days ago that there’s only one type of iPhone to buy right now if you don’t want to wait for the iPhone 16 to launch. That’s an iPhone that can handle Apple Intelligence come iOS 18 and future releases. Therefore, you should pick the iPhone 15 Pro or 15 Pro Max. These are the only devices in Apple’s lineup that can handle the AI features in iOS.

You might not be excited about Apple Intelligence right now, I get that. But AI will continue to grow in the coming years. You’ll want to own the hardware that can run it. But the iPhone 15 Pros are expensive, so waiting might be the better option.

If you’re looking for an affordable iPhone that can run Apple’s AI, you’ll want to wait for the iPhone 16 launch this September. You might think I’m about to tell you that the base iPhone 16 might be good enough. That it’ll probably retail for around $799 and support Apple Intelligence.

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But I’m going to tell you to wait even more. The $500 iPhone SE 4 coming next spring might be the Apple Intelligence phone you need.

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I kept singing the praises of the iPhone SE 4 with each exciting new rumor this year. The phone will look like an iPhone 14 with a notch, yes. But it’ll feature iPhone 16 hardware and a decent camera. It will retail between $500 and $600, which will be an incredible price point for a budget iPhone.

A few weeks ago, I said Apple Intelligence will make the iPhone SE 4 an even bigger nightmare for Android . That is, Apple will want to place an A18 chip inside it and at least 8GB of RAM to support the AI features in iOS 18. At the time, we had just learned of five chip designators for the upcoming iPhones. Four would account for the iPhone 16, and the fifth could go into the iPhone SE 4. That’s what I thought.

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Fast-forward to this week and well-known insider Ice Universe published a specs sheet on Weibo covering the iPhone SE 4 and iPhone 17 series . According to his information, the iPhone SE 4 will feature an A18 chip. That’s the same processor powering the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus.

The leaker says the phone will have 6GB or 8GB of RAM, though I think the latter is correct. Apple Intelligence needs 8 GBM of RAM. The report also says the phone will have a 48-megapixel main camera and a 6.1-inch OLED panel with a 60Hz refresh rate. The expected price is $499 to $549, and Apple is supposed to release it between March and May next year.

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If the information is accurate, the iPhone SE 4 will be a much better handset than anyone could have hoped for. It will be capable of Apple Intelligence features and could last for several years. Therefore, the iPhone SE 4 should be the iPhone to look forward to, even if it means waiting a few more months to get one.

Again, this applies to buyers who want a brand-new iPhone and are working with a tighter budget. On that note, you should avoid any iPhone 13, iPhone 14, and iPhone 15 deals available now or once the iPhone 16 rolls out. You’ll miss out on cool Apple Intelligence functionality you might not even realize you need.

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