Apple’s most affordable iPhone should be a lot more popular thanks to Apple Intelligence

Apple is expected to replace the iPhone SE 3 next week with a new affordably-priced model that has several upgrades. Those upgrades, including Apple Intelligence support, are expected to make the next iPhone much more popular than previous entry-level iPhones.

That’s according to supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who expects Apple to ship 12 million units of the iPhone SE replacement in the first half of this year, followed by another 10 million units across the second half of this year.

That 22 million unit expectation compares to less than 20 million iPhone SE units typically shipped during the first year after release, Kuo explains.

The analyst notes that the benefits for Apple from next week’s new iPhone model are threefold.

First, Apple enjoys a bump to the typical seasonal dip when it introduces a cheaper iPhone model in between flagship iPhone launches. Second, bringing Apple Intelligence to an iPhone that’s more affordable than the iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 16, and iPhone 16 Pro means wider adoption for Apple’s artificial intelligence features. Third, Apple is expected to ship its first-ever modem developed in-house with the iPhone SE replacement.

Testing Apple’s modem in a less critical iPhone model is crucial for the company. Meanwhile, Kuo expects Qualcomm to utilize its modem patents to still collect licensing fees from Apple — even if the iPhone maker is moving away from Qualcomm modems.

The iPhone SE replacement, possibly called iPhone 16E, is expected to use the iPhone 14 design over the iPhone 8 design. That means replacing Touch ID with Face ID, dropping the bezels, and moving to a flat-sided casing. The model is still expected to have a single rear-facing camera.

Apple has said that iPhone growth has occurred in markets where Apple Intelligence is available, signaling that the desire for built-in AI features is driving sales, compared to markets without Apple Intelligence like China. Apple Intelligence is expected to come to many more markets by this summer.

We’ll see how it all begins to play out on Wednesday. That’s when Apple will hold its recently announced product launch.

Apple has a variety of unreleased products that are expected in the next few weeks, including the iPad 11 with Apple Intelligence and the MacBook Air with Apple’s M4 chip.

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