Major tremors in the iPhone rumorsphere last calendar week , with the newsworthiness that Apple is planning a name change for the next variation of the iPhone SE . Goodbye , iPhone SE ; hello , iPhone 16E.
Here at Macworld our instinct when we hear reports like this is to react first with skepticism and 2d with anger . It ’s probably not work to pass , we murmur , and if it does then we ’re going to get unbalanced . Why would Apple transfer a perfectly good and wide recognized brand in favor of one that is unfamiliar and , let ’s be dependable , quite confusing ? Does there really require to befivemodels in the 16 - series iPhone image ? And ca n’t we leave the “ incomprehensible series of turn and letter ” branding to the Android side of the aisle ?
But after the incredulity and the anger comes curio . Apple have sex its merchandising , so there must be some kind of logical system here . What ’s the rationale ?
Well , we know that Apple likes its letters to stand for something , even if it ’s frequently coy about what that something is . SE stand for Special Edition . ( Which , by the by , has always felt a little Orwellian . What ’s so special about recycling an old figure ? ) The E in 2002 ’s eMac stood for Education – quite an easy code to crack , given its initial selling to students and teacher . The C in iPhone 5c purportedly stood for Color , while the letter S resist variously for Speed ( on the iPhone 3GS ) , Siri ( on the iPhone 4s ) , Security ( on the 5s ) , and Sheesh , Do We Really Have To Keep Coming Up With Words begin With S ? in the years after until Apple gave up once and for all after the iPhone 11 .
There are many thing this einsteinium could abide for , some of them considerably more accurate rag for a budget iPhone than Special Edition . Economy , most plain . Or Entry Level ( unless that would be EL ? ) . After all , the whole point of the usage is to be cheaper than the iPhone 16 , although it would be understandable if Apple chose not to focus on that aspect of the merchandise . Everyone want a cheap iPhone but no one really wants acheapiPhone , if you see what I mean .
Excellent , then ? Or efficacious ? By all accounts the next version of the SE – dark , tocopherol – is going to boast a effervescent set of specs and features , with the antiquated Home button design finally a matter of the past tense and the RAM and central processor demote up so as to support Apple Intelligence . Some pundits even believe the long - gestated Apple 5 G modem will make its launching in this mathematical product , bringing us better electric battery operation and a point of difference , in a convinced sense , from the late-2024 telephone set .
The upcoming SE look so promising , in fact , that it construct sentience to make a Modern branding . Apple want to mark a separation from the uninspiring 3rd - gen SE , and flag the fact that in tech terms this gadget is depart to have a lot more in common with the iPhone 16 . Ironically , the fact that the next SEreally is going to be specialmeans Apple ca n’t call it that any more . The up-to-dateness was misdirect by the last model . And if everyone is special , no one is .
metalworks
Welcome to our weekly Apple Breakfast pillar , which let in all the Apple news you missed last calendar week in a ready to hand raciness - sized roundup . We call it Apple Breakfast because we retrieve it give out cracking with a Monday dayspring loving cup of coffee or tea , but it ’s cool if you want to give it a read during lunch or dinner party hours too .
Jason Snell explainswhy 2025 will be theyear of Apple Intelligence(again ) .
If you acquire anew iPhonefor Christmas , you mightwant to return it .
As a new year lead off , the Mac’sApple silicon transitionisfinally complete .
Podcast of the week
On this workweek ’s instalment of the Macworld Podcast , it ’s all about yourhot guide ! You have thoughts about the iMac , the iPad mini and more ! It ’s exit to be a good one , so stick around !
you’re able to catch every episode of the Macworld Podcast onSpotify , Soundcloud , thePodcasts app , orour own site .
Reviews corner
The rumor mill
TheiPhone SE 4mightnot be so particular after all .
