Apple may be launching a new iPhone this week. It could sport a radical redesign

If you’re on the cusp of buying a new iPhone, you might want to hold off until this Wednesday, February 19. That’s the day Apple CEO Tim Cook says the company will be launching “the newest member of the family.”

But what does that cryptic tease mean, exactly? Is Cook talking about a new iPhone, a new computer, or even just a new accessory? Here’s what you need to know about Apple’s upcoming product launch.

Get ready to meet the newest member of the family.Wednesday, February 19. #AppleLaunch pic.twitter.com/0ML0NfMedu

Get ready for the first new iPhone of 2025?

Anyone who follows tech news knows that Apple always announces its new iPhone family every September. The fall event happens like clockwork in the weeks following the Labor Day holiday.

But there’s one exception to this annual product launch: the iPhone SE, Apple’s entry-level smartphone. The iPhone SE, which is currently on its third generation has historically always launched in the spring, with its most recent iteration debuting in March 2022.

The prevailing assumption is that the product launch Tim Cook is referring to is the launch of a new fourth-generation iPhone SE. And if that’s the case, the new one that launches on Wednesday could sport the first radical redesign in the phone’s history.

Potential iPhone SE redesign

The current iPhone SE (third-generation) has one big thing going for it: At a starting price of just $429, it’s the cheapest phone Apple sells.

But that’s about the nicest thing you can say about it. The phone has plenty of drawbacks, the most significant being it still has the form factor of the iPhone 8 from back in 2017. It has a tiny 4.7-inch display, thick bezels, Touch ID, and an archaic Lightning port (modern iPhones have USB-C). It also features an older A15 chip and just 4GB of RAM—neither powerful enough to run Apple Intelligence.

In other words, the phone is ripe for a redesign, which is just what we might get this Wednesday. Reports have been circulating for at least a year now what the fourth-generation iPhone SE may look like. Here are some of the features that have been rumored for the new iPhone SE:

• A larger 6.1-inch display
• An edge-to-edge screen with small bezels (it will essentially have the body of the iPhone 14, says Bloomberg)
• A18 chipset
• 8GB of RAM
• Face ID
• USB-C
• A single rear camera

While none of these features would be considered a radical redesign for the iPhone family at large (other iPhones possess all these features and more), they would amount to a radical redesign of the current iPhone SE. And if the new SE gains 8GB of RAM and the A18 chipset, it would be powerful enough to run Apple Intelligence—a first for the device.

If this new model is introduced on Wednesday, it would also represent the end of an era for the iPhone. If the new iPhone SE adds support for Face ID (which is a near certainty) then it would mark the end of Touch ID on the iPhone—Apple’s biometric sensor that revolutionized security for the device, which was first introduced on the iPhone 5s back in 2013.

Other possible Apple announcements

Of course, there is the outside possibility that Tim Cook isn’t referring to the imminent launch of the new iPhone SE in his post. If that’s the case, there are a few other products Apple might be launching instead.

These include an upgraded Apple Vision Pro with an M5 chipset, an upgraded MacBook Air with an M4 chipset, or even upgraded AirTags. Still, the new iPhone SE seems most likely.

As for when Apple will make the announcement on Wednesday, the company usually drops product release news around 10 a.m. PT/ 12 p.m. ET.