Apple surprised everyone earlier this week with the unassuming announcement of the iPad mini 7. We knew tablet updates were coming, and we knew this year would only be spec updates. But we all expected Apple to hold a press conference later this month to announce it. The event will introduce the iPad mini 7, M4 MacBook Pro, and other new Mac models.
The first thing I did when I saw the iPad Mini 7 press release was scroll to the bottom to see the release date and price. The iPad mini 7 may be the perfect tablet for me, but that wasn’t the reason I checked the price. I wanted to know how much Apple would charge for the cheapest SKU of the iPad mini, which has the same processing power as the iPhone 15 Pro.
It turns out that the price remains the same. The old base price of $499 gets you a compact tablet with the A17 Pro chip, 8GB of RAM, and 128GB of storage. That’s a big deal. This is even better news for the upcoming iPhone SE 4, which is expected to be the cheapest Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone in Apple’s lineup.
It’s not entirely fair to compare the $499 iPad mini 7 to the $999 iPhone 15 Pro. Tablets are larger than smartphones and feature Touch ID instead of Face ID and an LCD instead of an OLED panel. Face ID and OLED screens are more expensive components. Then there’s the cellular modem, which adds $150 to the iPad mini 7 price.
Finally, the iPhone 15 Pro has a more complex camera system than the iPad mini 7. The tablet’s 12-megapixel wide-angle camera matches the M4 iPad Pro’s rear camera specs, but the iPad mini 7 doesn’t have the same high quality. module.
The important thing here is that Apple has made the A17 Pro chip with 8GB of RAM available for the incredible price of $499.
Moving on to the iPhone SE 4, the next phone is expected to feature the A18 chip from the iPhone 16 and 8GB of RAM. As for storage, Apple will likely start at 128GB. As far as iPhones go, I hope the 64GB storage tier goes away forever.
The successor to the iPhone SE 3 should inherit the design of the iPhone 14 rather than the iPhone 15/16. That means a notch display with Face ID, rather than a dynamic island. The phone will have a single-lens camera on the back, similar to the iPhone SE 3 and the new iPad. However, it needs to be a 48-megapixel wide camera, like the ones found on more expensive iPhones.
Some leaks have repeated these claims, so perhaps that’s what the iPhone SE 4 will offer. I’ve said many times that such an option for the iPhone SE 4 would be a great replacement for the iPhone 16. But its success depends on price.
The iPhone SE 3, which is powered by the A15 chip like the iPhone 13 and iPad mini 6, starts at $429 with 64GB of storage. It would be great if Apple could offer the same price point, but I don’t think that’s possible. However, we expect the iPhone SE 4 to be priced under $600.
$499 is a steal, but $549 may be a more likely starting price. Remember, Apple still sells the iPhone 14 for $599 ($629 without a carrier deal).
The price of the iPad mini 7 suggests that Apple should be able to offer an affordable iPhone SE 4. Yes, Apple requires the latter to use an A18 chipset and 8GB RAM. However, according to recent bill of materials estimates for the iPhone 16 series, the A18 Pro is only $5 more expensive than the A17 Pro. A18 chips shouldn’t be far behind. Memory and storage costs also increased by $5 each compared to the iPhone 15.
The same bill of materials estimates the 5G modem used in the iPhone 16 Pro and 15 Pro to cost the same $28. However, rumors suggest that Apple will use its own 5G modem in the iPhone SE 4. This component could be cheaper than the Qualcomm alternative.
Finally, the entire triple-lens camera setup on the iPhone 16 Pro costs $80. Of the three cameras, the iPhone SE 4 only has a 48-megapixel wide camera.
Considering that Apple recycles parts of the iPhone 14 in the iPhone SE 4, and considering the apples-to-oranges comparison between the iPad mini 7, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone SE 4, the latter certainly seems to get the thumbs up. It looks like amazing price. That means Apple can make a much cheaper version of the iPhone 16. Just wait for Apple to confirm it.
