Selling an iPhone SE 4 with only one camera in 2025-2028: Will Apple get away with another murder?

In terms of practical applications, I don’t really need to say this, but the ultra-wide camera is genuinely useful, and many people take advantage of it outdoors and indoors, when they can't step back.

Sure, ultra-wide-angle cameras are usually the worst cameras you have on your phone, but you also don’t zoom into ultra-wide photos/videos, right? At least I don’t.

Already obsolete? Releasing an iPhone SE with one camera in 2025 means selling an iPhone SE with one rear camera in 2026, 2027, 2028

Speaking of “crazy”, here’s the craziest part about the iPhone SE 4 and its single rear camera, which I’m yet to see being discussed online…

Releasing/selling an iPhone SE 4 with only one rear camera in 2025 also means selling an iPhone SE 4 with only one rear camera in 2026, 2027, and maybe all the way into 2028 - if Apple's new plan is “a new iPhone SE every three years”. And I hate to be corny but… let that sink in.

Right now, some $150 phones will give you two usable rear cameras, so I’m expecting 2027 to give us $300-400 phones with not only a primary and an ultra-wide-angle lens, but maybe even a proper zoom camera. In fact, that’s already the case with some Chinese mid-range phones like the Redmi Note 14 Pro+, which has a flagship-grade 2.5x zoom camera with 5x lossless zoom.

In practice, depending on who you are, and how much you care about having a flexible camera on your phone, the iPhone SE 4 might be an obsolete phone at launch.

Not to mention that those who’ll be buying an iPhone SE 4 will be upgrading from models like the iPhone 11, iPhone 12 and iPhone 13, and all of them have an ultra-wide-angle camera. Without a doubt, this is going to make the iPhone SE 4 feel like a camera downgrade - at least in terms of flexibility.

Why it's NOT such a crazy idea to buy the iPhone SE 4 - even if it has a single camera

Of course, none of the above arguments are going to matter if you know you want an affordable iPhone instead of an affordable Android phone. So let’s talk about why it might not be such a “crazy” idea to make/sell a $400-500 iPhone with a single rear camera in 2025…

Firstly, according to leaks/rumors, the iPhone SE 4 is expected to get the same 48MP sensor as the iPhone 15, and this is actually great news, because this is a more than decent 48 MP, f/1.6, 1/1.56-inch sensor, which can (of course) take flagship-grade photos and videos.

But it also means the iPhone SE 4 will get the same 2x “lossless zoom” as the iPhone 15 - in both photo and video mode, and that’s something no other mid-range phone can do (most can get lossless zoom in photo mode but not in video).

Does this make up for the lack of an ultra-wide-angle snapper? No, it doesn’t… But it is going to make the iPhone SE 4 a more flexible camera than it would've been with the ancient 12MP sensor of the iPhone 14.

Do you really need a phone with 2-3 cameras? No, but REALLY… Do you?

The other thing that makes the single rear camera on the iPhone SE 4 look less “crazy” is that many casual users don't really care about having extra cameras - and some of them don't even know what purpose they serve. For example, many people won’t mind spending $400 less for the iPhone SE 4 (instead of getting an iPhone 16) and simply take a few steps back when they want to take a wider photo/video.

Also, I feel like sometimes having less options makes life easier. I know I make it sound a bit too philosophical for a tech story, but I do believe it's true.

You know how you often take multiple photos with all of your cameras to make sure you get THE BEST shot, which you'll post on your Instagram story and never see again? Or delete later. Or never delete because you think you’ll “need it”. But you never will. And you’ll delete it in two years when your phone is out of storage.

Well, if you don’t have three cameras, perhaps you'll only take one photo like people used to do back in the day… With their “ancient” single-camera phones and… cameras.

$500 iPhone with only one camera - does Apple still have the "superpower" to distract people from another major compromise?...

In the end, I suppose I must pick a side - where do I stand in this whole “is it crazy or not” thing? 

Well, I don’t think I would spend as much as $500 on a phone with only one rear camera. Because I like having the flexibility to go wider, or even get an Android phone like the Redmi Note 14 Pro+, which costs much less but gives me a proper zoom lens. But that’s just me.

For the same reason, I don’t see how content creators are going to buy an iPhone SE 4 and give up on the ultra-wide-angle camera the vanilla iPhone 15/16 have. Not to mention, you’ll most likely be able to get an iPhone 15 for the same price as the iPhone SE 4 once this one’s out.

In other words, many iPhone users want an iPhone first and everything else second, and if they don't care about having a 120Hz display and a Dynamic Island, chances are they'll also look past the single camera hole on the back of the iPhone SE 4 and gladly save $500 instead of buying an iphone 16 Pro.

Also, those upgrading from an iPhone XS (or older) won’t really know what they are missing, since those iPhones didn’t have an ultra-wide-angle camera either and the 2x zoom lens will be made up for by the 2x zoom crop from the 48MP sensor.

It's highly unlikely people with Pro iPhones and "Ultra" Androids would even consider the iPhone SE 4. Those users are usually likely to upgrade to another premium model, which leaves the iPhone SE 4 with just the right amount of “crazy” so Apple can get away with another murder.

Once again.