Apple has been hard at work on its own in-house modem, and the iPhone SE 4 will be the first device to include that modem, according to a report from Naver. Since Apple is providing its own modem, it won’t need to pay Qualcomm a fee for its 5G chips. The exact amount Apple pays Qualcomm isn’t known, but it’s a not-insignificant amount of money.

The last generation of the iPhone SE started at $429, but the SE 4 is expected to come with not only a size increase, but also a dramatic spec bump. Since the device will be immensely more capable than its predecessor, a price bump was expected. The inclusion of Apple’s own modem could bring prices down, and according to Naver, that should help keep the iPhone SE 4 priced under $500. It’ll likely cost more than the $429 iPhone SE we have today, but if the new SE has all the rumored design and spec upgrades, the slight price hike will be well worth it.

The iPhone SE has always been a budget-friendly device, but it’s come with bigger sacrifices in the past. The iPhone SE 4 looks to be less of a downgrade in terms of power and size and closely resembles the iPhone 14 in design. The cameras won’t be as powerful as those of the iPhone 16 Pro Max, but they’ll still bring a lot of power. The handset is rumored to get a 48MP rear camera and a 12MP front camera. It should also come with Face ID, so the iPhone will officially be done with the home button.

Current rumors give the iPhone SE 4 a March release date to coincide with Apple’s spring event. For now, that’s the best estimate we have on a release window.