While persistent rumors have said that the forthcoming iPhone SE would be based on the same chassis as the iPhone 14, a new report claims that at least the back of it will be identical to the iPhone 16.

It's not officially known what the rear chassis of the iPhone 16 will look like, although there are at least rumors about its color. What is known that previously Apple has based its iPhone SE models on the casings designed for earlier iPhones.

Consequently, the repeated claim that the iPhone SE 4 would utilize the chassis of the iPhone 14 was plausible. It was significant, though, that it would be based on a Face ID iPhone, since the iPhone SE is currently the last-remaining iPhone with only Touch ID.

Now, however, a leaker named "Fixed Focus Digital" on Weibom says that this is wrong.

"The back cover process of SE4 is exactly the same as that of the 16 standard version," writes the leaker (in translation), "and the shipment plan is about the end of September."

It's not clear from the translation, but it would make most sense if that September date was referring to the iPhone 16. That is expected in September, while a new iPhone SE is likely to come out in Spring 2025.

Changing the back chassis design may well mean Apple changing its rear camera system too. A previous leak claims that the base iPhone 16 will switch to a vertical alignment of cameras, instead of the usual diagonal arrangement.

As spotted by MacRumors, it's possible that the iPhone SE 4 will adopt the same cameras. In which case, it's conceivable that the iPhone 16 has become the better fit than the iPhone 14.

Note that "Fixed Focus Digital" is quite a new leaker, and so far has been making claims that cannot yet be verified. His or her track record also includes the definitely sketchy claim that Apple has abandoned its plans for an iPhone Fold.