Apple’s new year is about to begin, and 2025 will be an especially big one for rarely-updated products. Here are six new products coming that will have waited about three years (or more) between hardware updates.
iPhone SE 4
Last update: March 2022
Apple’s preparing a huge update for its next iPhone SE model, with compelling upgrades that could make it the best iPhone for most buyers.
New features for the budget iPhone include:
- the A18 chip that just debuted in iPhone 16
- Apple Intelligence support
- OLED display
- Face ID and a notch
- 8GB of RAM
- 48MP main camera
- USB-C charging port
- Apple’s first in-house 5G modem
Apple’s expected to launch the new iPhone SE 4 in March 2025 as one of its first products of the year.
AirTag 2
Last update: April 2021
The first AirTag took a very long time to debut, with years of rumors and leaks preceding it—especially throughout 2019 and 2020. It finally arrived in 2021, and now after four years, AirTag 2 is finally coming.
AirTag 2 is expected to offer three main upgrades:
- Better range
- Improved wireless chip
- Privacy enhancements
Apple’s targeting a mid-2025 release for AirTag 2, per Mark Gurman.
HomePod mini 2
Last update: November 2020
HomePod mini launched in 2020 as the budget smart speaker many users were waiting for. Apple’s standard HomePod was widely seen as overpriced, and the HomePod mini was the solution.
It’s been over four years since that initial HomePod mini arrived, and while Apple has added new color options over the years, the basic tech has stayed the same. At long last, the HomePod mini 2 is coming in 2025.
Details on new features are scarce, but I’m hoping for Apple Intelligence support and strong integration with the forthcoming ‘HomePad’ product.
AirPods Pro 3
Last update: September 2022
It almost seems unfair to say that AirPods Pro are rarely updated, since Apple has consistently added great new features in software. But on the hardware side, AirPods Pro have historically gone three years between updates—and that trend will continue when AirPods Pro 3 arrive in fall 2025.
One nice thing about the rare AirPods Pro updates is that, when new hardware does arrive, so far it’s offered compelling change. AirPods Pro 3 are expected to get:
- a physical redesign
- the first H3 chip
- likely a heart rate sensor
- plus improved noise cancellation and more audio enhancements
Apple Watch SE 3
Last update: September 2022
Apple’s budget Apple Watch SE, like the iPhone SE, is expected to receive a new version in 2025. Very little is known about the Apple Watch SE 3, but it should pick up several features from more recent Watch models, like a newer chip and potentially additional health sensors.
Historically Apple has launched new Apple Watch SE models in September alongside its flagship watches. That may happen in 2025 too, but it’s also possible we’ll see a spring debut paired with the iPhone SE 4.
New Apple TV 4K
Last update: November 2022
The Apple TV, perhaps more than any other Apple device, has historically received very erratic and unpredictable updates.
If you go back to the very first, pre-App Store version, here’s how long the gaps have been between models: 3 1/2 years, 1 1/2 years, 1 year, 2 1/2 years, 2 years, 4 years, 1 year. And now, it’s been over 2 years and will likely end up close to 3 before the new version debuts.
Mark Gurman says a new Apple TV 4K is coming in 2025, but we don’t know when exactly. And all we know about it so far is that it will include Apple’s new Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip. Expect to see a big processor speed bump too, perhaps laying the groundwork for some Apple Intelligence features in future tvOS versions.
Apple’s rare 2025 updates: wrap-up
Not every Apple product needs an annual update. But what’s important is that when rare updates do arrive, Apple makes them count. There are plenty of unknown details about several of the products above, but here’s hoping Apple has big things in store for these long-awaited revisions.
Which of these Apple 2025 products are you most excited for? Let us know in the comments.
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