Apple is potentially hours away from launching its newest device, the iPhone SE 4, expected to be a budget friendly take on its flagship smartphones. It comes as CEO Tim Cook said fans should “get ready to meet the newest member of the family”.

Posting to X the Apple CEO shared the #AppleLaunch alongside the details of the event, tonight, Wednesday February 19. As usual the tech giant’s will announce the newest addition from it’s usual Cupertino, California host city at 6pm UK time.

Although we’ll have to wait until the event for official confirmation, tech industry speculation points to a new iPhone SE 4, just months after the launch of its flagship iPhone 16 range. This is thought to be a cheaper option with prices starting at around £499, we’re helping shoppers pinpoint the best places to buy it from as we expect Sky Mobile, O2, Argos, and Vodafone – to name a few – to add the new iOS model to its stock.

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As with any new iPhone launch the new handset won’t go on sale initially, and it’s expected to release pre-orders on Friday, February 21 followed by on-sale a week later on on Friday, February, 28. This could still change but as it stand is being reported by a lot of sites, including Forbes.

Having covered a host of Apple launches we do have a good idea of which UK retailers shoppers should pick depending on if they want to buy the new iPhone SE outright or bundle it in with an affordable pay-as-you go data plan. We’ve rounded up the details below.

Anyone who wants to buy the new iPhone on its own, without a data plan, should save this Amazon page and retailers including Carphone Warehouse – who are known to offer both SIM plans and an ‘upfront’ option.

Another go-to is Argos, they stocked the iPhone 16 range on pre-order so we can expect to see the same with the newer iPhone launching today. Other options include Currys and Very.

Now, moving onto UK network providers it can get a bit trickier to pick and it all depends on the perks and freebies you want to bundle in with your new phone.

Sky Mobile typically offer longer contracts – at 36 months – but are known to throw in six-month half price data offers around new iPhone launches. Which is something we expect to happen with the anticipated iPhone SE 4. Three Mobile is another retailer we’d recommend as they only charge interest on bundled airtime plans.

Rivals O2 also require shoppers to be locked into a fixed 36 month contract, although like Sky you can unlink data and the handset after 24-months. The retailer is currently offering a £72 discount on all its airtime plans, which would knock £2 off per month for new iPhone shoppers – this is available until March 19 so will fit in with when we expect the iPhone SE 4 to hit UK stores.

Vodafone is another one on our list and shoppers ccan choose between a 24 month or 36 month contract, all of their airtime plans are 24 months long. It’s currently giving away a free £100 bonus to anyone who trades in an older phone when buying an iPhone 16 too, which could potentially be added once the SE is here.

However, O2 and Virgin Media have recently hit the news due to its price hikes, which are set to affect any customers who locked into a contract will see an increase in their prices in a matter of weeks. This happens each year in line with inflation and is a common thing to look out for when shopping for a mobile contract.

iPhone SE phones usually have have the same basic design as standard iPhones but come with a smaller screen and updated internal components like processors, cameras, and sometimes battery life, which allows for the more affordable price point while still providing strong performance.