Apple Announces Its Latest Budget Phone, the iPhone 16e

On Wednesday, Apple unveiled the iPhone 16e, its newest budget-friendly model. Replacing the 2022 iPhone SE, the iPhone 16e starts at $599, significantly closer in price to the $799 iPhone 16. Available for pre-order on Friday, February 21st, with a release date of February 28th, it marks a shift from the substantial discounts offered by previous SE models.

The iPhone 16e is notable for being the first phone to utilize Apple's C1 cellular modem. While Apple's in-house chips have a strong track record, the C1's performance will be crucial. Apple will hopefully avoid a repeat of the "Antennagate" incident, ensuring reliable connectivity.

iPhone 16e

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From the front, the iPhone 16e closely resembles the iPhone 14, featuring an identical 6.1-inch OLED display with a 2532x1170 resolution and 1200-nit peak brightness. However, this is less sharp and bright than the iPhone 16. It includes an Action button and USB-C port, but lacks Camera Control.

The rear design is more distinct, featuring a single 48MP camera similar to the iPhone 16's main camera, but lacking sensor-shift stabilization, the latest Photographic Styles, and adjustable portrait mode focus. The selfie camera, including Face ID, appears identical to the iPhone 16's.

The phone uses an aluminum frame, glass back, and Apple's Ceramic Shield on the front. While Apple continues to promote its toughness, it's worth noting this is an older generation of Ceramic Shield, unlike the newer, supposedly "two times tougher" version found in other models. This raises concerns given the wear observed on the iPhone 16's display.

Internally, the iPhone 16e uses an "A18" chip, but with a 4-core GPU compared to the iPhone 16's 5-core GPU, despite having the same number of CPU cores. Performance is expected to be a step down from the iPhone 16, and further behind the iPhone 16 Pro. However, the Neural Engine remains, supporting Apple's intelligence features.

The iPhone 16e's lower price point necessitates compromises. While not overly compromised, the discount is less significant than previous iPhone SE models. The $599 price tag, while making it Apple's cheapest, contrasts with the 2022 iPhone SE's $429 launch price, which offered a nearly 50% discount over the iPhone 13. While the iPhone 16e's design is more current, it's still based on a design with minor yearly tweaks since 2018.

The iPhone 16e's performance remains to be seen. With competitive Android options like the OnePlus 13R around the $600 price point, Apple may face challenges attracting buyers outside its existing ecosystem.