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 is crucial. Apple will hopefully avoid past connectivity issues, learning from the iPhone 4's "Antennagate" controversy.
iPhone 16e
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Visually, the iPhone 16e closely resembles the iPhone 14 from the front, featuring an identical 6.1-inch OLED display with a 2532x1170 resolution and 1200-nit peak brightness. However, it falls short of the iPhone 16's display sharpness and brightness. It does include the Action button and a 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, albeit without sensor-shift stabilization, the latest Photographic Styles, or adjustable portrait mode focus. The selfie camera, including Face ID, appears identical to the iPhone 16's.
The phone boasts an aluminum frame, glass back, and Apple's Ceramic Shield front glass. While Apple continues to promote its toughness, it's worth noting that a newer, supposedly "two times tougher" Ceramic Shield is used in other models, raising questions about the iPhone 16e's durability.
Internally, the iPhone 16e uses an "A18" chip, but it's a slightly less powerful version than the iPhone 16's A18. It features the same number of CPU cores, but only a 4-core GPU compared to the iPhone 16's 5-core GPU. While retaining the Neural Engine, performance is expected to be lower than the iPhone 16.
The iPhone 16e's lower price point necessitates compromises. While not drastically compromised, its $599 price tag represents a smaller discount compared to previous iPhone SE models. The 2022 iPhone SE launched at $429, offering a nearly 50% discount compared to the then-$799 iPhone 13. The iPhone 16e, however, uses a more modern design, albeit with minor yearly tweaks since 2018.
The iPhone 16e's actual performance remains to be seen. With competitive Android alternatives around $600, such as the OnePlus 13R, Apple may face challenges attracting buyers outside its existing ecosystem.
