iPhone 16e: iPhone SE successor announced with Apple's new 5G modem and a higher-than-anticipated price tag
After numerous delays and years of leaks, speculations, rumours and multiple name changes, Apple's 'budget' iPhone is finally here. No, it isn't the iPhone SE 4 as previously rumoured. Instead, it joins the iPhone 16 family as the iPhone 16e. And, most rumours about its specs have been spot-on. Gone are the days of a sub-6-inch iPhone.
The iPhone 16e comes with a 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR OLED panel (800 nits peak brightness, 1,200 nits HDR brightness) clocked at 60 Hz. The dreaded notch makes a comeback, but this time, it is accompanied by an Action Button that on debuted last year's iPhones. Apart from there, the chassis appears to be modelled on the iPhone 15 with one slight change.
Like its predecessor (and presumably the future iPhone Air), the iPhone 16e comes with a single 48 MP camera sensor. Apple claims it offers "optical quality" zoom thanks to an "integrated 2x Telephoto" lens. Of course, this is still digital zoom with AI chops sprinkled on top, complete with 4K video recording capability and the ability to shoot Spatial Audio for the Apple Vision Pro. At the front, there's a trusty 12 MP selfie camera that powers numerous non-Pro iPhones.
Under the hood, the iPhone 16e comes with the newest A18 SoC. But, it appears to be a lower binned variant with just 4 GPU cores. One of the most important, but invisible, changes comes in the form of its Apple C1 5G modem, which the company claims is its most power-efficient one so far. In true Apple fashion, the battery capacity isn't specified, but the iPhone 16e can supposedly outlast the last-gen iPhone SE 3 by 12 hours.
Lastly, the iPhone 16e comes with a USB-C port and supports wireless charging. Wi-Fi 6E is notably absent, as is support for MagSafe. Storage options start at 128 GB ($599), with 256 GB ($699) as the mid-range option and 512 GB ($899) as the money is no object SKU. Apple Intelligence is also supported, meaning the phone has at least 8 GB of RAM. You'll be able to pre-order the product at Apple.com in two days in either of these two colourways: Black and White.
Source(s)
