Because it's 2025, the price got jacked and it's thicker, taller, wider and heavier than an SE3
It's embarrassing to not have MagSafe across the line here
Oh, and the 16e has some dog slow Qi charging to boot
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Apple Announces iPhone 16e With A18 Chip and Apple Intelligence, Pricing Starts at $599
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Because it's 2025, the price got jacked and it's thicker, taller, wider and heavier than an SE3
It's embarrassing to not have MagSafe across the line here
Oh, and the 16e has some dog slow Qi charging to boot
Why would it "have to be" cheaper? If there was such demand for smaller phones (which I don't believe there is), why couldn't Apple price a "mini" at the same price as the regular?
Not to mention that Apple marketed MagSafe as a practical solution for some of the problems of wireless charging, especially inefficient charging to due misaligned coils.
And how does this only have 128 GB of storage? They might as well tell people they can't install apps.
Up to 7,5W charging I guess - same as my 11Pro
which means - good for work desk but nothing more as it will be very slowly charging on a walk with GPS and LTE
The only thing MagSafe does well for me is erasing magnetic strips on some cards.
Camera wise, as long as it has optical image stabilization, it's good enough.
I think the model is fine - size complaints aside, since I prefer a mini model - but no MagSafe is an absolutely dealbreaker.
Apple tried the cheap small phone experience, and people stayed away. They'd stay away even more at a higher price. As you say, the demand just isn't there for the small phones.
Now Apple is releasing a much bigger and better phone, but at an intermediate price.
The only people that really have a valid opinion on this are those on a 14 or lower looking for an upgrade. Many complaints from people will be those who already have a superior handset and can't understand why somebody wouldn't want a wide-angle camera, displayport or a comparible Android device.
I still think its a good value handset. The single camera makes it look quite elegant and the quoted specs are better battery life than the iPhone 16. No it doesn't tick all the boxes but then there needs to be some differentiation. The 'loss' of Magsafe is easily remedied by buying the magsafe case you'll put it in anyway.
There will be the inevitable tone-deaf Android comparisons from YouTubers ("Why would you buy this over a Pixel 8a at £$399?!") that completely ignore the privacy benefits and the iOS App market which is much richer and diverse than that of Android. As you buy a phone to run software this is kind of a big deal.
The bigger question is why anybody in their right mind would buy an iPhone 15 which should have been discontinued today as well.
I still think its a good value handset. The single camera makes it look quite elegant and the quoted specs are better battery life than the iPhone 16. No it doesn't tick all the boxes but then there needs to be some differentiation. The 'loss' of Magsafe is easily remedied by buying the magsafe case you'll put it in anyway.
There will be the inevitable tone-deaf Android comparisons from YouTubers ("Why would you buy this over a Pixel 8a at £$399?!") that completely ignore the privacy benefits and the iOS App market which is much richer and diverse than that of Android. As you buy a phone to run software this is kind of a big deal.
The bigger question is why anybody in their right mind would buy an iPhone 15 which should have been discontinued today as well.
My thinking exactly - 17 will have Dynamic Island, always on display, latest chip, USB C, MagSafe, etc. much better buy
Ironically, releasing a phone without it could cause people to realize a good Magsafe case is all they really need...
I don't think we have any stats here. The wide-angle camera is incredibly useful, especially now it has macro-focus. The camera button is actually quite handy if you allocate it to a 3rd party app like Halide.
Where is "here"? Shall I assume that figure includes VAT? The $599 U.S. price does not include potential sales tax.
The problem is - if you can wait until September, the 17 will get you 120hz display, the new chip, etc.
Up to 7,5W charging I guess - same as my 11Pro
Still pretty good then and still means it can work with all the MagSafe accessories.
Has it got a 120hz screen refresh rate? I might be looking over this feature but they haven’t mentioned it I believe.
Also, based on the renders, that one camera looks like it doesn't protrude much at all... which is kind of nice if accurate.
I'm excited to get this for my mom, but would have preferred a few compromises and a 500 USD price point. LCD screen would have been fine, for example. She still has an XR, and the old LCD screen is still perfectly fine for her. The price of this 16e is commensurate with the silicon having 8gb of RAM, and being able to do all the latest AI tricks. For future-proofing these are a big deal, so I suppose it's worth the premium. Of course, as others mention, the modem is a big deal here. I think we can trust Apple to put out a good gen 1 modem, but that's kind of a big thing you can't mess up. Hope it works well. Wonder if the 599 price has anything to do with the tariffs?