Apple Announces iPhone 16e With A18 Chip and Apple Intelligence, Pricing Starts at $599

[frownface]

$599 is outside the realm of what's considered a budget phone.
Expecting it to launch at the same $429 price point the SE3 did was fanciful; but people would've accepted $499.

$599 cuts too close to the 15 and 16. And SE series phones are traditionally long life cycle. They'll still be selling this in 2027; so while the specs are competitive today; they won't be in 1-2 years time.

That said the 16 in it's name is odd. The SE series obfusciates what generation it is by keeping a generic name; whereas once the iphone 18 comes out next year; it's very obvious that the 16E is using 3 year old tech.

I'd hazard a guess and say apple is competing with samsung's "fan edition" line; which is a budget version of their standard model galaxy at a slightly lower price, released 6 months after the main line. But updated each year. So there's a S22 FE, S23 FE, S24 FE etc.

 

[jseymour]

What does the "e" even mean?

Embarrassing? With a $600 price tag it certainly doesn't stand for Economical.

It can use the Apple MagSafe charging pucks I have, but just doesn't have alignment magnets so YMMV in terms of charging performance?

Possibly reduced to none at all.

That happened to me one evening with my SE (2020) on an Apple MagSafe puck. I'd thought I'd centered the phone on it. I'd thought I'd heard the chime indicating it was charging. Next morning: Nope.

That's why the Apple MagSafe puck I had was just returned for an ONN wireless charging puck that cost less than half as much: I can see the phone's positioning on it.

This phone gets people on 4+ year old phones to upgrade.

And it will do that well.

Maybe, but it won't do it at all for this pair of owners of 5-year-old iPhones.

My wife's response: "Good!" She didn't want to spend the money on new phones, anyway.

Apple just saved me... <adding...> roughly $1500 to $2000. This is the second time in about as many years Apple's poor decisions have saved me a bunch of money.

 

[EugW]

$599 is outside the realm of what's considered a budget phone.
Expecting it to launch at the same $429 price point the SE3 did was fanciful; but people would've accepted $499.

As I've mentioned before in this thread, the problem is that the SE series does not sell well (at least in the West).

Apple's budget phones were kind of pointless because most people didn't want them. People would have rather bought used iPhone 14 or 15 or 16, and Apple makes much less money in this context because people are not buying new Apple iPhones.

The 16e solves this problem. It's priced similarly to a discontinued used non-Pro iPhones, and it's spec'd similarly too, minus a camera and MagSafe.

I predict this will sell much better than the iPhone SE 3, despite the higher price, because it's spec'd with features people actually want like decent screen size and good battery life. And as part of that higher price, it gets the upgrade to 128 GB storage too.

Up Against Flashy Flagships, iPhone SE and Pixel 6 Struggle to Find Buyers

The latest midrange phones from Apple and Google suffer from a severe lack of enthusiasm.

www.pcmag.com

To put it another way, given its specs, the base iPhone 16e is priced at about what I would expect it to be, whereas the base M4 Mac mini is priced cheaper than what I would have expected it to be.

 

[we8me]

Horrible update! It's not at all a replacement for the SE... the screen is too big! So disappointed.

 

[ThomasJL]

The iPhone 16e has USB 2.0. If that disappoints you, then you might want to see this thread:

Will iPhone 14 be USB 2.0? Probably, since Cook is mediocre.

Apple computers have had USB 3.0 since mid-2012. That is 10 years ago. Despite that, Tim Cook, being the mediocre beancounter MBA suit that he is, has still not done anything to upgrade the connectivity on the latest iPhones. The latest iPhones use the same USB 2.0 connectivity that shipped with...

forums.macrumors.com

 

[EugW]

The iPhone 16e has USB 2.0. If that disappoints you, then you might want to see this thread:

Will iPhone 14 be USB 2.0? Probably, since Cook is mediocre.

Apple computers have had USB 3.0 since mid-2012. That is 10 years ago. Despite that, Tim Cook, being the mediocre beancounter MBA suit that he is, has still not done anything to upgrade the connectivity on the latest iPhones. The latest iPhones use the same USB 2.0 connectivity that shipped with...

forums.macrumors.com

As already stated several times in this thread, this is no different than iPhone 16 and 16 Plus. It sucks, but not unexpected at all.

 

[scorpio vega]

This is awful. It's crippled with the A18 chip. Already a year behind, because every other iPhone that is released this year will have an A19.

It’s the budget iPhone. Idk why you expected it to have a top of the line chip.

They sold the third generation Se for three years being behind.

 

[cicalinarrot]

Real tragedy?
No dynamic island, hence no acceptable notifications, just those dumb old crap.
Absurd, since it's 100% software.

 

[Kingrusso]

eHorrible

Would be a deal breaker if it had 120hz!!!

 

[TVreporter]

Newest family member?

This is more like that one alcoholic uncle who you see just at holidays and either passes out during dinner or says something to make grandma cry.

 

[Reason077]

The iPhone 16e has USB 2.0. If that disappoints you, then you might want to see this thread:

I know you're obsessed by this @ThomasJL, but the lack of high-speed USB is one of the least important omissions from the 16e. Things like UWB, MagSafe, and a zoom camera lens are much more relevant to most users.

I'd bet that probably 90% of iPhone users literally never use USB for data transfer or connect high-speed USB devices to their phones.

 

[KennyJr]

No MagSafe kills it imo

The video did say it can use wireless charging. How does it do that without MagSafe?

 

[Reason077]

The video did say it can use wireless charging. How does it do that without MagSafe?

It supports standard Qi wireless charging. Just doesn't have the alignment magnets.

 

[KennyJr]

No side camera button but with the action button you can select visual intelligence (I was worried about losing this feature with the e), to me this is the best new feature on current iPhones. This iPhone weighs in at 3/4 the weight of my too heavy ProMax and apparently does everything, save 5X zoom, that I want my iPhone to be able to do. And it cost's a heck of a lot less than I paid for my 16 ProMax. Seems like a really good deal to me.

 

[EugW]

It supports standard Qi wireless charging. Just doesn't have the alignment magnets.

Yeah, too many people are confusing MagSafe with wireless charging.

While I prefer MagSafe, it's amazing how many people are less enamoured by it. My wife has the 14 Pro Max and she NEVER uses MagSafe. I even bought her a MagSafe mount for her car but she doesn't use it and just plugs it in via Lightning instead. 🤪

 

[JSRinUK]

£599? They’re having a laugh.

Back to refurbs for me. I got a refurb 12 mini a year ago, replacing my SE2020, expecting to buy the new SE when it came out. But, for £599? That’s not going to happen.

 

[drugdoubles]

Here should be what they will do:
-Increase $100 for 17 pro and 17 pro max
-introduce 17 air with current 16 pro
price
-delete all iPhone 16 and 17 from Apple Store except 16e
-16e will still be sold with $599, sometimes later become 17e with cpu update only and still $599
-the only phones available will be 17 pro max, pro, air, regular, e. No more regular old iPhone model.

 

[Adelphos33]

Here should be what they will do:
-Increase $100 for 17 pro and 17 pro max
-introduce 17 air with current 16 pro
price
-delete all iPhone 16 and 17 from Apple Store except 16e
-16e will still be sold with $599, sometimes later become 17e with cpu update only and still $599
-the only phones available will be 17 pro max, pro, air, regular, e. No more regular old iPhone model.

We already have supply chain rumors for the base 17. There will be a one - and if it has 120hz and maybe some of the battery improvements of this 16e, it will be a fascinating phone. I think we need to wait until September to really see how the line stacks up

 

[KennyJr]

It supports standard Qi wireless charging. Just doesn't have the alignment magnets.

On Googling the difference between Qi and MagSafe: The main difference is the speed. Charging iPhone 12 or later models on a Qi, non-certified charger will be limited to 7.5 watts, while a certified MagSafe charger offers up to 15 watts.

 

[sdfox7]

The SE was a great value, but smaller LCD screen, 64gb, and older hardware. So, yeah cheap, but it was a significant compromise. This is not an SE phone, it's a cheaper 16 with the same screen, an a18 chip, and same base 128 gb storage as the regular 800 usd 16. People will be buying these for their kids, imo. I think they're going to sell really well, but hurt 16 sales.

People are buying $600 phones for their kids? Times have certainly changed. No wonder the US has so much credit card debt!

 

[EugW]

People are buying $600 phones for their kids? Times have certainly changed. No wonder the US has so much credit card debt!

Times have indeed changed. Even US$800 iPhones for their kids are quite common these days. However, a lot of these are amortized over 24 months via the carriers, so the up front cost is actually quite low.

 

[NewOldStock]

Dont forget to add the $600 a year for the phone plan. That's where the ripoff comes from.
Everyone just uses TEXT which is nothing for the phone companies to send out.
If everyone used Voice at the same time the system will shut down.

 

[E.Lizardo]

600$ for a “budget” phone….

Get real

$600. That equals $382 in 2007 dollars, the year the iPhone came out. I happily paid $600 then so this sucker is a bargain for me!

 

[E.Lizardo]

Looks like something I could actually afford to replace my 11, that is if my 11 ever fails to meet my limited needs, that is. I wonder if we are starting to see a shift in Apple's philosophy. The base Mac mini is a great value, this seems to be for me, maybe they are trying out the idea of offering a good base value for people like me that can do without a world class camera or a computer with graphics capabilities I'll never use, but still offer all the other Apple goodness.

 

[webkit]

AU$999 in Australia. That's most of the way to a 15 and not much further to a 16.

Including GST, the 16e starts at A$999 and the 15 starts at A$1,249. The 15 is 25% higher priced. I wouldn't call that "most of the way" to the 15.

Including GST, the 16e starts at A$999 and the 16 starts at A$1,399. The 16 is 40% higher priced. I wouldn't call that "not much further to a 16."