Apple has launched the iPhone 16E, a new and cheaper version of its flagship device.
On the outside, the new, cheaper device is based on the iPhone 14 – which means that there is no phone with a home button for the first ever time in Apple’s line-up. It also means that it uses a notch at the top of the display, rather than the pill-shaped “Dynamic Island” cutout from recent years.
But on the inside it brings many more recent updates. The 16E uses the same A18 chip that was introduced with the current iPhone 16, for instance.
That means that it can run Apple Intelligence, the company’s flagship AI features. That is not even available on last year’s iPhone 15.
Perhaps the most obvious limitation of the new device is that it only has one camera, rather than the two or three found on the more expensive members of the iPhone 16 line-up. But Apple says that the new camera’s 48MP lens means that it can zoom in two times without losing clarity, making it “like having two cameras in one”.
Though it has a new name, the new device is really a new generation of the iPhone SE, of which there have been three previous versions. All of those have packed newer technology into older designs at a lower price.
The new phone comes in two colours: black and white. It starts at $599 or £599, considerably more than the $429 price of the last iPhone SE, and compared with $799 for the full iPhone 16.
Pre-orders open on Friday and the phone will go on sale the following Friday, 28 February.
“iPhone 16e packs in the features our users love about the iPhone 16 lineup, including breakthrough battery life, fast performance powered by the latest-generation A18 chip, an innovative 2-in-1 camera system, and Apple Intelligence,” said Kaiann Drance, Apple’s vice president of worldwide iPhone product marketing.
“We’re so excited for iPhone 16e to complete the lineup as a powerful, more affordable option to bring the iPhone experience to even more people.”
The new iPhone also includes the C1, the first cellular modem made by Apple itself, after years of rumours. It did not say whether that would be rolled out more broadly to other Apple products.
