Apple has announced the iPhone 16e, at last.
Priced from $599 / £599 / AUD$999, it will be available to pre-order from this Friday, 21 February.
The iPhone 16e is finally official. Most commonly known as the iPhone SE 4 in rumours over the last few months, Apple's entry-level handset replaces that range completely, with a new design and specs that align it more closely to the existing iPhone 16 range.
Announced via press release rather than an in-person event, the new family member is nonetheless rather special for its price. It is powered by the same A18 chip found in the standard iPhone 16 models and is therefore compatible with Apple Intelligence.
On top of this, it also brings something brand new to the party – Apple's first cellular modem designed in-house. The Apple C1 modem is 5G-enabled and is coupled with the same satellite connectivity found in the rest of the iPhone lineup, which allows users to stay connected even when out of network or Wi-Fi range.
The overall design is very different to the iPhone SE phones before it. It looks very much like a regular iPhone, albeit with a FaceID notch on the 6.1-inch front screen rather than Dynamic Island.
That display is OLED however, which represents another big upgrade, while the rear sports a single 48-megapixel camera, rather than the two-lens unit on the iPhone 16.
There's an action button on the side that can be used for camera capture or to activate other features. These can be selected in the settings.
The reason for the big bump in processing is for the 16e to support Apple Intelligence, which includes the Image Playground and Genmoji creation. There's also the capability to clean-up photos using generative AI tools.
Siri is more conversational too, and access to ChatGPT within writing tools can help you create messages and passages of text using simple guidelines.
Apple claims that the iPhone 16e really ups the stakes when it comes to battery life. It says the phone sports the longest life for any 6.1-inch iPhone and lasts up to 12 hours longer than the iPhone SE it replaces.
Pre-orders start this Friday, 21 February, with full availability coming the week after, on 28 February.
The iPhone 16e comes in just two colours – black and white – and starts at $599 / AUD$999 for the 128GB version. There are 256GB and 512GB models too.
