Apple has unveiled the latest and most affordable member of the iPhone 16 family – the iPhone 16e – which offers Apple’s latest silicon, Apple Intelligence and a 2-in-1 camera system.
It will be priced from $999 and go on sale on Friday, February 28. Pre-orders will kick off on Saturday, February 22.
iPhone 16e, available in black or white, takes the place of what was previously called iPhone SE – the more affordable iPhone which was usually an earlier model but with the latest chip.
In this case, the iPhone 16e has adopted the design and display of the iPhone 14 with the addition of the latest Apple A18 chip, the action button and an all-new C1 modem for fast and reliable 5G connectivity.
It has a six-core CPU that’s up to 80 per cent faster than the A13 Bionic chip of the iPhone 11.
Also onboard is a four-core GPU which offers smooth graphics and video performance and a 16-core Neural Engine optimised for large generative models and Machine Learning that works up to six times faster than A13 Bionic.
By releasing the iPhone 16e, Apple has discontinued the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus and the previous iPhone SE – the last iPhone to include a home button, smaller screen and a Lightning port.
The iPhone 16e has a 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR OLED HDR display and includes a TrueDepth camera to enable Face ID which can unlock the device, authorise transactions and online purchases and sign in to apps.
The device has an IP68 rating so it is water, splash and dust resistant. The iPhone 16e screen is protected with a Ceramic Shield and it has the toughest back glass on a smartphone.
The iPhone 16e, which is running the latest iOS 18 operating system, is powered by Apple’s A18 processor – the same silicon aboard the iPhone 16 – which means it is compatible with Apple Intelligence.
This includes features like writing tools, Clean Up tool to remove unwanted objects in your images, Image Playground to generate illustrations and creating your own emojis with Genmoji.
The iPhone 16e will also include the new and more conversational Siri which users can talk to like a human or type their request.
iPhone 16e features the Action button which is a shortcut to several functions including silent mode, the torch, magnifier, voice memos and other options.
Action button is also a shortcut to Visual Intelligence which uses the camera to learn about objects and places and recognise and summarise text, make translations, detect phone numbers and email addresses and identify an animal or plant.
The new iPhone 16e has a single lens but offers a 2-in-1 48MP Fusion camera system which includes Night Mode and Portrait Mode.
It has an integrated 2x Telephoto lens which offers the equivalent of two cameras in one.
The front-facing TrueDepth camera includes auto focus for sharper selfies and group shots.
iPhone 16e can also capture 4K videos with Dolby Vision at up to 60fps as well as record Spatial Audio.
Users can stay connected with the iPhone 16e and get assistance when needed with Emergency SOS via satellite to connect with emergency services.
PRICING
The Apple iPhone 16e is available in black or white and is priced at $999 (128GB), $1,199 (256GB) and $1,549 (512GB).
Preorders kick off on February 22 before it goes on sale on February 28.
Apple will also offer iPhone 16e silicone cases in winter blue, fuchsia, lake green, black and white for $65.
Customers can receive up to $210 credit when they trade in an iPhone 11 or up to $270 if they trade in an iPhone 12.
