Apple has launched the iPhone 16e, and if you’ve been looking out for a cost-effective way to get into iPhone ownership, it should probably be at the top of your list. The phone has been rumored, leaked, and discussed for years under the name of the iPhone SE 4, but now we have all the official details to help you decide if this should be your next iPhone.
Lets go through what to expect from the new iPhone 16e. It has a 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR screen, which is the same as fitted to the iPhone 16 (and the iPhone 14, and iPhone 15), with Apple’s protective Ceramic Shield over it, encased in an aluminum frame with a glass rear panel. At the top of the screen is the familiar notch, housing Apple’s TrueDepth camera for FaceID. There’s no Dynamic Island though, and the old Touch ID fingerprint scanner on the iPhone SE (2022) is also long gone. Inside is the Apple A18 processor, just like the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus, but it’s made unique by being the first with Apple’s own in-house developed modem called the C1. The phone also incorporates the same 16-core Neural Engine as other 16 series models too, so it supports the latest iOS 18 software along with Apple Intelligence AI features. These include the Image Playground app, Writing Tools, image editing with Clean Up, and plenty more.
On the back of the iPhone 16e is a single 48-megapixel camera (say goodbye to the trusty old 12MP camera) with an integrated 2x telephoto, which provides “optical quality” zoom shots. Other camera features include Photographic Styles, Portrait mode with depth control, and the option of shooting Dolby Vision video at 4K resolution and 60 frames-per-second (fps). On the side of the phone is the Action Button, providing quick access to features like the camera, the flashlight, and switching between ring modes. In combination with the camera, the Action Button activates Apple Intelligence’s visual intelligence mode, offering search by image through Google and ChatGPT.
Like other new iPhone models the iPhone 16e gets emergency SOS calls via satellite and crash detection safety features, plus Apple Pay, and support for dual eSIM, and a nano SIM slot in certain markets. The old Lightning connector on the bottom of the iPhone SE (2022) has been replaced by a USB C for wired charging, plus there’s Qi wireless charging at up to 7.5W. However, there’s no MagSafe support here. The overall design and size of the iPhone 16e closely matches the old iPhone 14, with identical in-hand dimensions and 7.8mm thickness, but it’s slightly lighter at 167 grams.
There are only two color options, black or white, and three storage space options — 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB. Prices start at $599, and then increase to $699 for the 256GB model, and $899 for the top 512GB version. It’s available to pre-order from February 21, and will be released on February 28.
The iPhone 16e succeeds the Apple iPhone SE (2022), and joins the Apple iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max as the latest, brand-new Apple iPhone models. If you’re wondering if the iPhone 16e is the phone for you, don’t forget to take a look at the other models on our best smartphones list before making your choice. If you’re wondering what happened before the launch, you can check out everything we thought knew about the phone ahead of its official launch here, when most expected it to be called something totally different.
