Apple has launched a brand new iPhone, however what was anticipated to be a brand new iPhone SE announcement this morning has was a totally new product line: the iPhone 16e. This is not precisely a follow-up to the iPhone SE from three years in the past, although it formally replaces it. Also gone is the iPhone 14, that means Apple’s iPhone lineup now consists of the iPhone 16e, iPhone 15, and iPhone 16 collection. Apple introduced the brand new gadget on-line with out a lot fanfare.
The iPhone 16e is obtainable for preorder beginning on February 21 for $599, which successfully eliminates the choice of a sub-$500 iPhone. Official gross sales kick off on February 28. Here’s what’s new with Apple’s newest iPhone.
A Modern, ‘Cheaper’ iPhone
The new iPhone 16E, which is a religious successor to the iPhone SE, says goodbye to hallmarks just like the Touch ID-infused dwelling button and thick bezels across the show in favor of the trendy look that is been headlining Apple’s iPhones for the previous few years. That means an all-screen entrance, now using an OLED panel, with Face ID baked into the digicam notch.
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Photograph: Apple
Unlike the present iPhone 16 lineup, this iPhone does not use the Dynamic Island system of a floating bar across the front-facing digicam that reveals dwell info from apps like Maps and Uber. Here, the digicam notch is only a static void. The display is 6.1 inches, the identical dimension because the iPhone 16, a giant leap from the 4.7-inch display on the third-gen iPhone SE. This just isn’t a tiny cellphone anymore, a blow to anybody hoping for an additional small iPhone—particularly since Apple killed off the iPhone Mini collection just a few years in the past.
Annoyingly, this iPhone remains to be caught with a 60-Hz display refresh charge despite the fact that most different smartphones at this worth function a 90- or 120-Hz refresh charge. The next charge means a smoother expertise utilizing the cellphone with fluid animations. Apple calls this ProMovement, and it is nonetheless solely out there within the iPhone Pro collection, although it is anticipated to reach within the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Plus later this yr for the primary time.
Also notable is the change from a Lightning charging port to a USB-C port. Apple first switched to the common port on the iPhone 15 vary in 2023, and this replace means the whole iPhone lineup lastly options USB-C. Unfortunately, just like the iPhone 16, the port’s information switch speeds stay the identical at 480 Mbps. For sooner speeds, you may want to purchase the iPhone 16 Pro.
Apple stopped promoting the 2022 mannequin of the iPhone SE and different Lightning-based gadgets within the European Union in December 2024 to adjust to rules that required the common USB-C port on gadgets like telephones and tablets. The earlier-than-expected launch of the iPhone 16e suggests Apple needed to shortly fill within the hole and produce a low-cost iPhone again to that market.