Apple has announced an update to the iPhone SE, but this time around, it’s called the iPhone 16E. As the rumors predicted, Apple’s new budget iPhone model has an updated design with a Face ID-enabled notch, replacing the old model that had a home button and Touch ID interface.
Another new element is that this is the first iPhone with an Apple-designed 5G modem inside, the new C1, which Apple says is “the most power-efficient modem ever on an iPhone.”
The iPhone 16E has a 6.06-inch OLED display, customizable Action Button, and Apple Intelligence-ready A18 chipset to match the standard iPhone 16, but not a Dynamic Island display, no MagSafe support, and only a single 48MP rear camera lens. It also has a USB-C port instead of Lightning, and unlike the SE, it’s not much smaller than Apple’s flagship iPhones.
The iPhone 16E launch is scheduled for February 28th, with preorders starting on February 21st, with two colors (white or black) and three storage capacity options (128GB, 256GB, and 512GB) and a starting price of $599.
Read on for all of the updates about the new iPhone 16E.
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Apple launches the iPhone 16E
Image: Apple
It’s official: the home button is dead. Apple has launched the iPhone 16E with an updated design and killed off the iPhone’s classic Touch ID interface. Instead, the 16E moves to a Face ID-enabled notch and adds the latest A18 chip and support for Apple Intelligence under the surface, with a starting price of $599.
The 16E is a kind of iPhone SE successor based on the design of 2022’s iPhone 14, meaning it fits the front-facing cameras required for Face ID (and selfies) into a notch that cuts down from the top of the phone rather than the Dynamic Island design found on the company’s latest flagship phones.
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Verge staffers react to the iPhone 16E: what we love and don’t love
Image: Apple
Apple has launched its new iPhone 16E with an updated design, additional features — and no home button or MagSafe charging. This revamped version of the company’s budget phone will be going for $599 and will include a USB-C port, a notch, a customizable Action Button, a fast A18 chip, and lots of extras. So what does that do for those who might have been looking forward to a smaller phone? Is the new Action Button a good thing? Will you miss MagSafe?
We asked the staff of The Verge for their first impressions of the iPhone 16E. Of course, we will be running a full review of the phone, which will ship on February 28th. But meanwhile, here are some of the feelings that the news has generated in some of our iPhone users.
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Here’s when and where you can preorder the new iPhone 16E
Image: Apple
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Apple Intelligence will be available in more languages in April.
Additional languages — including French, German, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Chinese (simplified), English (Singapore), and English (India) — will be available in April, with more languages coming over the course of the year, including Vietnamese.
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Apple no longer sells new iPhones with Lightning ports
Apple has stopped selling new iPhones with Lightning ports with the launch of the iPhone 16E and the removal of the iPhone 14 and the third-generation iPhone SE from its website. All new iPhones have a USB-C port. Finally.
This change isn’t a surprise. Apple has slowly migrated its products to USB-C from Lightning, which it introduced more than a decade ago with the iPhone 5, with updated iPads and newer accessories like the Magic Mouse and keyboard. Even the Siri Remote for Apple TV is available with a USB-C port.
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How the new iPhone 16E compares to the rest of Apple’s iPhone 16 lineup
If the iPhone 16 is out of your budget, Apple now has a more affordable, pared-down version for you to consider. The company on Wednesday announced the new iPhone 16E, a budget-friendly option that costs $599 and features Apple’s first in-house 5G modem, the C1. It will be available on February 28th, though you can preorder it starting on February 21st.
Like the iPhone 16, the 16E comes with a 6.1-inch OLED screen, Face ID, and a USB-C port. It also runs on the A18 chip, which allows the phone to support Apple Intelligence features. It has the same customizable Action Button on the left-hand side. And Apple claims it offers even better battery life, with up to 26 hours of video playback — four hours more than the iPhone 16.
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The iPhone 16E doesn’t support MagSafe charging.
While the phone supports wireless charging and is compatible with Qi chargers, per the iPhone 16E tech specs page, it apparently won’t magnetically snap into a MagSafe charger on its own or with one of Apple’s official cases.
The 2022 iPhone SE didn’t support MagSafe charging, either, but I was really hoping Apple would bring it to this new phone.
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Apple’s first in-house iPhone modem is the C1
Apple has just introduced the iPhone 16E, a spiritual successor to the iPhone SE line that has a significant first: it introduces Apple’s long-awaited in-house 5G modem called the C1. The chip, which Apple says is the most power-efficient modem in a phone, is Apple’s bid to end its reliance on Qualcomm’s 5G chips.
Apple says the chip contributes to the 16E’s longer battery life. The company says the phone’s internal design is optimized to support a larger battery, giving it up to 26 hours of video playback. According to Apple’s technical specifications for the iPhone 16E, its new chip covers much of the same low-end 5G spectrum as the iPhone 16 but lacks mmWave — that’s the 5G with gigabit-territory throughput.
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Apple discontinues the iPhone 14
Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
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Watch Apple show off the new iPhone 16E in its reveal video
Apple may not have given the full launch event and keynote treatment to the iPhone 16E, but it dropped a launch video for the new affordable iPhone that shows it off. The video was uploaded to YouTube and added to the company’s iPhone 16E launch page.
Apple CEO Tim Cook introduces the “new member of the iPhone 16 family,” before handing it over to vice president of iPhone marketing Kaiann Drance, who explains the phone’s key specs. The 16E is equipped with Apple’s A18 chipset, the same chip as the rest of the 16 line, which gives it enough power to run Apple Intelligence, something that even 2023’s iPhone 15 can’t do. It also includes Apple’s first-ever in-house 5G modem, the C1.
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Everything we think we know about the next iPhone SE
Apple has confirmed that it’s launching a new product today, and we think it’ll be the new iPhone SE. It could mark a major shake-up to the company’s affordable iPhone line, adding in Face ID and killing off the classic home button.
We don’t expect Apple to hold a full launch event for the new SE, instead simply announcing the phone on its website. We don’t know what time, but when the company has done this in the past, it’s tended to favor announcements in the morning, so whatever’s coming will likely arrive within the next few hours.
