It’s not quite what we expected, but that’s okay. Apple has killed off the SE range and introduced the new iPhone 16e as a fully-fledged member of the iPhone 16 family. But this one isn’t like all the others. It, like the SE lineup before, features a more affordable price tag while still retaining that special sauce of the flagship 16 family – with some minor concessions, of course.
Starting at $600 (∼R11,100), the iPhone 16e will go on sale on 28 February in the States, with pre-orders opening up tomorrow, 21 February. That price is, of course, before South Africa tacks on import fees and VAT, likely adding a few thousand on top by the time it touches our shores. As for local availability, nothing is set in stone at the time of writing. We do, however, expect to see the iPhone 16e turn up on shelves sooner rather than later.
Is it worth it?
On paper, the iPhone 16e looks like one bloody competent smartphone for the price. Not only does it pack in the same A18 chipset found inside the base iPhone 16, but it’s also rocking a larger display kitted out with Face ID, a decent 48MP rear camera, and Apple Intelligence capabilities. Apple decided to nix the antiquated home button and finally made the leap to USB-C. So far so good.
Slightly disappointing was the lack of a Dynamic Island, but Apple more than makes up for this with the addition of a new Action Button on the device’s left side, perfect for calling up Apple Intelligence or even the camera in a pinch. Despite being a weaker version of its iPhone 16 brethren, the 16e isn’t devoid of innovation. Apple debuted the company’s first-ever C1 chip, enabling home-brewed 5G connectivity. Expect that to be the standard going forward.
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The iPhone 16e mimics the iPhone 16’s gorgeous 6.1in Super Retina XDR OLED display. As usual, Apple is playing coy when it comes to battery specs, claiming that the 16e extends the battery life by about 12 hours compared to all previous SE models as well as lasting up to “six hours longer than iPhone 11.” We should hope so.
With up to 512GB of storage and 8GB of RAM to play around with on the company’s A18 Bionic chipset, the iPhone 16e makes a decent case for why it should be your next daily driver. You’ll have to make do with the single 48MP shooter tucked behind the rear and the 12MP sensor on the front, however – something that might deter any amateur photographers out there looking for a little more variety in that department.
