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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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.
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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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 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 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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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.
