The $599 iPhone 16e embodies multiple characteristics, but it’s essential to avoid labeling it as a budget-friendly device. I even hesitate to describe it as “affordable.” As the successor to the $429 iPhone SE, it’s challenging not to view the 16e as a letdown. Although it’s $200 less than the standard iPhone 16 (which I previously argued was a great deal at launch), and the 16e also features the latest A18 chip with support for Apple Intelligence, it’s no longer a compact phone and pushes Apple’s more affordable iPhone option well beyond $500. This is likely a price point we will never see again, and it could have negative implications for future iPhone pricing.

Given the significant amount of new hardware in the iPhone 16e — including a larger 6.1-inch OLED screen, Apple’s first in-house “C1” modem, and the aforementioned A18 chip — it’s easy to justify the price. The 16e is certainly closer in specs to the iPhone 16 than the third-gen SE was to the iPhone 13. However, I would argue that Apple didn’t necessarily need an OLED screen for this model, and there are likely other ways to reduce costs. (It’s even more puzzling that Apple kept out MagSafe and fast wireless charging, which would have been more affordable to implement and arguably more useful than a large OLED display.)

While it’s nice to have the A18 chip (albeit with one less GPU


Source Link