iPhone 16E: ‘E’ means everything

It’s not every February we get an iPhone message – in fact it’s rarely February. But rarely does not mean, and on Wednesday the Apple wrapped the iPhone 16E, a new model that brings advanced internal to an older form factor.

But the temptation, as you might be for calling 16e the fourth generation of iPhone SE, this new model doesn’t exactly fit the shape. First, this is the first time Apple is using this new iPhone with a lower end to launch a whole new piece of technology. For another, this lower cost iPhone is not exactly as low cost as its predecessors.

It is sufficient to say, the iPhone 16e is not your parents’ iPhone SE. But after almost a decade of these models, Apple seems to take a slightly different tack this time.

What’s in a letter?

IPhone SE’s name dates back to its first generation that was introduced in 2016. It both belongs to an earlier age – the classic Macintosh see from the late 1980s – as well as paving the way for later products with the same moniker, such as the Apple Watch see.

But with iPhone 16E, Apple returns to a naming style it hasn’t really used since at least 2018’s iPhone XS/XR models, if not completely back to the iPhone 6S in 2015. While Apple’s naming schemes are often things with tea leaves and Kremlinology, it Am hard not to wonder if there is something to be divided here. I’m less worried about “E” (which I’m sure, don’t stand for anything, although Apple would probably be plenty happy if it was interpreted as “efficiency”) than with the use of “16.”

After all, nothing especially calls this out as an iPhone 16 – it doesn’t even look like the rest of the 16 -line considering its use of a chopped display rather than the dynamic island, the lack of a camera control button and the fact that Its dimensions are exactly those from the iPhone 14. (A model that Apple continued to sell right up to 16E’s message, which also happens to make it the oldest model that the company probably still had a work production line for.)

Does Apple tie this to the 16-lineup press more frequent updates to this lower end phone? Previously, iPhone SE was updated only every few years. But maybe calling it iPhone 16e should have us expect an iPhone 17E next winter? Or at least an iPhone 18e two years in this way? It can largely depend on how fast the company’s future Apple Intelligence features are expected to exceed the A18 chip on which 16E is based.

Value over the budget

Previously, iPhone SE has been Apple’s alternative to lower costs. Note that I don’t say “cheap” or “cheap.” While the first and second generation of iPhone SE models both debuted for $ 399, the third generation of slightly up to $ 429 jumped. In comparison, iPhone 16E starts at $ 599. It’s significantly higher- maybe another reason why Apple May have chosen not to continue the SE name so that consumers do not expect it to carry a similar price.

Granted, 16E has a number of components that undoubtedly make it more expensive to manufacture, not least of all its significantly larger OLED screen and twice as big as the third generation of SE (and you know how Apple loves to command a price Premium for its storage levels). As a result, it is effective about halfway between the cost of the original SE models and iPhone 14 on which it is based. It is also only $ 100 cheaper than the price Apple usually uses for its previous year’s phone (iPhone 15, currently going for $ 699), which helps the company continue its time -frightened strategy to insert price points for every $ 100 -increase.

David Price / Foundry

But it also means that the company leaves a lot of price rooms under 16e. Could the herald older model phones sold at even lower prices? Or a price drop in a subsequent year of 16E’s availability? When it comes to Apple, the smart effort is that the company will never leave money on the table. If Apple charges an even more expensive price for this phone, it’s because it knows the market will pay for it. There may be cheaper Android phones for those who buy costs, but Apple also knows that the people who need to buy an iPhone are willing to pay for it, so why not charge more?

C is to cellular

An important element that causes 16E to separate from the SE models that preceded it is the fact that Apple is using the phone as a test bed for a larger hardware change: the inclusion of its own wireless cellular chip, like it Called C1.

Rumors of an Apple-built modem have sprung eternal for years; The company bought Intel’s modem business for a cool billion more than half a decade ago, and there has been plenty of expectations that the company was planning to build its own radio – after all, Apple loves to control its core technologies – but reported reported the development running into repeated challenges. Modemter technology is notorious difficult with multiple networks and frequency bands all over the world, lots of edge cases and a low tolerance for failure.

Implementation of C1 in 16E first allows the company to cover more bases: First, the model addresses a more price sensitive and thus perhaps less performance -sensitive market that will probably not be so upset if the chip is not so competitive with offers from other producers; Secondly, 16E is likely to sell in lower quantities than newer models in the fall, giving Apple the opportunity to increase production slower; And third, it allows the company to get ahead of any errors or deficiencies that can prevent a major rollout, either with this fall models or next year.

Apple said a little about C1, except using his own chip allowed it to twist more battery life out of 16E, which is exactly the kind of metric that customers on these lower cost units are likely to appreciate the same reason you ‘I can see Apple Touting The durability of the phone’s aluminum cabinet and ceramic shield glass. After all, these things should last until noon least iPhone 17E.

Get all the details of the new iPhone 16E.