Forget 16e. This is that $ 499 iPhone Apple should have made instead

For months until the launch of the iPhone 16E, rumors all confirmed that Apple would increase the price of iPhone SE 3’s successor. But considering how competitive the midrange smartphone market is, analysts were convinced that the company would not charge more than $ 499, a significant price jump, but still within a budgetary set. Instead, Apple announced $ 599 iPhone 16E and completely ignored budget -conscious customers.

It didn’t have to be that way. You can argue that the iPhone 16E is worth charge, but the new direction still cuts out a significant part of buyers. This is how Apple could have upgraded iPhone SE with Apple Intelligence and still kept the price below $ 500.

Off-branding

Before you go into depth in your tech specifications, there is a problem with the name itself. At design, Apple affiliated his new entry-level smartphone with its advanced iPhone 16-Lineup. This makes it easier to get rid of the price increase of $ 170 because it implies you buy one of Latest iPhone 16 models. The new phone no longer carries the SE -Mark famous for offering the bare minimum at a low price.

Basically, Apple couldn’t price the new iPhone 16E on lower than $ 599. There’s already a hole of $ 200 between the standard and the Pro models, so to make it lower it would change the established structure and suggest that either iPhone 16 is For animals, or iPhone 16E is too cheap. However, by holding the iPhone SE name, Apple would have had enough space to throw a few of the flagship specifications as it would no longer be associated with the Premium iPhone 16 family.

Foundry

Mini Redux

The iPhone 13 Mini was the last of its kind and many small phone enthusiasts continue to mourn it until today. These 5.4-inch iPhones were priced $ 100 lower than their 6.1-inch colleagues ($ 699 at launch). So if Apple can make a 6.1-inch iPhone 16E to $ 599, it could probably make a mini version of the same phone for $ 499 that wouldn’t just accommodate customers.

To reduce costs further, Apple could have chosen a liquid retina LCD. While the Super Retina XDR OLED panels provide a superior viewing experience, most, if not all, budget customers would accept the exchange at a lower price. After all, the whole point of entry-level phones is sacrificing premium tech to make them more affordable.

About face

Apple has long reserved facial ID for the iPad Pro models, with even the expensive iPad air still dependent on a touch ID sensor embedded in the side button. Still, for some reason, Apple decided that its cheapest smartphone should now adopt Face ID.

Given how advanced the endangered ride camera system is, Apple could have excluded it from iPhone SE 4 to reduce costs. The minced could remain, but only to house the front camera and the recipient. Instead, the iPhone’s Side -In / Turn off -button could act as a touch -time sensor for biometric approval that some users prefer to recognize face recognition.

Classic call

While the adjustments above can already produce a logical $ 499 iPhone SE 4, there are other measures that may have reduced the price even more. E.g. Apple may have easily skipped the action button and continue to offer the classic mute -switch to further distinguish between its affordable and flagship iPhones. Another cost-saving feature could exclude the USB-C charging cable and shrink the box. Most users already have at least one lying down, as it is already the universal connector that drives almost all recently released gadgets.

Apple could even have given plastic another shot by learning from its last lowercase iPhone, 5C. A large font screen and an aluminum frame would give iPhone see a unique look with lower costs, and when it dumped Magsafe anyway, Apple would not need to change much else.

Foundry

iPhone SE 4 for the victory

Some have blamed the A18 processor and Apple Intelligence for the $ 170 price increase, but I don’t think they are the reason for the price increase. After all, iPhone SE cost 3 $ 429 and offered the same A15 Bionic Chip inside this year’s flagship phone, the iPhone 13 Pro. And while it costs more, Apple could have cut into other areas to keep an A18-driven iPhone SE 4 under $ 500.

Apple’s SE-Brand has become synonymous with affordable prices and offers solid specifications for far less than the cost of a new high-end iPhone. It was a balance between an old design with newer specifications and did not try to pretend to be something it wasn’t. With the 2025 update, Apple had a chance to build a phone with a modern design that still offered consumers a cheap way into the iPhone ecosystem.

Instead, the company built a strange hybrid that sits awkward in its iPhone lineup. It does not fill the budget that is invalid that see or have enough of the newer specifications for the flagship iPhones, such as dual cameras, Magsafe or Ultra-Wideband. As such Cheapest The iPhone is now starting at $ 599 in the US, and it’s a valid barrier that will control undue customers to Android as Apple could have had a real budget winner on his hands.