The iPhone SE is no more – or at least, not in the way we know it. Apple has just announced the iPhone 16e, an upgraded version of its budget iPhone that brings it closer to the rest of the iPhone 16 line-up.
Looking a lot like the iPhone 14 (notch and all) but with upgraded internals. The iPhone 16e features the same A18 chip found on the iPhone 16, as well as the same 6.1in Super Retina XDR OLED display and support for Apple Intelligence.
It also boasts a much larger battery compared to the iPhone SE 3 and iPhone 11, making it Apple’s longest-lasting budget iPhone yet. It’s also the first iPhone to ditch Qualcomm’s 5G chip, instead featuring a new Apple in-house C1 modem for 5G connectivity, promising better efficiency and power management.
But while the iPhone 16e offers a substantial upgrade, it also comes with a significant price jump that has certainly left us surprised. At £599 for the 128GB model, it costs £150 more than the iPhone SE 3, pushing Apple’s entry-level iPhone further into mid-range territory. Here’s everything you need to know about the smartphone, including pre-order details.
The home button is officially gone. While the iPhone 14’s notch remains, the iPhone 16e boasts an action button, Face ID and USB-C connectivity. As mentioned above, it has the same 6.1in OLED display as the iPhone 16, doing away with the LCD display found on the iPhone SE.
The most noticeable difference between it and the other iPhone 16 models is that it only has one camera. Featuring a new 48MP lens, Apple says that it’s like having two cameras in one because it can zoom in two times without losing clarity.
Apple also says that the iPhone 16e lasts up to six hours longer than the iPhone 11 and up to 12 hours longer than all generations of iPhone SE. It also comes with wireless charging as standard.
The iPhone 16e is available in two finishes – matte black and matte white, with a glass back and aluminium frame. It comes in 128GB, 256GB and 512GB storage sizes, and starts from £599. You can pre-order the phone starting from Friday 21 February, and it will go on sale the following Friday.
