iPhone 16e announced — release date, specs, size and surprisingly high price

Apple has announced the iPhone 16e, the new cheap iPhone that's not as cheap as we hoped.

The iPhone 16e replaces the aging iPhone SE 2022 with a device carrying much more modern features, while still aiming to offer iPhone fans a cheaper way into the modern Apple ecosystem.

The biggest upgrades include a larger 6.1-inch display, Face ID, the latest A18 chip found in the regular iPhone 16, a sharper camera and Apple Intelligence. But at the same time, Apple has left some popular features on the cutting room floor, including the iconic Home button and Touch ID

Starting at $599, the iPhone 16e is $170 more than its predecessor, which could cause problems for Apple's current spot on our best cheap phones list. Here’s everything we know about the iPhone 16e so far, including the release date, pricing, specs, colors and more. For more, see our iPhone 16e vs iPhone SE 3 comparison.

iPhone 16e: Specs

iPhone 16e: Price and availability

The iPhone 16e will be available for pre-orders Friday, February 21 and the release date is February 28.The starting price for the iPhone 16e is $599 / AU$999, which is $170 more than the iPhone SE 2022. It starts at 128GB of storage, though, which is double the previous model. You can also get 256GB or 512GB.

iPhone 16e: Design and display

The new iPhone 16e takes the iPhone 16 as a base, which gives it a 6.1-inch OLED display, a big jump from the 4.7-inch LCD of the iPhone SE 2022. This new display also brings with it a Face ID notch and a full-screen design gesture-based navigation, rather than big bezels and a home button with Touch ID that previous iPhone SE models used.

There's not a Dynamic Island like Apple's latest premium iPhones have though, presumably a sacrifice in the name of keeping the price down. You don't get a Camera Control key either, but there is an Action button like the iPhone 16 series that allows you to quickly access shortcuts of your choosing.

iPhone 16e: Cameras

On the back of the iPhone 16e, there's a single 48MP rear camera, replacing the 12MP main camera of the last iPhone SE and an upgraded 12MP selfie camera, up from 7MP, on the front.

The lack of an ultrawide camera differentiates the iPhone 16e from more expensive iPhones, meaning there's no support for Spatial video or macro photography. But support for night mode photography and portrait mode are present, as is the 2x in-sensor zoom mode. This isn't the same as a full-on telephoto camera, but it does allow users a bit more reach when taking shots of far-away objects without impacting image quality.

iPhone 16e: Performance

The iPhone 16e is powered by the A18 chip, which is the same chip that powers the iPhone 16. Apple says the CPU is up to 80% faster than the A13 Bionic on the iPhone 11, and the 4-core GPU can handle demanding AAA games.

There’s also a 16-core Neural Engine on board for enabling Apple Intelligence features. This is also the first iPhone with Apple’s own C1 5G modem. Apple says it’s the most power-efficient modem ever on an iPhone, but it doesn’t seem to support mmWave connectivity. So we’ll have to see how fast it is in testing.

iPhone 16e: Apple Intelligence and features

The iPhone 16e has access to the latest iOS 18 features, including its Apple Intelligence features. Now you don't have to spend $800 or more to get an up-to-date iPhone experience.

iOS 18 added abilities like more powerful home screen and Control Center customization, and a new look for the Photos app. Apple Intelligence still isn't complete as Apple continues to work on bringing the first round of announced features to market, but so far abilities like text and notification summarization, image and emoji generation tools and a smarter Siri are already available to use.

Interestingly, Visual Intelligence, the Apple Intelligence tool that lets you learn more about what you can see through your camera lens, is here despite the iPhone 16e not having a Camera Control key like the other iPhone 16 models. This button is the shortcut for Visual Intelligence on these iPhones, but instead the iPhone 16e lets you open up the tool via a press of the Action button.

iPhone 16e: Battery and charging

Another benefit of the new iPhone 16e's new larger body compared to SEs of the past is a much larger battery. Apple doesn't give specific capacities, telling us only that the 16e lasts up to 12 hours longer than the SE models it's replacing, and 6 hours longer than an iPhone 11. Future tear-downs of the phone should reveal if the iPhone 16e uses the same 3,561 mAh cell used in the iPhone 16.

Charging speed still maxes out at 20W on the iPhone 16e, as it did on the SE 3, but you now need a USB-C cable to charge it instead of Lightning. Wireless charging is just 7.5W, and surprisingly the iPhone 16e offers no support for Apple's MagSafe connection system.

iPhone 16e: Outlook

It's clear that the iPhone 16e has made enormous changes from the iPhone SE 3 that came before it. The new chip and modem, fresh cameras and full suite of software and AI features show that this does deserve to be considered a full member of the iPhone 16 family, rather than a separate entity. It's just a shame that this comes at a literal expense, costing almost an extra 50% on top of the iPhone SE 3.

We can't yet say if the iPhone SE's going to be a new top player on our best cheap phones guide. Not only because the current top picks like the Google Pixel 8a are such good value, but because of the unexpectedly high price Apple's chosen to place the iPhone 16e at. All the same, we're excited to get the iPhone 16e into our lab and test it out as soon as we can, so we can figure out where this new fifth iPhone 16 model sits in the overall rankings.

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