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I made a little noise previously about Apple’s budget phones and how they finally heard the cry of the lower class of smartphone users, and excitingly, I was expecting the iPhone SE4, though all signs pointed to a plot twist. We wanted a budget phone—an iPhone SE reboot—but we got a cheaper, less dazzling iPhone 16—an iPhone 16e.
Apple launched the iPhone 16e on February 19 as part of the iPhone 16 lineup and made it available for purchase nine days later. The company released the iPhone 16e with a starting price of $599, a major price bump of $170 from the iPhone SE. Among many other concerns for the new device, the price is a major bother, raising questions among fans of the tech company and other smartphone users. What does this mean for future iPhones? Are they ditching the budget mid-range permanently? Is it worth it? Let’s see.
Iphone 16e: The Good
ChatGPT did a good job trying to convince me to see reason in Apple’s decisions to launch the iPhone 16e. It said, ‘This strategic move allows Apple to offer a device that balances modern performance with cost-effectiveness, appealing to budget-conscious consumers without compromising essential functionalities.’. With these, it was referring to the powerful A18 chipset, 128GB of storage, all-day battery life, and 8GB of RAM as the phone supports Apple Intelligence.
The best feature of the iPhone 16e is the battery, capable of not just running through the day but also ensuring your phone does not heighten your anxiety. The only devices in the iPhone lineup with better batteries are the iPhone 16 Pro Max and the iPhone 16 Plus. The connectivity of the device is another area deserving of praise, offering up to sub-6 5G speeds.
Also, the A18 chipset inside is essentially identical to the iPhone 16, with one less graphics core (four instead of five). Despite the drop in GPU, the processor performance and gaming experience are not much different. The iPhone 16e can withstand practically everything you throw at it. For most older iPhone model users, the increased storage space is a breath of fresh air. To be fair, these features are amazing, but for whom?
iPhone 16e: The Bad
One of the biggest complaints experts have with the release of the iPhone 16e is that it didn’t stay true to its target audience but opted to force innovation at a steep price down their throats. Tech companies like Apple want to grow, bringing innovation and profit at all costs. This is why the cheapest iPhone would be sold for $599.
David from MacWorld blames Apple Intelligence, which, as a major business priority, had to be in every subsequent iPhone. Yes, the partnership with ChatGPT is welcome, but the features are still flat. There is a reduction in screen brightness, which might not be quickly noticed until under intense sunlight.
As if the highlighted flaws weren’t enough to trash the SE tag, the dazzling camera features of the iPhone 16 series will follow. The device is still sticking with a single camera like the 3rd generation SE with 48MP; this means no ultra-wide camera, reduced sensitivity to light, and poorer night portraits. Additionally, the device lacks a Dynamic Island design, no camera button for camera control, just the iPhone 14 action key…like. Either make it affordable and reasonable or make it class outright; trying to cut costs and raise it at the same time is conflicting.
The intention of continuity that Apple aims to achieve with the iPhone 16e appears blurred, as it seems it wants users of older iPhones (like X, XR, and 14) to have something more modern to move up to. but the device is too much of a shortcut and a price wreck to soothe the leap.
Let’s see
Overall, I think Apple wanted to create a different product line. Like most other smartphone companies, a new space for profit and innovation. The features of the iPhone 16e are decent if they are not compared to the lineup it was launched with. So, in the spirit of cutting them some slack, I should mention that we don’t yet know how much of a game-changer the C1 modem will be; it could make it all make sense.
Sources
MacWorld Apple
