Apple's Latest Revelation: The Feature-Packed iPhone 16e at a Budget-Friendly Price

There was lots of speculation about what Apple might be announcing on Wednesday, including the thought that it might be a new generation of the iPhone SE, Apple’s previous budget offering. Instead, the company dropped a whole new model: iPhone 16e.

The iPhone 16e has a 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR display with OLED technology and an edge-to-edge design, and it only comes in two colors: black and white. But what really stands out about this phone is that it’s sporting the A18 chip Apple released with the rest of the iPhone 16 lineup. That means you’ll have access to all the Apple Intelligence you need.

The A18 chip in the iPhone 16e has a 6-core CPU and a 4-core GPU, but rather than the dedicated Camera Control button on the side, Apple leaned back into the Action Button designation. So, while you’ll be able to customize it to open the camera or flashlight of that’s not something you use often, you can also designate it to switch between Ring and Silent modes, use Shortcuts, and more.

As for cameras, the iPhone 16e has a 2-in-1 camera system that uses computational photography—that means computer-enhanced— along with a 48MP Fusion camera to snag hi-res photos. There’s also an integrated 2X Telephoto len,s so you have options for zoomed-in shots. The iPhone 16e will also capture video at up to 4K and 60 fps.

Finally, Apple promises the new iPhone 16e has the longest battery life ever for this size phone and assures that it will last “up to six hours longer than iPhone 11 and up to 12 hours longer than all generations of iPhone SE.” It also has wired (USB-C, of course) and wireless charging.

The iPhone 16e starts at $599 for the 128GB configuration, but you can get the 256GB version for $699 or the 512GB option for $899. Pre-orders appear to be available now (though Apple’s press release says they start Friday, February 21), with general availability beginning February 28.