Apple unveils new funds iPhone 16e to interchange SE mannequin – and it comes with loads of shock new options
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Apple has finally pulled back the curtain on its latest ‘budget’ smartphone – the iPhone 16e.
Released February 28, the device runs Apple Intelligence features, including a ChatGPT integration with smart assistant Siri.
It also includes a 6.1-inch display, a two-in-one camera system, an ‘extraordinary’ battery life, and the return of the ‘notch’ at the top of the display.
iPhone 16e costs £599/$599 – making it £200 cheaper than the flagship iPhone 16 which was released last autumn.
‘iPhone 16e packs in the features our users love about the iPhone 16 lineup, including breakthrough battery life, fast performance powered by the latest-generation A18 chip, an innovative 2-in-1 camera system, and Apple Intelligence,’ said Kaiann Drance, Apple’s vice president of worldwide iPhone product marketing.
‘We’re so excited for iPhone 16e to complete the lineup as a powerful, more affordable option to bring the iPhone experience to even more people.’
iPhone 16e is the latest in Apple’s ‘budget’ line of smartphones, which until now has been known as ‘iPhone SE’ (Special Edition).
The new handset has been heavily leaked leading up to the official reveal on Wednesday, but the change in name comes as something of a surprise.
Apple has finally pulled back the curtain on its latest smartphone – the $599 iPhone 16E, the latest in its ‘budget line
It costs £599/$599, which is £200 cheaper than the iPhone 16. But it is also £100/$100 more expensive than predicted – making fans on social media question its ‘budget’ tagline
Apple said: The ‘new addition to the iPhone 16 lineup that offers powerful capabilities at a more affordable price’
The phone is also £100/$100 more expensive than predicted – making fans on social media question its ‘budget’ tagline.
One commentator posted to X (Twitter): ‘Apple’s idea of a cheap phone.’
Another said: ‘The new iPhone 16e starts at $899 here in Canada. That is not a budget or “cheap” phone.’
According to Apple, iPhone 16e has the best battery life on a 6.1-inch iPhone, lasting up to six hours longer than iPhone 11 and up to 12 hours longer than all generations of iPhone SE.
Its display, meanwhile, has an edge-to-edge design that is suited for watching HDR videos, playing games and ‘reading crisp text’.
At the very top of the screen is the notch – the rectangular black area extending downwards – which hides a 12 megapixel front-facing camera.
This allows Face ID, the facial recognition system that scans your face to unlock your phone or make purchases with Apple Pay.
Meanwhile, the two-in-one camera on the back of the phone is 48 megapixel and has a with an integrated 2x telephoto lens.
The trillion dollar tech giant added: ‘iPhone 16e is built to last, featuring splash, water, and dust resistance’
It has the Action button – a little button above the volume controls on the edge of the phone that can turn a chosen setting on or off
Apple says: ‘It is like having two cameras in one, so users can zoom in with optical quality.’
iPhone 16e also features the Action button – a little button above the volume controls on the edge of the phone that can turn a chosen setting on or off.
Apple says: ‘Once customized in Settings, the Action button can be used to quickly open the camera or flashlight; switch between Ring and Silent modes; recognize music with Shazam; activate Voice Memos, Focus, Translate, and accessibility features like Magnifier; or use Shortcuts for more options.’
Apple equips its iPhones with IP68 water and dust resistant rating, meaning it can survive in up to 5 feet (1.5 metres) of water for 30 minutes – makes it water-resistant but not waterproof.
It is made from durable aerospace‑grade aluminum, while the display is protected by Ceramic Shield, which is tougher than any smartphone glass.
iPhone 16e also comes with a USB-C charging port and Apple’s A18 chip which delivers ‘smooth performance’ and ‘incredible power efficiency’, as well as Apple Intelligence.
Aside from the ChatGPT integration with Siri, Apple Intelligence includes the ‘Clean Up’ tool for slick edits to photos, plus ‘Genmoji’ (AI-generated emoji).
Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a announcement video: ‘With iPhone 16e, we’re able to bring Apple Intelligence to even more people.’
iPhone 16e is made from durable aerospace‑grade aluminum, while the display is protected by Ceramic Shield, which is tougher than any smartphone glass
is also £100/$100 more expensive than predicted – making fans on social media question its ‘budget’ tagline
‘Apple’s idea of a cheap phone’: Leading up to the launch, the device was rumoured to be around £500/$500
iPhone 16e will only be available in two ‘elegant’ matte finishes – black and white – but fans will be able to jazz it up with accompanying cases.
Pre-orders for the phone begin Friday, February 21, with availability beginning Friday, February 28.
Dipanjan Chatterjee, an analyst at research firm Forrester, said the new device has been Apple’s ‘worst-kept secret’.
‘Rumors of its release have been rife for some time, and finally, Apple has pulled the plug, bringing about a much-needed rationalization of its phone portfolio,’ he said.
‘The iPhone 16e generates a new revenue stream for Apple, and this will be particularly noticeable in key markets like India, where iPhones are out of reach for most people and there is furious low-cost, high-quality Android competition.
‘We’ve seen a limited appetite among many of the installed base to upgrade from previous versions, but the new phone reduces the cost hurdle of joining the Apple Intelligence bandwagon.’
Apple Intelligence: The best features
Apple Intelligence is essentially a snazzy brand name for Apple’s new-found focus on AI, triggered by the huge success of the ChatGPT.
Here’s a look at some of the best features of Apple Intelligence, which comes to the UK via the new iOS 18.2 operating system.
ChatGPT-Siri integration
Surely the biggest part of Apple Intelligence is the integration of OpenAI’s hugely popular chatbot ChatGPT with Siri, Apple’s in-built virtual assistant.
With better ‘language-understanding capabilities’ enabled by ChatGPT, Siri will help you across multiple apps and ‘accelerate everyday tasks’, Apple said.
You’ll be able to press and hold the side button to activate Siri as normal, but with ChatGPT behind it Siri will be able to ‘answer thousands of questions about how to do something’ that it couldn’t before.
iOS 18 users will be asked before any questions are sent to ChatGPT, along with any documents or photos, and Siri then presents the answer
For example, you could say, ‘Play that podcast that Jamie recommended’ and Siri will locate and play the episode, without the user having to remember whether it was mentioned in a text or an email.
Or you could ask, ‘When is mum’s flight landing?’ and Siri will find the flight details and cross-reference them with real-time flight tracking to give an arrival time.
AI-generated emoji
If you can never quite find the emoji you’re looking for during chat conversations, Apple has the answer.
One of the more fun parts of Apple Intelligence is AI-generated emoji, which Apple has called ‘Genmoji’ (a mix of ‘generated’ and ’emoji’).
In the Messages app, you can type a short description of the emoji you want – such as ‘smiley relaxing wearing cucumbers’ or ‘squirrel DJ’.
AI-generated emoji: In the Messages app, users can type a short description (e.g. ‘smiley relaxing wearing cucumbers’) to get a unique emoji to send to someone
Similar to AI tools that just need a few words to create weird artworks, from that single prompt Genmoji returns an AI-generated approximation of what you had in mind.
If you don’t like what the AI has made for you, there are a few back-up options for you to choose from.
Clean Up
Apple’s Clean Up tool for the Photos app makes ultra-clean edits to photos – without any telltale signs that the snap has been tampered with in any way.
It lets users remove ‘distracting objects’ from the background of a photo – for example a photobomber in the background of a family snap.
Clean Up is very similar to Google’s photo-editing technology ‘Magic Eraser’ for its Pixel phones, heavily promoted in Google adverts in recent years.
The new Clean Up tool in Apple’s Photos app can identify and remove ‘distracting objects’ in the background of a photo
But the technology has been described by some as ‘Orwellian’ as it can distort reality and ‘create a false memory’.
Referring to Clean Up, one commenter said it ‘can be misused’ because it ‘makes deleting evidence easy’.
Image Playground
AI also powers a new image-generating tool called ‘Image Playground’, which is available on multiple apps, including Messages and Pages.
With Image Playground, users can create images in a few seconds, choosing from three styles – ‘animation’, ‘illustration’ and ‘sketch’.
Image Playground allows users to create fun images in seconds, choosing from three styles – Animation, Illustration and Sketch
A promo image appears to show a photo of a person being turned into a video game-style 3D avatar wearing a spacesuit in the ‘animation’ setting.
Rather like Genmoji, this ‘exciting’ image creation tool will help iPhone owners ‘communicate and express themselves in new ways’, the company says.
Movie Memories
The vast media storage capabilities of an iPhone means its always tempting to look back through your photos and video for a burst of nostalgia.
Recognizing this, Apple has come up with ‘Movie Memories’, an AI tool that creates the perfect home movie to watch on your device.
By typing a short description – for example ‘last summer in our garden’ – the AI can search your media library and and arrange photos and clips into a movie ‘with its own narrative arc’.
Movie Memories picks out the best photos and videos based on a user’s description and arranges it all into a movie with its own narrative arc
And as no movie is quite as good without a bit of music, you’ll get song suggestions from Apple Music to match the memory.
Again, Apple stresses the privacy aspect of using an AI to search through your private life.
‘As with all Apple Intelligence features, user photos and videos are kept private on device and are not shared with Apple or anyone else,’ it says.
AI writing tools
Using AI to make your writing extra concise is not a new thing – for example Microsoft’s Copilot AI is creating first drafts and suggesting edits in Word.
But now Apple is jumping on the bandwagon with its own AI-powered writing tools.
The tech will rewrite, proofread and summarize text on multiple apps, including Mail, Notes and Pages, as well as some third-party apps.
‘Whether tidying up class notes, ensuring a blog post reads just right, or making sure an email is perfectly crafted, Writing Tools help users feel more confident in their writing,’ the firm says.
