Apple iPhone 16e is the new affordable Apple phone

Apple's got a new iPhone, but not the one you think.

On Wednesday, the company launched the iPhone 16e, which Apple CEO Tim Cook called "the newest member of the family."

This means the iPhone SE, which was widely expected for today, has been retired in favor of the iPhone 16e. And it's potentially a pretty huge deal. But first, let's talk about the phone itself.

The iPhone 16e has the same size as the iPhone 16, with a 6.1-inch OLED display but with a notch on top instead of the Dynamic Island, and just a single camera on the back. That camera is something Apple calls a 48-megapixel 2-in-1 camera system, as it doubles as a regular camera and a 2x telephoto camera.

Inside, the iPhone 16e has Apple's powerful A18 chip, as well as the Apple C1, which is the first cellular modem designed in-house by Apple. This also means that the iPhone 16e can support Apple Intelligence, just like its other iPhone 16 brothers.

Storage starts at 128GB, but you can also get the iPhone 16e with 256GB or 512GB of storage.

Battery life is going to be a big selling point for the iPhone 16e, as Apple claims that it has "the best battery life ever on a 6.1-inch iPhone. Compared to the old iPhone SE, that's 12 hours more of battery life.

As far as colors go, you don't get a lot: The iPhone 16e is only available in matte white and matte black - an interesting choice given the far more colorful iPhone 16.

Other tidbits of note: The iPhone 16e is splash, water, and dust resistant. It has the Action Button (just like the other iPhone 16 models), and yes, it also has satellite connectivity.

So why is this launch a big deal? Well, the iPhone SE was always in its own limbo, doing its own thing, mostly unrelated to whatever the main iPhone lineup was at any given time. But the iPhone 16e signals that Apple might turn this late winter launch into a regular thing, with the iPhone 16e being followed up by the iPhone 17e next year, and so forth.

The phone itself is also more powerful than was expected, and more similar to the iPhone 16 lineup. This is another big change, and it means that from now on, there will always be a "cheap" but current iPhone you can choose if the main lineup is too price (remember, a new iPhone SE only showed up every couple of years, like a comet).

The Apple iPhone 16e starts at $599, and will be available for pre-order on February 21, with availability starting on Friday, February 28.

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