Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

iPhone 16e is Equipped With 8GB of RAM for Apple Intelligence

JonathanX64 said:
Which is, of course, not good enough.

Capitalists figured out a long time ago that RAM is the most important thing, so they always skimp on it. That’s why NVIDIA still sells 16gb graphics cards for $1,000+, and why Apple consistently gimps their products by shipping just-enough memory, but never really-enough.

8gb is barely sufficient to run multiple applications simultaneously, which people do all the time btw. Say you’re given an address in a messenger app, so you look it up in Maps, then check one ride-sharing app to see the cost, then open another to compare prices just in case, all while YouTube is running in Picture-in-Picture mode, and then you open up the camera to snap a funny sign you just saw on the street, and then...

...you request something from then upcoming LLM-powered Siri, and see in real time how iPhone 16 (whether E or Pro Max) turns into barely functional e-waste just two years after the purchase. Kind of like iPhone 13 in 2025, crippled by its 4gb of RAM.

Well, maybe the iPhone 17 will be at least somewhat futureproof!
Click to expand...
The iPhone 13 situation is real, as I have one.
Neat device that served me well, but I noticed it's starting to chug, and I keep it really clean.

Anyway I said I would have kept it for 4 years, and here we are.
Will definitely upgrade to a 17 in Semptember.
 
turbineseaplane said:
I appreciate someone mentioning this

We used to hear every manner of excuse to cover for the low RAM ... other than the real reason, which was, to your point, Apple being greedy
Click to expand...

All those explanations were from Apple fanboys coming up with cognitive dissonance excuses.


"Not all iPhones support charge limit because it requires additional hardware."

"More RAM uses more power. Better to have less RAM."

"Apple SSD is expensive because it's more durable. Soldering is better than encryption."

"Repairing a MacBook hinge could be a security vulnerability. That's why Apple serializes that part."

"Nobody needs a power adapter or EarPods included in the box. They don't need to pass on the savings."
 
  • Like
  • Love
  • Sad
Reactions: Shirasaki, Cervisia, john123 and 7 others
Rogifan said:
At least the previous SE was designed for someone. Who is this designed for? Why would someone buy this over an iPhone 16? This is like the iPad lineup where products are designed to fill price points not to cater to a specific demographic. But this one is more of a head scratcher because who does this price point appeal to? The entry level 16e with 2 years of Apple care is $788 plus tax. That’s not for someone who is budget conscious. At that point you might as well get the 16.
Click to expand...

Absolutely! The iPhone SE definitely has its niche audience, and it still does today. But from a business standpoint, that’s never really an issue. Companies can shape demand and nudge SE buyers toward a new target. Given the SE’s market share, this is barely a concern for Apple.
 
turbineseaplane said:
Not this buyer

These 6.1" screen phones are WAY too big
Click to expand...

I totally agree—I was actually waiting for the SE4 too, and this launch is nothing like what I was hoping for. A lot of people are saying it’s a great deal because it comes with the A18 and 8GB of RAM, but honestly, every SE model has always used Apple’s flagship chip at the time. Usually, it drops about 4-6 months after the main lineup, which just means the next one will probably launch in two more quarters. It’s not some generous decision—it’s just supply chain and inventory management, which is what Tim does best. That said, dropping MagSafe is a dealbreaker for me. But yeah… not like we have a choice.
 
  • Love
  • Disagree
  • Like
Reactions: Cervisia, turbineseaplane and dominiongamma
I think the angle people are missing is corporate sales. This doesn't have to be a consumer banger.

For years the SE has dominated many segments of corporate-issued, MDM-controlled cell phones. It's the cheapest (in more ways than price). Apple-based MDM solutions are much easier to lock down than Android counterparts. So this will sell like hotcakes. Question is, will a compromised, locked-down device serve as a deterrent for someone whose only experience with iPhones is this? Hard to say. I'd imagine for some it will and for others that already own an iPhone it won't change their calculus.
 
  • Like
  • Love
Reactions: AppleEnthusiast1995, hans1972, HazeAndHahmahneez and 3 others
So does the 16e mean the 15 is gone from the lineup when the 17 comes out?
 
Rogifan said:
At least the previous SE was designed for someone. Who is this designed for? Why would someone buy this over an iPhone 16? This is like the iPad lineup where products are designed to fill price points not to cater to a specific demographic. But this one is more of a head scratcher because who does this price point appeal to? The entry level 16e with 2 years of Apple care is $788 plus tax. That’s not for someone who is budget conscious. At that point you might as well get the 16.
Click to expand...
I actually think you have it backwards. Who would buy the iPhone 16 over this? Is MagSafe, an extra camera, and one more GPU Core worth $200 more? I would think for a lot of users the answer is no.
 
  • Like
Reactions: hans1972, DefNotAnLLM and SpectatorHere
surferfb said:
I actually think you have it backwards. Who would buy the iPhone 16 over this? Is MagSafe, an extra camera, and one more GPU Core worth $200 more? I would think for a lot of users the answer is no.
Click to expand...

Thread & UWB support too (AirTags or some benefit I assume?)

And the camera -- we sure?
I keep getting told those are THE REASON people get new phones

(I think it's battery crapping out personally -- but camera I can accept also)
 
Last edited:
turbineseaplane said:
Thread & UWBv2 support too (AirTags) apparently

And the camera -- we sure?
I keep getting told those are THE REASON people get new phones

(I think it's battery crapping out personally -- but camera I can accept also)
Click to expand...
Battery is definitely first place followed by camera. I have never heard it any other way and I'm the type to ask why someone got a new phone.
 
  • Love
  • Like
Reactions: Chidoro and turbineseaplane
Chungry said:
I immediately rushed over to Apple PR, I mean, Daring Fireball to see what breathless words of praise our favorite brown-noser would lay at the feet of this new marvel of engineering. Nothing yet. I think even he is struggling with what to write. I'm saddened that Apple lacked the shame to hold back the 16e. I have my quibbles with my 16 PM but at least it's a fully formed device.
Click to expand...

Yep, Gruber is definitely Apple PR. I’m sure they were super happy about this recent piece. :rolleyes:

daringfireball.net

Siri Is Super Dumb and Getting Dumber

Siri with Apple Intelligence gives confident but embarrasingly wrong answers to sports trivia questions, both famous (Super Bowls) and obscure (North Dakota high school hoops).
daringfireball.net daringfireball.net
 
  • Like
Reactions: BlackSheepAz and I7guy
surferfb said:
Yep, Gruber is definitely Apple PR. I’m sure they were super happy about this recent piece. :rolleyes:

daringfireball.net

Siri Is Super Dumb and Getting Dumber

Siri with Apple Intelligence gives confident but embarrasingly wrong answers to sports trivia questions, both famous (Super Bowls) and obscure (North Dakota high school hoops).
daringfireball.net daringfireball.net
Click to expand...

He's been getting better, but he used to be an absolute lap dog for them

I know - I was a HUGE fan - very dedicated reader and eventual listener, since he started DF .... who got frog boiled and finally woke up a few years ago and got tired of him siding with Apple to an unreasonable degree on too many topics

Once he started getting invited to closed door product events and hosting Q&A's w/ execs around WWDC, it's always been a conflicting situation
 
surferfb said:
Yep, Gruber is definitely Apple PR. I’m sure they were super happy about this recent piece. :rolleyes:

daringfireball.net

Siri Is Super Dumb and Getting Dumber

Siri with Apple Intelligence gives confident but embarrasingly wrong answers to sports trivia questions, both famous (Super Bowls) and obscure (North Dakota high school hoops).
daringfireball.net daringfireball.net
Click to expand...
A broken clock is right twice a day. This was a safe piece but I don't think he would ever bite the hand that feeds him, heck he defends their pants on head crazy developer hostility.
 
  • Love
Reactions: turbineseaplane
turbineseaplane said:
Thread & UWBv2 support too (AirTags or some benefit I assume?)

And the camera -- we sure?
I keep getting told those are THE REASON people get new phones

(I think it's battery crapping out personally -- but camera I can accept also)
Click to expand...
I mean, I’m clearly not a typical user, but I think if someone cares about the camera they get the Pro? But maybe that’s just how my stupid brain works (gotta have the best!) I’m definitely not the target consumer for this phone so I probably shouldn’t assume too much.

I suspect the primary goal is to upsell to the 16 and get some value out of binned chips. But this is absolutely the phone I’m going to recommend to my non-techie friends and family.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Chidoro and turbineseaplane
turbineseaplane said:
He's been getting better, but he used to be an absolute lap dog for them

I know - I was a HUGE fan who got frog boiled and finally woke up a few years ago and got tired of him siding with Apple to an unreasonable degree on too many topics

Once he started getting invited to closed door product events and hosting Q&A's w/ execs around WWDC, it's always been a conflicting situation
Click to expand...
Amen. He WAS required reading on my RSS but it got so distasteful and sycophantic
 
  • Love
Reactions: rmadsen3 and turbineseaplane
ddhhddhh2 said:
I totally agree—I was actually waiting for the SE4 too, and this launch is nothing like what I was hoping for. A lot of people are saying it’s a great deal because it comes with the A18 and 8GB of RAM, but honestly, every SE model has always used Apple’s flagship chip at the time. Usually, it drops about 4-6 months after the main lineup, which just means the next one will probably launch in two more quarters. It’s not some generous decision—it’s just supply chain and inventory management, which is what Tim does best. That said, dropping MagSafe is a dealbreaker for me. But yeah… not like we have a choice.
Click to expand...

Exactly right. It's to be expected, not commended or lauded

I'm the same as you in that, even if I were interested in phone this large (I'm not), no MagSafe would have been the deal breaker for me as well
 
Chungry said:
A broken clock is right twice a day. This was a safe piece but I don't think he would ever bite the hand that feeds him, heck he defends their pants on head crazy developer hostility.
Click to expand...
As someone who agrees with him (and Apple) on Apple’s “hostile” developer stance, I suspect he just agrees with Apple’s developer stance. I’m certainly not getting paid to have that opinion.

I think there is a difference between “thinks very similarly to the types of people who work at Apple” and “writes only pro Apple stuff because he doesn’t want to bite the hand that feeds him”. But, again, I tend to agree with him on most things, so I’m maybe I’m being naive. I certainly understand that reasonable people could read the situation differently.
 
  • Like
Reactions: turbineseaplane
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back