The launch of the iPhone 16e is very interesting and has some interesting implications for the iPhone line, both as it stands today and going into September and beyond.
In no particular order:
1. Apple clearly needed to discontinue the iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, and Third Generation iPhone SE for its Lightning connector and sales restrictions thereof across the pond. That would explain why the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus were discontinued now instead of seven months from now. USB-C on every iPhone solves that problem and it completes Apple's move away from the Lightning connector across all of its products and accessories.
2. Apple's cheapest iPhone is now the 128GB iPhone 16e at $599; up from $429 for a 64GB Third Generation iPhone SE. This is clearly a case of Apple needing to pull in more money per iPhone sale; a problem they've been having to contend with for the iPhone line since the days of the iPhone X. It is regarded as "Greatest Price" by Apple's own marketing; but it's not and we all know it and clearly a need for more money per iPhone sale is the culprit.
3. The Apple C1 is, by far, the most significant feature of the iPhone 16e. Apple's acquisition of Intel's cellular modem division was always going to create its own modem to allow Apple to ditch Qualcomm for modems. The performance of this modem is the hugest wild card of the entire iPhone 16e proposition. How well it does will have huge implications for future iPhones and cellular iPads using Apple's modems over Qualcomm's. It also means that the existing iPhone 16/16 Plus and iPhone 16 Pro/Pro Max become significantly safer buys for those looking to buy an iPhone with guaranteed cellular performance today instead of a relatively untested newcomer.
4. The inclination will be to assume that the Apple C1 suffers from the pitfalls of prior Intel cellular modems of old; however, a ton of time has passed since Intel's last cellular modem on an iPhone. It's a different company and presumably other arms of Apple have joined in to rectify Intel's modem division's prior pitfalls. But performance still remains to be seen.
5. The transition away from Qualcomm modems might be gradual much in the way that the transition away from Intel processors took a few years. The iPhone 17 Air would be a good next candidate for an Apple C-series modem, while still having the standard iPhone 17 and the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max still use Qualcomm modems. It could also be the case that Apple's C-series (which lacks some features still on the Qualcomm modems, such as mmWave) will have varying tiers (e.g. C1 Pro or C1x, etc.). It could also be that the C1 is what debuts on the iPhone 16e, while the C2 is what debuts on an iPhone 17 model.
6. As others have pointed out in other threads here and on the Internet, the renaming of "iPhone SE" to "iPhone 16e" ties this new model to the iPhone 16 series and may make it sticking around past the natural discontinuation point of the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus (something that every iPhone SE has done relative to the iPhone whose A-series SoC it shared) a little bit awkward. On the other hand, if Apple takes this same chassis and updates it next spring with the A-series SoC that the standard iPhone 17 is to have this fall (and then call it the iPhone 17e), that would be an improvement over keeping the same outdated "SE" in the line for three-ish years at a time like it's some abandoned iPad mini.
7. Excluding the Dynamic Island makes sense. Adding the Action Button is nice and unexpected, considering no notched iPhone ever had it. Leaving the single iPhone camera lens also is on-brand for this kind of device. Not including MagSafe seems like a very strange omission. Obviously, this device's value comes with it having A18 on-board. And obviously, compromises need to be made to justify it costing $200 less than the standard iPhone 16 equivalent model.
8. I'm not entirely sure that it won't just make more sense from a bang-for-buck standpoint to cough up the extra $200 for a proper iPhone 16; unless this is either (a) purely a work phone (I can see businesses buying droves of iPhone 16e models) or (b) the phone of someone who doesn't use the camera heavily and just needs to upgrade their iPhone 13 or earlier.
9. Unlike the First Generation iPhone SE which still gave folks a 4.0" iPhone with a tactile home button and a headphone jack and unlike the Second and Third iPhone SE which kept the 4.7" form factor with some sort of home button - all of which being features that some needed on their iPhone, I don't see the iPhone 16e as having any legacy feature that any sect of iPhone user particularly needs. It's not smaller than the standard iPhone 16 or non-Max iPhone 16 Pro. The iPhone 13/14 era notch isn't a feature that anyone with Dynamic Island will functionally miss. Legacy connectivity is out of the question already with USB-C.
10. The iPhone 15 and 15 Plus are both in a weird spot in the line-up. $100 more for any given iPhone 15 model will get you the corresponding iPhone 16 model with markedly better performance. This might've made sense when your next model down was an iPhone 14 model. It makes little sense when that model is an iPhone 16e that has more processing power. If you want the better cameras, the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus are poor values. If you don't care, then the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus are still poor values because you can still spend less money and get a more powerful smartphone. You'd have to either (a) care more about MagSafe, Dynamic Island, and an added ultra-wide camera lens than you do about added processing power and/or (b) REALLY not want Apple Intelligence capability on your iPhone (which is an inevitably losing battle). Otherwise, it's a poor value proposition to buy one at this point in the cycle.
11. This is the first time in a decent while that Apple has only had the current iPhone generation (with its Pro counterparts), the previous one, and an SE-type option, without the phone from two generations ago also occupying a spot in the line-up. Then again, it does make sense that the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus were both discontinued in haste.
In no particular order:
1. Apple clearly needed to discontinue the iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, and Third Generation iPhone SE for its Lightning connector and sales restrictions thereof across the pond. That would explain why the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus were discontinued now instead of seven months from now. USB-C on every iPhone solves that problem and it completes Apple's move away from the Lightning connector across all of its products and accessories.
2. Apple's cheapest iPhone is now the 128GB iPhone 16e at $599; up from $429 for a 64GB Third Generation iPhone SE. This is clearly a case of Apple needing to pull in more money per iPhone sale; a problem they've been having to contend with for the iPhone line since the days of the iPhone X. It is regarded as "Greatest Price" by Apple's own marketing; but it's not and we all know it and clearly a need for more money per iPhone sale is the culprit.
3. The Apple C1 is, by far, the most significant feature of the iPhone 16e. Apple's acquisition of Intel's cellular modem division was always going to create its own modem to allow Apple to ditch Qualcomm for modems. The performance of this modem is the hugest wild card of the entire iPhone 16e proposition. How well it does will have huge implications for future iPhones and cellular iPads using Apple's modems over Qualcomm's. It also means that the existing iPhone 16/16 Plus and iPhone 16 Pro/Pro Max become significantly safer buys for those looking to buy an iPhone with guaranteed cellular performance today instead of a relatively untested newcomer.
4. The inclination will be to assume that the Apple C1 suffers from the pitfalls of prior Intel cellular modems of old; however, a ton of time has passed since Intel's last cellular modem on an iPhone. It's a different company and presumably other arms of Apple have joined in to rectify Intel's modem division's prior pitfalls. But performance still remains to be seen.
5. The transition away from Qualcomm modems might be gradual much in the way that the transition away from Intel processors took a few years. The iPhone 17 Air would be a good next candidate for an Apple C-series modem, while still having the standard iPhone 17 and the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max still use Qualcomm modems. It could also be the case that Apple's C-series (which lacks some features still on the Qualcomm modems, such as mmWave) will have varying tiers (e.g. C1 Pro or C1x, etc.). It could also be that the C1 is what debuts on the iPhone 16e, while the C2 is what debuts on an iPhone 17 model.
6. As others have pointed out in other threads here and on the Internet, the renaming of "iPhone SE" to "iPhone 16e" ties this new model to the iPhone 16 series and may make it sticking around past the natural discontinuation point of the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus (something that every iPhone SE has done relative to the iPhone whose A-series SoC it shared) a little bit awkward. On the other hand, if Apple takes this same chassis and updates it next spring with the A-series SoC that the standard iPhone 17 is to have this fall (and then call it the iPhone 17e), that would be an improvement over keeping the same outdated "SE" in the line for three-ish years at a time like it's some abandoned iPad mini.
7. Excluding the Dynamic Island makes sense. Adding the Action Button is nice and unexpected, considering no notched iPhone ever had it. Leaving the single iPhone camera lens also is on-brand for this kind of device. Not including MagSafe seems like a very strange omission. Obviously, this device's value comes with it having A18 on-board. And obviously, compromises need to be made to justify it costing $200 less than the standard iPhone 16 equivalent model.
8. I'm not entirely sure that it won't just make more sense from a bang-for-buck standpoint to cough up the extra $200 for a proper iPhone 16; unless this is either (a) purely a work phone (I can see businesses buying droves of iPhone 16e models) or (b) the phone of someone who doesn't use the camera heavily and just needs to upgrade their iPhone 13 or earlier.
9. Unlike the First Generation iPhone SE which still gave folks a 4.0" iPhone with a tactile home button and a headphone jack and unlike the Second and Third iPhone SE which kept the 4.7" form factor with some sort of home button - all of which being features that some needed on their iPhone, I don't see the iPhone 16e as having any legacy feature that any sect of iPhone user particularly needs. It's not smaller than the standard iPhone 16 or non-Max iPhone 16 Pro. The iPhone 13/14 era notch isn't a feature that anyone with Dynamic Island will functionally miss. Legacy connectivity is out of the question already with USB-C.
10. The iPhone 15 and 15 Plus are both in a weird spot in the line-up. $100 more for any given iPhone 15 model will get you the corresponding iPhone 16 model with markedly better performance. This might've made sense when your next model down was an iPhone 14 model. It makes little sense when that model is an iPhone 16e that has more processing power. If you want the better cameras, the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus are poor values. If you don't care, then the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus are still poor values because you can still spend less money and get a more powerful smartphone. You'd have to either (a) care more about MagSafe, Dynamic Island, and an added ultra-wide camera lens than you do about added processing power and/or (b) REALLY not want Apple Intelligence capability on your iPhone (which is an inevitably losing battle). Otherwise, it's a poor value proposition to buy one at this point in the cycle.
11. This is the first time in a decent while that Apple has only had the current iPhone generation (with its Pro counterparts), the previous one, and an SE-type option, without the phone from two generations ago also occupying a spot in the line-up. Then again, it does make sense that the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus were both discontinued in haste.
