Apple announced Wednesday a new addition to its iPhone 16 series, debuting the iPhone 16e to customers, who will soon be able to pre-order the lower-cost model that includes some of the bells and whistles of Apple’s latest iPhone lineup.
The new iPhone was announced Wednesday. (Photo by JOHANNES EISELE / AFP)
The iPhone 16e will be available for pre-order Friday and launch on Feb. 28, according to Apple, which said the phone would deliver fast performance and “breakthrough battery life” at a more affordable price than other iPhone 16 models.
The iPhone 16e will be powered by the same A18 chip found in the more expensive iPhone 16 base model and has the same 6.1-inch screen the base model has.
The new phone has a 48 megapixel camera system and can shoot video at 4k resolution at 60 frames per second.
The product will also feature Apple Intelligence, the phonemaker’s artificial intelligence tool limited to the iPhone 15 and 16 lineups.
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The iPhone 16e starts at $599 for its 128 gigabyte model, making it $200 cheaper than the base iPhone 16 model. The 256 GB iPhone 16e is priced at $699, while the 512 GB version is $899.
Apple has typically released affordable versions of its iPhones through its iPhone SE lineup, which featured smaller displays, lightning ports for charging and lower-performing chips. The iPhone 16e’s release also comes just five months after the release of the iPhone 16 lineup, bucking Apple’s trend of yearly iPhone releases. The tech giant reported $69.1 billion in iPhone sales last quarter, falling short of Wall Street estimates by nearly $2 billion. Apple’s sales in China also came up $2.4 billion short of expectations during the quarter, generating $18.5 billion in the country dominated by the Huawei and Xiaomi smartphone brands. However, Apple managed 4% year-over-year sales growth and 10% net profit growth.
Apple Earnings: Record Results Even As iPhone, China Sales Fall Short Of Forecasts (Forbes)