iPhone 16e is here
White or Black
A18 chip
C1 (Apple made) cellular modem
6.1" OLED with a notch
Single 48mp camera
Action Button
Supports Apple Intelligence, including Visual Intelligence despite the lack of the camera button
Aluminum body
$999, 128GB to start
❌ no magsafe
Battery’s solid. Why not a 14/15 pro ?
She needs a new iPhone that boasts "Ai" and nothing else???
Just sort out the issue with the iphone XR.
They are cheap to repair nowadays
Its still a very good phone!
iPhone 4 reincarnated :)
Ah yes, 2009. The 3GS introduced powerful "innovations" like cut & paste. Was still hobbled compared to Nokia n900 or Android at the time. I agree with "crap".
But Apple has come a long way, and Apple limitations are far less frustrating.
Spec's look decent, including 8GB of RAM, which is needed for AI.
You can get better specs at lower price from Pixel 8, or a Galaxy S24, but $1k is not terrible.
i do gotta give credit where its due, and iphones helped push the smart phones so i gotta thank them for my samsung s25.
The iPhone 3GS came out in 2009. So you haven't reevaluated your perceptions of phone brands since then?
i have had samsung and pixel, both are so much better, just the other day i was helping someone with their iphone as the audio from music was playing via their new watch, i said go to your bluetooth settings and select what audio you want to play, they asked me how… i said i got no idea im not an iphone user but on android its select the bluetooth and untick play audio on the bluetooth watch, they had no idea, so i googled and asked reddit and turns out you have to play audio first then open control panel or whatever its called on iphone then unselect it to play… i mean seriously.. way so backwards iphone, android you slect before playing music. anyways the more i help users with their iphones the less likely i will ever use it.
We have passed peak Apple, they are just rehashing products now.
iPhone 14?
Honestly Apple products have been SSDD for a while now. So lets go with iPhone 14 as the peak.
I'd say 13 pro max as my wife upgraded from that to the 16 pro max but felt no major improvement outside the dedicated camera button
Always on display was a big change
Aren't most phone manufacturers doing the same?
Well some are still trying with folding phones etc, Apple is just rehashing designs and coping everyone elses features.
Copying or just waiting till they make it better?
@Danstar: The number of times my wife dropped her beater iPhone, im really impressed as a permanent Android user.
@Danstar: At this point in time, it is coping. I would say Apples 'AI' is better, lots of Apples features are now just poor copies of others. In the past they at least made it better, now days, it seems to be a me too.
Lets not talk about the Apple photo eraser either
https://www.reddit.com/r/pixel_phones/comments/1fl4ijk/googl…
or
@Danstar: Questionable as well, but we get it. You love Apple. Nothing stopping you from doing that.
Yep, 100%
Little difference from the iPhone 14 to the iPhone 15
And even less difference from the iPhone 15 to the iPhone 16
In fact the iPhone 12 is still an excellent phone with absolutely no reason to upgrade to the 16
Nope. 6.1 inch, and $999. I was hoping for under 5.7 inch and $700. I guess the era of pocketable phones is truly over, unless you get a flip phone.
Not priced right imo. They are testing us tbh
iPhone 13 mini is still a good phone. Just not available new.
We may have to wait for the Second Coming of Steve Jobs before good small phones return.
Yeah iPhone 13 mini was too good for someone looking for iPhone. That's why they were quick to kill it.
No one bought the mini phones, there’s no sizeable market left for them.
Even the Zenfone 10 is discontinued or at least only sold in places other than America or Australia.
@FujinShu: I have a feeling people who liked small phones only realised how good the mini's were when they were being phased out.
@EitherWayUp: my wife loves her 13 Mini and I was meant to receive one too but ended up with 13 due to store mistake.
I think that phone was Apples best idea for a long time.
@FujinShu: The timing was atrocious for the 12 and 13 mini.
The original SE was getting on in age in by 2020, and many people were still rocking ageing 5Ses. We were all waiting for a new "small phone", and the SE 2 was released. It looked like that was as good as it would get, and people flocked to it. It was a huge success at launch.
Then, a few months later, the 12 mini was released. It was everything we could want, but we'd all just bought an SE 2 and weren't looking to upgrade for a few years. By the time this influx of small-phone-favouring SE 2 adopters were ready for a new phone, the Mini models had been killed off.
Rather than the lesson being that "nobody buys mini phones", it should have been that releasing two products to fulfill an under-served market in the space of a year is never going to end well.
6” fits in my pants just fine
Nothing gets past a 12 o'clock tuck
No. Dad handed me down Mum's current-model iPhone because Mum's dementia is progressing. I was on a iPhone 12 mini before that.
So I'm good for a while.
I'm a bit over big-sized phones. I hope that by the time I upgrade, there'll be many non-premium flip phones to choose from.
Sad that your mum has come under the scourge that is dementia. Hope all goes well!
Congratulations on the new phone 😃
If anything I'm looking at dumbphones now or at least something with an SD card slot.
It does mean all iPhones now have an OLED display, and USB C ports.
Yes
Finally catching up to my Android from 10 years ago 🤯
No, I don't buy non-pro non-flagships, especially at that price. It's also a small phone and I value screen real estate. The only phones I would consider buying are:
It seems they have succeeded in the market segmentation then, so as not to steal sales from the flagships.
I guess we’ll see if it sells to meet the goal of an iphone for people who don’t want to spend flagship money.
I don’t think it is cheap enough to convince people who hang on to phones for years to upgrade any earlier.
Agreed. I recently went from 11 Pro (2nd hand when I got it) to a refurb 14 Pro. 512GB and "excellent" condition for the same money as this. After selling the 11 Pro it only cost me $200 to own over 3.5 years
Each to their own though. Buying used isn't for some
Missing the most important specs:
8GB RAM
Apple C1 modem
If the C1 performs in real world conditions, Apple will do to Qualcomm what it did to Intel
I mean, that is interesting to Qualcomm shareholders, not sure if it will motivate my Mum to drop $1000.
…not sure if it will motivate my Mum to drop $1000.
Means the $599 USD / $999 AUD price has huge margins even for Apple standards
So when the 17e and 18e roll out, that will be the time to pickup the 16e
I bet Qualcomm won't take this lying down, they will try to argue that the C1 violates their patents and Apple needs to pay them anyway.
is apple going to sell c1 modems to other companies?
I was keen to upgrade my SE….. but wasn’t expecting $1000. Would have maybe gone $800…. Hmmm, I guess old trusty gets another couple of years
Let’s be real. The one of the main reasons people buy iPhones are because they are mentally locked into using IOS and are not interested in learning to use Android OS.
So it doesn’t matter how many times they reshape and repurpose the same thing, they will still sell like hotcakes.
I think this is being positioned as the phone for your uncle who hasn’t bothered upgrading his iPhone 8.
Not much chance it will sell like hot cakes, as uncle doesn’t really want to spend $1000.
I reckon you’re bang on the money regarding this model. (Mind the pun)
Like most SE or lower end iphones they are the uncle aunty nana phone of choice.
My statement was more broadly aimed at iphones in general.
I agree though, they messed up the pricing on this.
One of the reasons people buy Android phones is because they are locked into using Android and are not interested in learning to use iOS
Or been there done that and prefer an OS that can get things done in far less taps ;)
But those that haven't used both will be oblivious to what I mean :P
Yep, I used Android for 8 or so years before moving to a polished OS that actually receives regular updates. Never looked back.
What's an example? For someone who's never used an iphone.
That may be true, but many have no interest in learning a superior OS.
I feel like apple changes things just enough to make people using it frazzled and annoyed by those slight changes, so much so that the idea of learning a complete new OS is too much hassle.
(I am those people)
I believe people when they say Android is superior than Apple, but it isn’t as superior as my laziness.
I'm on a pixel right now and can't stand it. I would much prefer apple or Samsung over my pixel 8 pro.
To be fair, if you're locked in to use anything other than one particular brand of phone, you're not really locked in at all.
This looks like the same move Apple did with 5C. Till then, the flagship iPhones were $799 (3GS, 4, 5). Then 5C came out at $769 or something and pushed 5S to $879 which became the new baseline. There was no successor to the 5C. So when SE is taken off the market, no iPhone will cost less than $999.
They are in over their heads. This is a comparison maker . You look at this and say , why don’t I send 400 to get 16 and another 400 will get me pro. This is not a profit maker for sure
This is like asking would you buy any other car other then a White Toyota Camry. You'll only get 1 answer on OzB LOL
Haha it was more for people who are looking to get a new phone. If you have Camry then why even bother hehe
Toyoya Camry? Do I look like I'm made of money?
My iphone 12 needs a new battery, so $250 for that repair and a 4 year old phone or get $220 trade in and new phone for ~$770 and some cashback.
Can buy a magsafe case from aliexpress for any holder/charging requiring that functionality, still has Qi so that'll work.
It's only $149 for Apple to do the battery.
Not what Apple Hornsby quoted.
@Russell Dupsumtucka: Did they explain why the cost is $100 more than the official quote from Apple online? What are you not telling us?
We’ll inspect your product when we receive it. If other issues are found, you could pay additional fees.
Probably this.
@Russell Dupsumtucka: So you didn't bother to look up the costs, didn't question why it was $250 for a battery replacement?
@Karfaffel: I did look up the costs, I mentioned the battery replcement, the lady that served me said $250 after talking with the boffins in the back and running a 'diagnostic'. She seemed very adverse to do it as battery health was 81% (maybe that is the reason as 80% is their min/max).
The phone gets very hot while taking video with full screen brightness on sunny days, screen does the auto dimming to the point of min brightness on max setting and video stalls. I beliveve this is all due to battery condition, she seems to think it's not because it didn't happen in the air conditioned mall (go figure).
Like all sales people she seemed to want me to buy a new phone and trade in the 12 rather than fix my current phone. She quoted $250 for battery replacment and diagnostics on a phone 'worth' $210-220.
I would love to be able to get a new battery for $149 from apple but they don't want to do it.
@Russell Dupsumtucka: I just had a quick look and it appears overheating was an issue that was never resolved with the 12 series so it must be a hardware issue. Staff at Apple stores would very likely be aware of this but would have been instructed not to acknowledge it as a hardware fault with that series as it's not a hardware failure as such and a replacement or repair would not help. Sadly it's a design fault with the series 12.
The staff member you talked to probably knew this and hence was reluctant to do the battery swap as it would not improve the issues you mention if your battery health is at 81%. The 80% threshold is only relevant for a free replacement AFAIK.
Although I agree with the staff member's encouragement to upgrade (anything else won't yield a satisfactory result for you), I do think they should have offered the $149 battery replacement or defined the additional repairs that they were going to have to do.
@Karfaffel: I think it's a case of which came first, the battery deg or the overheating?
She was the one that mentioned 'we don't reccommend replacing abve 80%' to me. This was looked at after the diagnostic where battery showed 81%. Before heading in store (~2 months ago) it was showing 80% and now it shows 80% but miraculously gained 1% while being looked at.
Might be time to go with the competition, looking at the $699 moto 50 pro with $205 trade in. Seems like a good $500 phone.
@Russell Dupsumtucka: Well, the overheating seems to have plagued the series 12 from the beginning. Of course it also contributes to battery degradation as Li-Ion chemistry does not do well at higher temperatures.
The Moto certainly looks like a pretty decent, feature packed phone and since you'd be getting it at 50% off retail price with the JB discount and your trade in, it looks to be good value.
Worth a go to see what the other side is like. I'd be (genuinely) interested to hear your thoughts after 4 years of usage to see how well these mid-tier phones hold up.
I need to replace dad's iphone 7, was hoping this release might see prices slashed on new old stock of iphone 11/12/13. Anyone know if any retailers are dropping prices to clear old stock?
Probably during Easter I suppose
How much are you prepared to spend? iPhone 12 is the oldest handset with 5G; Kmart was doing $399 but current street price $429
That's used. I want new. Happy to spend $600, but may have to go a fair bit above that.
Might need a Tardis to get 11/12/13 new
@sheikyerbouti: Who would have thought? JB, TGG, OW, Telstra, among others selling a handset released in 2021. Android must be takiing over…
I usually buy the pro version when they have good discounts with Telstra. I only buy a new phone when my current one is almost out of iOS and I look at cashing the old one in. My highest priority is a hot spot and a camera.
absolutely mad it doesn't come with MagSafe…
Apparently the chassis is small
but they could fit it into a mini! 😮Didn't think it was much thinner than the previous models.
Yeah weird choice tbh .
but on the outside it's basically a iPhone 14 with 1 camera. 🤔
I follow tech news so I'm interested in this new release. but weird for apple?
compare 16e and 16 and yeah no magsafe, the area where it says "works with magsafe cases or wallets" is also blank. so what even if you put a magsafe case on it, it won't recognize and wireless charge?
also was definitely expecting iPad 11 and new Apple watch SE. iPad 10th gen was released all the way back in 2022 and before that, the new model budget iPad was released every year, so iPad 11th gen is over 1.5 years late! (iPad 9 was released 9/2021, iPad 10 was released 10/2022 so iPad 11 should have been released 10/2023, but give 1 year delay for covid and should have been released 10/2024 but still not?!).
Apple watch SE models are released on a 2 year cycle. Apple watch SE (1st gen) was released 9/2020 and AW SE (2nd gen) was released 9/2022. So also AW SE (3rd gen) should have been released 9/2024. 6 months late but still not?
Figured I'm the target market for these: Want mid-range price; Small enough to fit in pocket; Not fussed on the extras, just want main features to work well; Upgrade every 3-4 models rather than 1-2.
Had an iPhone 8 then iPhone12 mini but iPhone SE3 didn't extend screen all the way to the edge. Pixels teething issues meant I switched to Samsung A73, but I've been monitoring the SE4 since 2022 to see if switching back to Apple would be better.
iPhone 16e has the right chip (though GPU only has 4 cores to 16s 5) and Intelligence features although Camera loses some functionality. No MagSafe is a choice that I can live with and 128GB is plenty for a cheaper, base version especially with OLED screen.
Priced from $450-$500USD (700-800AUD), I think this would be a no brainer but at $1000AUD - what is its purpose? A worse overall phone for only $200-300 off flagship entry.
If someone is prepared to pay the $1000 why not spend $1200-$1300 or difference of about $10 per month if adding to a phone plan payment to get the better option.
Can't quite understand why this was necessary at that price and what market it will actually cater to.
Yeah it’s thought provoker for Apple, they want you to spend on pro
I can definitely see that for their usual lineup customers who "need" the latest & greatest as only a few hundred to upgrade from base 16 to Pro.
But there is no way anyone looking at the SE/mid range models around $750 end up spending $1799.
As @mskeggs says - This is the uncle-aunty phone that doesn't want to spend too much and only upgrade when they need to.
Those that want to stick to Apple iOS in this price range will probably keep their current for another generation.
Just don't see an actual market case for it with such little differentiation in price. Hopefully they will price correct downwards in 6 months however unlikely with Apple.
Yes to replace my mother's ihphone XR….