Why the Apple iPhone 16e could be a polarising smartphone

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At first, the iPhone 16e may seem like the true successor to the iPhone SE that many had been waiting for but it’s not. In fact, the iPhone 16e appears to have been recreated using the same external chassis as the older iPhone 14, which is what many gathered from Apple’s brief presentation at launch. However, the new device is not just a repurposed iPhone 14 either. The iPhone 16e also isn’t simply a stripped-down version of the iPhone 16, as most people assumed. That leaves one question: what the heck is the iPhone 16e?

In reality, however, the iPhone 16e is a fusion of both new and old, going beyond what the iPhone SE aimed to be and what the baseline iPhone represents. The result is a weird device, but mostly in good ways.

A market segment waiting to be tapped

However, to fully understand the iPhone 16e, one must first understand the market opportunity Apple sought to capture. Apple hasn’t had an iPhone in the Rs 50,000 to Rs 60,000 price range sold as new (excluding those available for less after discounts and bank offers).

With the iPhone 16e, Apple clearly targeted a price segment where it previously had no direct offering but saw an opportunity to grow—an entry point into the premium segment. A quick Google search shows that Apple’s own iPhones, mostly older models like the iPhone 14 and iPhone 15, have been available in this price range, with little competition from major players including Samsung. While some may argue that the older iPhone 15, available for just Rs 2,000 more, is a better deal, the iPhone 16e (starts at Rs 59,900) has its own advantages. It runs on a newer, faster chipset and supports Apple Intelligence—features missing from the iPhone 15.

If history tells us one thing, it’s that Apple has often phased out its own products to make room for new ones. It did this with the iPod, which was eventually folded into the iPhone, and similarly, it has done the same with the iPhone 16e. Upon its launch, all older iPhones with a Lightning port were discontinued from Apple’s online stores, a decision that also aligns with new EU regulations requiring USB-C ports in newer smartphones. While the iPhone SE, iPhone 13, and iPhone 14 will remain available until stocks last (especially in India, where there is still demand for older iPhones), Apple is positioning the iPhone 16e as the new entry point into the Apple ecosystem. With cashback offers factored in, the device covers a wider segment, targeting both new users and existing ones looking for a replacement.

Perhaps the reasoning behind the “16e” branding over “SE” also plays a role in how Apple wants to be perceived in markets like India and China. Sales of past iPhone SE models have never come close to those of the mainline iPhone series, partly due to how lower-tier smartphones—even those from Apple—are viewed in status-conscious societies.

The new smartphone features Apple’s first cellular modem, Apple C1. It is designed to deliver 5G connectivity. (Image credit: Apple)

The ‘affordable luxury’ smartphone segment

This is why a device like the iPhone SE may not work today, largely due to changing consumer behaviour. Similar to the luxury handbag market, we see two distinct types of luxury smartphone consumers. The first group, particularly those seeking high-end smartphones like the iPhone 16 Pro Max, continues to purchase with more discretion but remains committed to premium brands. The second group, focused more on accessible luxury, is what Apple seems to be targeting with the iPhone 16e’s pricing. This group is price-sensitive and often opts for lower-priced alternatives but isn’t necessarily loyal to one particular brand. However, they aren’t willing to buy an iPhone SE, nor do they want to settle for second-hand iPhones. This is where Apple may have seen an opportunity for the iPhone 16e—to cater to an addressable segment that needed more accessible products while still engaging price-sensitive consumers, all without compromising its premium brand positioning. Traditionally, consumers in this segment aren’t loyalists but Apple wants to change that and where the iPhone 16e comes in.

But this segment hasn’t seen much movement over the years and, hence, needed a reinvention of sorts. Apple didn’t need a cheaper iPhone to entice consumers but rather a new type of iPhone – one that’s a little different but built on the same foundation that made the iPhone so successful.

The iPhone 16e features a USB-C charging port in comparison to Apple’s older Lightning port. (Image credit: Apple)

iPhone 16e is a different iPhone

The iPhone 16e is that device because it is a new iPhone internally – not an iPhone SE replacement, definitely not a repurposed iPhone 14. While it comes close to the iPhone 16, it is visually distinct from any other iPhone on the market today. Maybe it shares some of the same ideas that the iPhone SE once stood for, but a closer look at the iPhone 16e reveals that it has been designed differently from other iPhones.

First, the iPhone 16e has completely new internals, starting with its most intriguing piece of technology: the cellular modem. The C1 modem is Apple’s first in-house designed cellular modem (Cupertino’s acquisition of Intel’s smartphone modem business now starts to make sense), built to provide 5G coverage. Many users may not even notice it, but integrating a new cellular modem required a revamped internal design.

Apple gains two key advantages by using its own custom modem for iPhones a) Greater control over the supply chain, reducing its dependency on Qualcomm. b) The ability to fully optimize Apple Silicon, leading to improved battery life. And that’s where things get really interesting. While the whole idea behind the iPhone SE was to reuse existing internals, the iPhone 16e features a completely new internal structure.

But things get a little weird with the battery life on the iPhone 16e. Apple claims the device can achieve 26 hours of video playback, while the more expensive baseline iPhone 16 manages only 22 hours on a single charge. So, the iPhone 16e not only has better battery life but also includes a new cellular model – features you don’t get on the iPhone 16. Hold on… there’s more. The iPhone 16e also comes with an Action button that can trigger shortcuts (as seen on the iPhone 16). Interestingly, it also supports Visual Intelligence search, one of the key selling points of the newer iPhones equipped with a dedicated Camera Control button. With the iPhone 16e supporting Visual Intelligence search via the Action button, it raises an interesting question: What is the need for the Camera Control button that Apple heavily promoted on the iPhone 16 series?

A new exterior action button on the side of the iPhone 16e allows users to access a variety of tools and options with a click. (Image credit: Apple)

Reinvent and reimagine

The more you try to understand the iPhone 16e, the weirder it gets. Everywhere, Apple claims that the iPhone 16e has the same A18 chip as the iPhone 16 series. But if you read between the lines, it becomes clear that the A18 chip in the iPhone 16e has a four-core GPU, whereas the iPhone 16 has five cores, and the iPhone 16 Pro models have six cores. So, not even the chip is the same as the other iPhone 16 models.
All of this proves that the iPhone 16e is not the same as the iPhone 16 — or any other iPhone for that matter — yet it is still very much an iPhone. It offers better battery life, a new custom cellular modem, the Action Button capable of performing Visual Intelligence searches, and completely new internals, all housed in a distinctly different chassis. The iPhone 16e is undeniably unconventional but refreshingly different from other iPhones on the market. However, don’t call it a budget iPhone — because it’s not. The iPhone 16e may spark extreme reactions or even confuse some people, but even if it flops, it proves that Apple isn’t afraid to try something new.