Apple makes AI more accessible with new iPhone 16e launch
Alona Yadav | Feb 22, 2025, 12:47 IST
Apple has introduced the iPhone 16e, a budget-friendly option equipped with advanced features and AI tools, available from February 28 for $599. This model signifies a shift from the iPhone SE series, aiming to deliver high-end capabilities, including Apple's first in-house cellular modem, without a premium price tag.
Apple has unveiled its latest smartphone offering, the iPhone 16e, marking a strategic move to bring advanced features and artificial intelligence capabilities to a more budget-conscious market segment. Priced at $599, the new device will be available starting February 28, representing Apple's renewed focus on the mid-range smartphone market.
The iPhone 16e introduces several significant innovations, most notably Apple's first in-house designed cellular modem, which the company claims is their most power-efficient to date. This development comes more than five years after Apple's acquisition of Intel's smartphone modem business in 2019, signaling the company's growing independence from external suppliers.
Unlike its predecessor, the iPhone SE, the 16e shares many features with its premium counterpart, the iPhone 16. The new model includes a 6.1-inch screen, Face ID, a 48-megapixel camera, and the customizable Action button. However, it does forgo some premium features like the secondary wide-angle camera and the Camera Control button to maintain its lower price point.
Perhaps most significantly, the iPhone 16e comes equipped with Apple Intelligence, the company's suite of AI-powered tools previously limited to higher-end devices. These features include emoji and image generation, notification summarization, photo object removal, and ChatGPT integration with Siri. This marks Apple's broader push into consumer-facing AI technology, an area where competitors like Google and Samsung have already established a strong presence.
The launch represents a departure from the iPhone SE line, which accounted for only 5% of US iPhone sales as of December 2024, according to Consumer Intelligence Research Partners. The new device modernizes Apple's budget offering, eliminating dated features like the home button and fingerprint sensor that characterized the SE series since 2016.
While Apple positions the iPhone 16e as a gateway to its AI ecosystem, questions remain about whether these new AI capabilities will drive significant smartphone upgrades, particularly given Apple's recent iPhone revenue performance falling short of Wall Street expectations in the first quarter of 2025.
The introduction of the iPhone 16e reflects Apple's evolving strategy to maintain competitiveness in both the mid-range smartphone market and the rapidly expanding field of consumer AI technology, while potentially opening these innovations to a broader audience.
The iPhone 16e introduces several significant innovations, most notably Apple's first in-house designed cellular modem, which the company claims is their most power-efficient to date. This development comes more than five years after Apple's acquisition of Intel's smartphone modem business in 2019, signaling the company's growing independence from external suppliers.
Unlike its predecessor, the iPhone SE, the 16e shares many features with its premium counterpart, the iPhone 16. The new model includes a 6.1-inch screen, Face ID, a 48-megapixel camera, and the customizable Action button. However, it does forgo some premium features like the secondary wide-angle camera and the Camera Control button to maintain its lower price point.
Perhaps most significantly, the iPhone 16e comes equipped with Apple Intelligence, the company's suite of AI-powered tools previously limited to higher-end devices. These features include emoji and image generation, notification summarization, photo object removal, and ChatGPT integration with Siri. This marks Apple's broader push into consumer-facing AI technology, an area where competitors like Google and Samsung have already established a strong presence.
The launch represents a departure from the iPhone SE line, which accounted for only 5% of US iPhone sales as of December 2024, according to Consumer Intelligence Research Partners. The new device modernizes Apple's budget offering, eliminating dated features like the home button and fingerprint sensor that characterized the SE series since 2016.
While Apple positions the iPhone 16e as a gateway to its AI ecosystem, questions remain about whether these new AI capabilities will drive significant smartphone upgrades, particularly given Apple's recent iPhone revenue performance falling short of Wall Street expectations in the first quarter of 2025.
The introduction of the iPhone 16e reflects Apple's evolving strategy to maintain competitiveness in both the mid-range smartphone market and the rapidly expanding field of consumer AI technology, while potentially opening these innovations to a broader audience.