It’s shown up with a whole, new identity and an unexpected new name, but we recognize the face. It’s good to see you, budget iPhone. We knew your older siblings.
Even after being delayed last week, Apple stuck to its word (eventually) and launched the long-awaited iPhone SE 4, the follow-up to 2022’s iPhone SE 3, on its website at 11 a.m. EST on February 19. Only it’s not called the iPhone SE 4 at all.
It ditches the decade-old naming convention for Apple’s mid-budget, smaller iPhone that began with the original iPhone SE in 2015 and renames the device the iPhone 16e. And what’s more, the iPhone 16e is about the same size as a regular iPhone 16.
The diminutive iPhone SE is dead. Long live the iPhone 16e.
all grown-up and full-sized
The iPhone 16e wields a 6.1-inch, OLED, Super Retina XDR display, just like the regular iPhone 16. Whereas the three earlier iterations of Apple’s budget iPhone, the SE family, had smaller screens to allow for smaller overall dimensions, the iPhone 16e ditches that appeal and aims solely to be a more affordable version of the iPhone 16.
At $599 with 128 GB of storage (256 GB and 512 GB are available for more coin, of course), it’s only $200 cheaper than the 128 GB version of the iPhone 16. The 48MP rear-facing camera comes with an integrated 2x telephoto lens. If you were hoping for the return of Touch ID, you’re out of luck. You’ll have to use Face ID.
The iPhone 16e uses the same Apple A18 chipset as the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus, which means 8GB of RAM. It’s the minimum needed to run Apple Intelligence, which rolls out to the iPhone 16e, as predicted. It also gains Apple’s satellite features, including Emergency SOS, Roadside Assistance, Messages, and Find My via satellite.
the rumors were right—no dynamic island
Earlier leaks were correct in that the iPhone 16e doesn’t feature the Dynamic Island found on the iPhone 16, 16 Plus, 16 Pro, and 16 Pro Max, which replaces the notch in the center top of an iPhone’s screen.
The Dynamic Island blocks off space surrounding the front-facing camera lens, turning it into a longer pill-shape that, because there are pixels in this part of the screen, can display relevant data to an app actively being used in the background.
It’s a slick feature, one that debuted on the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max in September 2022, and so I’d held out diminishing hope that we’d see it join the iPhone 16e. While it’s obvious that the budget model wouldn’t get all the goodies of the regular iPhone 16 and higher-end iPhone 16 Pro, it’s 2 1/2 year-old tech at this point. A mild disappointment.
At least it ditches the Lightning connection and comes with a USB-C cable. That was a given, though, ever since the European Union mandated that new devices come with a USB-C charging connection to cut down on the waste of having so many different versions of chargers for various devices.
Grab in any color you want when pre-orders begin on Friday, February 21, as long as you want it in white or black. That’s all the choice there is on that front. At least you won’t have to wait long, as the iPhone 16e will barely make that original February launch schedule when they begin to land in customers’ hands on Friday, February 28.
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