Apple unveils new ‘affordable’ and greener iPhone 16e
The tech behemoth has released a new entry-level iPhone, which costs $400 less than the standard model. Here’s what the new features are.
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Apple has unveiled a new entry level iPhone that is $400 cheaper than the standard model and is available in two finishes - black and white - in an effort to reignite sluggish smart phone sales.
The iPhone 16e is what chief executive Tim Cook describes as the “newest member of the family”, with the$US3.68 trillion company highlighting its green credentials.
As Donald Trump halts wind farm developments, Apple said it was “investing in wind and solar projects across the world” and using more recycled materials, including lithium, in its products.
The 16e features the same A18 chip as the standard iPhone 16, making it “built for Apple Intelligence” - Apple’s AI offering.
The 16e is also splash, water and dust resistant and features longer battery life - up to six hours longer than iPhone 11 - as Apple seeks to entice customers to upgrade their phones from the popular model released in 2019.
It also features a 48MP ‘fusion camera’, with an integrated 2x equivalent telephoto lens, which Apple says is like having two cameras in one, and a 6.1 inch ‘Super Retina XDR display with OLED technology’.
“iPhone 16e packs in the features our users love about the iPhone 16 line-up, including breakthrough battery life, fast performance powered by the latest-generation A18 chip, an innovative 2-in-1 camera system, and Apple Intelligence,” said Kaiann Drance, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide iPhone Product Marketing.
“We’re so excited for iPhone 16e to complete the line-up as a powerful, more affordable option to bring the iPhone experience to even more people.”
The 16e is priced from $999. This compares to $719 for its predecessor, the SE, which was released in 2022. But customers can get up to a $210 credit when they trade in their iPhone 11, Apple said. Unlike the SE, the 16e also is equipped with safety features, including the ability to connect to Apple’s satellite to make emergency SOS calls when users are out of mobile or Wi-Fi coverage.
iPhone sales eased almost 1 per cent in the December quarter, compared to the previous corresponding period, to $US69.1bn, a miss from the $US70.7bn analysts expected, according to FactSet.
The company has been betting on the release of its AI offering Apple Intelligence — which arrived in Australia in December — to boost iPhone sales, with Mr Cook saying it will make using its devices “profoundly different”.
It has redesigned its voice assistant Siri, which can link to ChatGPT, bypassing Google to answer queries, such as “where is the best place to see wildlife in Sydney”. A user then communicates with Siri via voice or text to refine search results, even if they stumble over their words.
“Our unique approach combines generative AI with a user’s personal context to deliver truly helpful intelligence. And it can access that information in a completely private and secure way to help users do the things that matter most to them,” Mr Cook said.
Get ready to meet the newest member of the family.
— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) February 13, 2025
Wednesday, February 19. #AppleLaunch pic.twitter.com/0ML0NfMedu
Apple Intelligence can prioritise and summarise emails - a feature Mr Cook says he uses every morning to save time - and edit photos, such as remove distracting objects, at a touch of a button.
Other features include the ability to take a picture and look up that item online – a similar function to Google Lens. People can also turn sketches into more refined artwork, make their own “genmojis”, edit pictures, summarise lengthy documents or emails, polish their writing or change writing styles to be more professional or humorous.
Samsung teased at a new slim Galaxy S25 phone, called the Edge, at its own product launch in Apple’s backyard at San Jose last month — setting the scene for a big year in smartphone launches. It is expected Apple will also release a new slim phone this year. Samsung didn’t give a precise release date for its thin device but Samsung executive vice president Sally Hyesoon Jeong said it would be available the “first half of this year”.
Apple said the 16e’s chip was up to six times faster than the A17 in iPhone 11. It features the ‘action button’ that was introduced on the iPhone 15 lineup, which allows people to access a variety of functions - such as opening the camera or torch - and is customisable in settings.
“The action button on iPhone 16e also unlocks a new visual intelligence experience that builds on Apple Intelligence to help users learn about objects and places. Visual intelligence can summarise and copy text, translate text between languages, detect phone numbers or email addresses with the option to add to contacts, identify an animal or plant, and more,” Apple said.
“Visual intelligence also allows users to search Google so they can see where they can buy an item, or benefit from ChatGPT’s problem-solving skills. Users are in control of when third-party tools are used and what information is shared.”
The 16e doesn’t feature the new camera control button that Apple launched on the 16 and 16 Pro models or MagSafe wireless charging.
But it can record videos in 4K with Dolby Vision up to 60 fps, as well as in spatial audio to emulate surround sound during playback.
“Users can adjust their sound after capture to focus on the voice of the person on camera, make it sound like the video was recorded inside a professional studio, or position vocal tracks in the front and environmental noises in surround sound. With wind noise reduction, powerful ML algorithms automatically reduce unwanted noise for better audio quality,” Apple said.
Apple also highlighted the new phone’s green credentials, it features 100 per cent recycled cobalt and 95 per cent recycled lithium in its battery. As Donald Trump halts wind farm developments, Apple said it was “investing in wind and solar projects across the world”.
“As part of Apple 2030, the company’s ambitious goal to be carbon neutral across its entire carbon footprint by the end of this decade, Apple is transitioning to renewable electricity for its manufacturing and investing in wind and solar projects around the world to address the electricity used to charge all Apple products, including iPhone 16e.
“Today, all Apple facilities run on 100 per cent renewable electricity — including the data centres that power Apple Intelligence.”
Overall, the 16e comprises 30 per cent recycled content, including 85 recycled aluminium in the enclosure. “The packaging is also entirely fibre-based, bringing Apple closer to its goal of removing plastic from its packaging by the end of this year”.
It comes as it released its streaming platform on rival Android devices this week, and will let customers pay for subscriptions on Google Play accounts, as regulatory pressure mounts to open up its tightly-controlled ecosystem.
The Apple TV app and streaming service Apple TV+ will be available on Samsung phones and tablets and Google Pixels or any device that supports Android 10 or later.
Apple says it has built the app from the “ground up to deliver Android users a familiar and intuitive interface”.
The world’s most valuable company has been under pressure to open up its ecosystem, including allowing payments outside its own system in Australia, Britain and Europe.
Apple said the Apple TV app and Apple TV+ service would be available on Android devices globally and would offer users a seven-day free trial.
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