A $599 iPhone 16e is a cruel joke

The $599 iPhone 16e is many things, but don't you dare call it a budget phone. I hesitate to even call it "cheap." As a successor to the $429 iPhone SE, it's hard not to see the 16e as a disappointment. Sure, it's $200 less than the vanilla iPhone 16 (which I argued was a great deal at launch), and the 16e also packs in the latest A18 chip with support for Apple Intelligence. But it's no longer a small phone, and it pushes Apple's cheaper iPhone option well beyond $500. That's something we'll likely never see again. (And it's potentially terrible news for future iPhone pricing, as well.)

Given the sheer amount of new hardware in the iPhone 16e — including a larger 6.1-inch OLED screen, Apple's first in-house "C1" modem and that aforementioned A18 chip — it's easy to make excuses for the price. The 16e is certainly far closer in specs to the iPhone 16 than the third-gen SE was to the iPhone 13. But I'd argue that Apple didn't exactly need an OLED screen for this model, and there are likely other ways to cut down costs. (It's even stranger Apple kept out MagSafe and fast wireless charging, which would have been cheaper to implement, and arguably more useful, than a large OLED display.)

iPhone 16e
Apple

And while it's nice to have the A18 chip (albeit with one less GPU core) and full Apple Intelligence support, I agree with my colleague Igor Bonifacic that users aren't exactly clamoring for those AI features. If we had to blame one culprit for the iPhone 16e's pricing, though, it's likely Apple Intelligence. After all, Apple is still fighting to prove it isn't too far behind Microsoft, Google and OpenAI. In any other year, Apple might have been able to justify throwing an older chip in the 16e, but that's not possible when it's in the middle of an AI hype war.

Mostly, I'm just sad that Apple is once again raising the price of admission to its walled garden without much justification. There's something special — noble, even — about sub-$500 smartphones. They're a reminder of a saner era of smartphones, when prices were being driven down by phones like the Moto G. These days you're left with Android phones like the Pixel 8a (and potentially the upcoming Pixel 9a), as well as the $400 Samsung Galaxy A35 and $499 Galaxy A55.

iPhone 16e
Apple

Now that the dream of a sub-$500 iPhone is well and truly dead, it feels like Apple is just setting the stage for future price jumps. A $600 or $650 iPhone 17e will certainly look like a deal compared to a $850 or $900 iPhone 17. And just wait for the inevitable $2,000 iPhone foldable, which could potentially be specced beyond $3,000. 

Of course, you could be a smart Apple shopper and opt for used or refurbished iPhones. I recently picked up a refurbished iPhone 14 Plus as an early Mothers' Day gift for $420, and Amazon currently has listings for iPhone 14 Pros right under $500. Those devices won't support Apple Intelligence, but I'd argue sticking to the used market is simply a more useful form of intelligence. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/a-599-iphone-16e-is-a-cruel-joke-200507275.html?src=rss https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/a-599-iphone-16e-is-a-cruel-joke-200507275.html?src=rss
Created 1mo | Feb 20, 2025, 9:40:25 PM


Login to add comment

Other posts in this group

Amazon's 'Buy for Me' AI will purchase stuff from third-party websites

Amazon has started testing another AI-powered feature called "Buy for Me," which

Apr 4, 2025, 2:40:14 PM | Engadget
Donkey Kong Bananza hands-on: A funky fresh take on Nintendo's favorite ape

You have to go all the way back to the Nintendo 64 to play the most recent 3D Donkey Kong game. But without a new mainline Zelda or Mario title (

Apr 4, 2025, 2:40:12 PM | Engadget
How to stream March Madness 2025: Watch the Final Four games on April 4 and 5

By now, your brackets were likely busted a long time ago. The 2025 NCAA Tournaments, affectio

Apr 4, 2025, 2:40:11 PM | Engadget
The Morning After: Let's talk Switch 2 pricing

Nintendo’s new console has finally been revealed in full, with magnetically attaching Joy-Cons, a new chat function and a bigger higher-res 7.9-inch screen that supports 120Hz and HDR.

Then

Apr 4, 2025, 12:20:18 PM | Engadget
Engadget Podcast: Nintendo Switch 2 hands-on and the Cowboy Bebop creator chats about Lazarus

After Nintendo revealed the full details around the Switch 2 this week, Engadget's Sam Rutherford got some hands-on time with the new console. In this episode, he talks about the major improvements

Apr 4, 2025, 12:20:17 PM | Engadget