{"id":583228,"date":"2025-02-20T06:05:00","date_gmt":"2025-02-20T04:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/?p=583228"},"modified":"2025-02-20T08:11:09","modified_gmt":"2025-02-20T06:11:09","slug":"apple-iphone-16e-announced","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/smartphones\/583228-apple-iphone-16e-announced.html","title":{"rendered":"Apple iPhone 16e announced"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Apple introduced a new low-end smartphone called the iPhone 16e priced at $599 (R11,088), aiming to revive growth after a sluggish holiday season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rebranded device goes on sale 28 February and will cost $170 (R3,147) more than the $429 (R7,940) iPhone SE that it replaces. Preorders for the phone begin 21 February.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apple modernized the device by removing the now-antiquated home button and adding a larger, 6.1-inch screen with Face ID. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The model has a 48-megapixel camera, the same A18 chip as the iPhone 16 and a USB-C charging port. It also runs the company\u2019s AI software, Apple Intelligence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a first, the product also includes an in-house cellular modem chip. That replaces a key component from Qualcomm in a long-awaited shift.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new installment represents the biggest change in the history of Apple\u2019s low-end iPhone, which was introduced as the SE in 2016 and last updated nearly three years ago. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As part of the shift, the current iPhone SE and iPhone 14 have been discontinued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The debut is the first of several iPhone design changes slated for this year, with Apple also planning a new skinnier version. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company\u2019s smartphone business could use a boost. Sales fell about 1% in the\u00a0holiday quarter, when the iPhone 16 failed to entice shoppers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Apple Intelligence software also has lagged behind rival offerings and isn\u2019t available in much of the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

China has been a particular weak spot. Apple\u2019s overall sales fell 11% in the country last quarter, where it\u2019s losing ground to local players like Huawei and Xiaomi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new model should give Apple a more compelling way to reach the lower end of the smartphone market. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company\u00a0spent years working\u00a0on the device, aiming to close the gap between its low-end phone and the main iPhones with newer technologies like facial recognition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Still, the new model lacks some of the features found on pricier versions. For instance, it doesn\u2019t have the Dynamic Island interface, lacks MagSafe magnetic wireless charging, has only one back camera and doesn\u2019t have the faster-refreshing ProMotion display found on the iPhone 16 Pro line. There\u2019s also no Camera Control button.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The phone is groundbreaking in one way that users might not notice: the in-house modem chip, which is called the C1. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That component allows the phone to connect with cellular networks.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The device kicks off a broader transition away from Qualcomm, a longtime supplier. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apple plans to bring the same modem to the skinnier iPhone planned for this fall, and a second-generation part will go into Pro models in 2026, Bloomberg News has\u00a0reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The chip, which Apple didn\u2019t describe in detail during its announcement, stemmed from a multibillion dollar endeavor that included hiring thousands of engineers and acquiring Intel Corp.\u2019s old cellular modem division. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company has been working on the part for at least seven years and has opened dedicated engineering centers for it near Qualcomm\u2019s offices in Southern California.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If all goes to plan, users shouldn\u2019t notice any changes to how their iPhone works because of the new modem. But the risk of dropped calls and networking issues is one that Apple has been seeking to avoid. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company has been testing the chip with networks from scores of carriers globally, aiming to ensure that its performance is close enough to Qualcomm\u2019s offerings.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new modem doesn\u2019t include mmWave technology, a type of 5G connection that allows for much faster downloads in some major metropolitan areas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it should help improve battery life compared with previous lower-end models. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company says the 16e has up to 26 hours of video playback, compared with only 15 hours on the third-generation iPhone SE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The device comes in options with 128, 256 and 512 gigabytes of storage, as well as white and black colors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bloomberg News first reported earlier this month that the\u00a0product was imminent\u00a0and earlier\u00a0wrote about its features. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 256 gigabyte version is priced at $699 (R12,938), while the top-end model will cost $899 (R16,640). That makes it nearly the same price as an entry-level iPhone 16 Pro.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The USB-C charging standard allows Apple to sell the device in the EU again. Rules in that region require device makers to use that kind of port, and the prior iPhone SE had a Lightning connector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new hardware specifications also can support Apple Intelligence, and the company is making that technology central to its marketing pitch. But Apple\u2019s AI tools have been slow to catch on with consumers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

New writing features and capabilities like Genmoji \u2014 custom AI-created emoji \u2014 haven\u2019t inspired as many iPhone upgrades as anticipated.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new iPhone 16e includes a customizable Action button like recent high-end models, as well as the ability to connect to satellite networks for off-the-grid texting and accessing emergency services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Cupertino, California-based company is planning a software update in April that will bring Apple Intelligence to more countries and add support for additional languages. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s also racing to bring Apple Intelligence to China, Bloomberg News\u00a0reported\u00a0last week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apple is\u00a0looking to introduce\u00a0new iPads and Macs in the coming months as well, including a MacBook Air with an M4 chip. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And in addition to the iPhone overhaul later in the year, the company will\u00a0debut a new Apple Watch Ultra 3\u00a0with off-the-grid satellite capabilities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Apple introduced a new low-end smartphone called the iPhone 16e priced at R11,088.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":341034,"featured_media":583234,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"idle","_sma_x_autopost_error":"","_sma_x_post_id":"","_sma_facebook_post_id":"","_sma_instagram_post_id":"","_sma_threads_post_id":"","_sma_x_attempts":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17934],"tags":[605,3480,96966,98867,94311,3524],"class_list":["post-583228","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-smartphones","tag-apple","tag-apple-iphone","tag-iphone-16","tag-iphone16e","tag-m4-chip","tag-qualcomm"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/583228"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/341034"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=583228"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/583228\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":583239,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/583228\/revisions\/583239"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/583234"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=583228"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=583228"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=583228"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}