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Starting at $599, iPhone 16e shows Apple is unwilling to trade margins for unit sales

MacDailyNews

Feb 20

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Apple on Wednesday announced iPhone 16e, a new entry-level addition to the iPhone 16 lineup that offers powerful capabilities at a $599 starting price. iPhone 16e delivers fast, smooth performance and breakthrough battery life, thanks to the industry-leading efficiency of the A18 chip and the new Apple C1, the first cellular modem designed by Apple.

iPhone 16e is also built for Apple Intelligence, the intuitive personal intelligence system that delivers helpful and relevant intelligence while taking an extraordinary step forward for privacy in AI. The 48MP Fusion camera takes gorgeous photos and videos, and with an integrated 2x Telephoto, it is like having two cameras in one, so users can zoom in with optical quality. When outside of cellular and Wi-Fi coverage, Apple’s groundbreaking satellite features — including Emergency SOS, Roadside Assistance, Messages, and Find My via satellite — help iPhone 16e users stay connected and get assistance when it matters most.

Dan Gallagher for The Wall Street Journal:
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The iPhone 16e succeeds the iPhone SE models as the cheapest smartphones in the company’s lineup—except they are no longer that cheap. The new iPhones start at $599, compared with the $429 starting price of the most recent SE version.
The average price of the new 16e configurations is also just 31% below the average price of all the other iPhones Apple currently sells as new. That compares to a 52% discount that the iPhone SE offered to the rest of the company’s lineup prior to Wednesday’s launch. The price qualified as the biggest surprise in what was a widely expected announcement… Apple launched its first SE phones starting at $399 in 2016; it last updated the lineup in 2022.
A more premium price for the 16e shows Apple keeping a firm eye on its bottom line. The slimmer discount to the rest of its lineup might also limit the degree of cannibalization of higher-end phone sales… Apple’s not-so-cheap iPhone might not be a huge hit, but it won’t be a big profit hit either.

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MacDailyNews Take: If it’s not an iPhone, it’s not an iPhone. Quality has a price and, this year, it starts at $599.

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