Following months of rumors, Apple has finally announced the iPhone 16E, a spiritual successor to the last-gen iPhone SE that’s set to launch on February 28th. Preorders for Apple’s forthcoming handset start at $599 with 128GB of storage and open at Apple’s online store on Friday, February 21st, with other retailers and carriers likely to follow.
Like the most recent iPhone SE models it’s replacing, the iPhone 16E offers flagship-level performance in an older form factor at a cheaper price than its contemporaries. Apple outfitted an iPhone 14-like body with the Apple Intelligence-ready A18 chip from last year’s iPhone 16. That means it’s lost the physical home button, but gains a bigger edge-to-edge 6.1-inch OLED display with a notch to house the front-facing camera and Face ID sensors.
Its net button count hasn’t changed, however, as the new iPhone SE now has a customizable Action Button, though there’s no dedicated Camera Control button. The lone 48-megapixel camera can capture 24-megapixel photos with up to 2x optical zoom, supports 4K video recording up to 60 frames per second with Dolby Vision, and offers spatial audio with post-recording Audio Mix adjustments. The Lightning port has been swapped out for USB-C as well, and you get 7.5W Qi wireless charging (no MagSafe, sorry). Notably, it’s the first iPhone with Apple’s homegrown C1 modem, which supports 5G but lacks the speeder mmWave radios.
Looking to buy? Keep reading for all your preorder options.
You can preorder the iPhone 16E from Apple ahead of its February 28th release date starting on Friday, February 21st, at 8AM ET. The 128GB base model retails for $599, but you can also get it with 256GB of storage for $699 or 512GB of storage for $899. You can also buy it unlocked or activate it through Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, or Boost Mobile.
The iPhone 16E will be available in either matte black or matte white at launch, with five official silicone cases — including blue, fuchsia, green, black, and white options — available for $39 apiece. We anticipate that Best Buy and a handful of other retailers will likely be selling the iPhone 16E at launch as well, and we’ll update this post with various carrier promos and discounts as they come online.
The iPhone 16E is the spiritual successor to the iPhone SE, bringing. flagship-level performance at an approachable price. It looks similar to an iPhone 14 but has an A18 chip with Apple Intelligence support, 128GB of starting storage, a 6.1-inch OLED display, a 48-megapixel camera with 2x optical zoom, and a customizable action button.
$599 at Apple (128GB)$699 at Apple (256GB)$899 at Apple (512GB)
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