Apple's new iPhone 16e is full of firsts, and the Pixel 9a should be worried

After practically years of rumors, Apple has finally launched the iPhone 16e, a successor to the iPhone SE 3 (also known as the iPhone SE 2022). The iPhone 16e also succeeds the iPhone 14 in Apple’s current lineup, marking it as the cheapest iPhone you can buy right now, and giving Apple a good competitor against value-oriented Android flagships.

The iPhone 16e features a familiar front reminiscent of the iPhone 14-16. The iPhone 16e features a 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR OLED display, alongside Ceramic Shield for protection. You get a display notch that houses the TrueDepth camera system. There’s no Touch ID here, so long-time Touch ID fans no longer have a choice but to adopt Face ID in their next upgrade.

On the inside, the iPhone 16e features the Apple A18 processor, similar to that on the iPhone 16. The A18 chip comes with a six-core CPU, a four-core GPU, and a 16-core Neural Engine for handling AI and machine learning tasks. Since the phone features this newer SoC, it also has access to Apple Intelligence features, which otherwise require the iPhone 15 Pro or the iPhone 16 series to work. This makes the iPhone 16e the cheapest iPhone by a long margin to come with AI features.

The iPhone 16e is also the first device to feature the Apple C1 modem, the first modem designed by Apple. The company says this is the most power-efficient modem on an iPhone and promises fast and reliable 5G cellular connectivity. The iPhone 16e also features satellite connectivity, so you can text friends and family without a cellular and Wi-Fi connection and have access to Emergency SOS.

Thankfully, all of these updates come alongside a USB-C port and wireless charging capabilities, though curiously, we couldn’t spot mentions of MagSafe capabilities. What makes the iPhone 16e even more interesting is that it comes with an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance.

Further, it also sports the new Action button seen on the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 series, once again making it the cheapest iPhone option to feature one.

As you’ll notice, the iPhone 16e has only one camera: a 48MP camera, which Apple is calling a 2-in-1 camera with an integrated 2x telephoto. There is no ultrawide or dedicated telephoto camera, but for most users, this is pretty much all that they use regularly. Note that the front-facing camera has autofocus, which is something several Android phones miss out on. Since this is an iPhone, there is also a good focus on video recording, with the iPhone 16e capable of 4K 60fps Dolby Vision video recording.

Apple iPhone 16e pricing and availability

The iPhone 16e starts at $599 in the US for the 128GB carrier-locked variant, which you can also get on contract at $24.95 per month for 24 months. The phone is available in white and black, and other storage options include 256GB and 512GB. Thankfully, there’s no 64GB starting variant anymore, but that comes with higher pricing.

• iPhone 16e 128GB: $599 or $24.95 per month for 24 months
• iPhone 16e 256GB: $699 or $29.12 per month for 24 months
• iPhone 16e 512GB: $899 or $37.45 per month for 24 months

Apple has plenty of trade-in offers, too, and even more lucrative ones with carriers, getting you up to $599 off when trading in an iPhone 12 or above.

The iPhone 16e goes on pre-order at 8 a.m. ET on February 21, 2025, and will be available for open sale beginning February 28, 2025.

Why the Pixel 9a should be worried about the iPhone 16e?

Apple fans have long embraced the idea that the iPhone SE 3 (2022) is the cheapest iPhone they could buy at $429. However, the experience on the iPhone SE 3 wasn’t exactly modern, and the phone’s design mostly appealed only to Touch ID loyalists. So, if you wanted an actually good iPhone, you’d have to spring for the iPhone 14 at $599 ($630 unlocked), but you’d still be missing AI-based features and be stuck with the older Lightning port.

With the iPhone 16e, Apple is offering an improved aesthetic alongside AI-based features. Consequently, the iPhone 16e vastly improves Apple’s competitiveness in 2025, even if it raises the entry cost of iPhones. With 128GB of storage, it’s a near-flagship experience with only a few missing links like a higher refresh rate display, MagSafe etc.

Google will likely release the Pixel 9a at around the $500 price point, while the Pixel 9 already starts at $699. The iPhone 16e will give tough competition to the rather gimped Pixel 9a at least, as there simply wouldn’t be any comparison in the experience between the gimped Tensor G4 in the Pixel 9a against the Apple A18 in the iPhone 16e.