There’s going to be something special about the iPhone 16e – Apple’s newest member of the family…mark my words!

I’ve ordered the iPhone 16e – and I’m genuinely interested about what’s going to land on my desk. Notice I said excited, but not necessarily interested in what’s about to land.

But there is going to be one defining point about this phone that it will be best remembered for – its crowning glory – and I’ll get to that a little later on.

On the face of it, there’s precious little new with the iPhone 16e which plays into one of Tim Cook’s and Apple’s strengths – and that is to re-use and recycle absolutely everything. Most aspects of this phone have, in one way or another, been seen on an iPhone or Apple device before, which offers up the question, who is the 16e aimed at? Who’ll be lining up (behind me) to buy it?

The iPhone 16e is now the ‘bargain’ iPhone and save for a few offers from third-parties, it’s the cheapest way for anyone to get into the new iPhone market. Apple has cunningly spaced out by exactly £100 the three key models that this newest iPhone sits amongst – the iPhone 15 and the iPhone 16.

Size isn’t everything

The days of small, and cheap iPhones are now a thing of the past, it seems.

We historically loved the iPhone 13 mini – yet nobody bought it, so Apple laid it to rest. Of those people that actually bought it, most said they loved it – but the numbers just didn’t add up for the numbers men at Apple HQ.

Since its launch, much has been made about the price of the iPhone 16e. Many had assumed, and hoped, that this phone would supersede the iPhone 3SE, but it’s now clear that was never Apple’s intention.

Although this new phone may iterate to a cheaper price much in the same way as iPads have done over the years, it looks unlikely we’ll ever see a new sub £450 iPhone again. There will no longer be a cheap iPhone – just a less expensive one.

By adding the 16e to the lineup, Apple has hit their brief of having a decent, pretty decent and really good iPhone to lure in punters. A true case of something for everyone.

Although this phone was built first and foremost to a price point, Apple has blatantly made the decision that they’re a premium brand, and if you want what they make, you’ll just have to pay what they ask.

Apple Intelligence and the iPhone 16e

Apple has swept through its range as quickly as possible to make certain that every new Mac and iPhone sold from this point forward is Apple Intelligence ready.

I think the only device that you can buy direct from Apple now without it being Apple Intelligence ready, is the most basic iPad – and that is due to be refreshed soon. The iPhone 16e wears the crown for being the cheapest iPhone that is Apple Intelligence ready.

Apart from the obvious reasons for that being important to Apple, they also know it’s pretty important to the targeted demographic for the iPhone 16e. The folks that are most likely to buy this phone aren’t in the slightest bit interested in upgrading every year and will intend to bleed this phone dry for as many years as possible.

Apple lives by data, and as such will know from the user history of SE phones, that the buyers of these phones will keep them for 5, 6, 7 years – or maybe even longer. These phones need to be durable and future-ready – and the iPhone 16e hits the mark on these critical points.

Sure, it only comes in the two basic colours, as again that suits the people that the phone is aimed at. Don’t lose sight of the fact that even though this phone can no longer be claimed to be cheap, it is the most basic iPhone – therefore form over function is what counts the most.