- Apple has announced the new iPhone 16e
- The iPhone SE, iPhone 14, and iPhone 14 Plus have been discontinued
- The iPhone 16e is available to preorder on February 21
Apple has announced the iPhone 16e, a cheaper addition to the iPhone 16 lineup that we previously suspected would be known as the fourth-generation iPhone SE. We’re still covering the iPhone 16e announcement live as Apple reveals more details.
The new iPhone 16e packs the A18 chipset, 48MP Fusion camera, and Apple Intelligence compatibility of the mainline iPhone 16 into a chassis modeled after the iPhone 14.
However, the announcement of the new mid-range iPhone has in fact signaled the end of the iPhone SE and iPhone 14 product lines altogether.
It seems that the iPhone 16e is a direct replacement for the iPhone SE – the SE’s product page is still accessible for now, but there’s no option to buy the phone anymore.
With the iPhone 16e available to preorder on February 21, and shipping on February 28, it makes sense that Apple would stop sales of the iPhone SE to push customers towards the new iPhone 16e.
The third-generation iPhone SE was modeled after the iPhone 8 and carried the internals of the iPhone 13 – so from an aesthetic and performance point of view, it was getting a little long in the tooth.
Not just a 14 with a new name
As mentioned, the iPhone 16e can be seen as a spiritual successor to the iPhone SE, though it is much more expensive at a starting price of $599 / £599 / AU$999 compared to the third-gen iPhone SE at $429 / £429 / AU$719.
The situation with the iPhone 14 is a little more complex. Until today, Apple had the baseline iPhone 14 on sale for the same price the iPhone 16e launches at: $599 / £599 / AU$999.
However, the iPhone 16e’s A18 chipset, 48MP main camera, and Apple Intelligence support effectively make the iPhone 14 redundant, as the iPhone 14 doesn’t have any of these features. Both phones have the same notched 6.1-inch display and the same dimensions. The only thing the iPhone 16e misses out on that the iPhone 14 has is a secondary ultra-wide camera.
Apple has never concurrently sold two iPhones at the same starting price, so the new iPhone 16e has taken the iPhone 14’s spot in the lineup.
Finally, today brings bad luck for anyone looking to pick up a cheap big iPhone – the iPhone 14 Plus has been discontinued along with its smaller sibling.
Your cheapest option for a 6.7-inch iPhone is now the iPhone 15 Plus, which remains on sale for $799 / £799 / AU$1,399.
We’ll be testing the iPhone 16e as soon as we can to see if it ranks among the best iPhones.
What do you make of these changes? Will you miss the iPhone SE or iPhone 14? Let us know in the comments below.