iPhone 16e is clearly targeted at iPhone 11 and iPhone 12 owners

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Apple's iPhone 16e marketing and trade-in pricing is designed specifically to get iPhone 11 and iPhone 12 users to upgrade.

Five smartphones overlapping, showing backs with dual cameras in colors: red, black, white, yellow, and green.
The iPhone 11 from 2019



It's not as if Apple will turn any buyer away, but it is very clearly setting out its stall that the iPhone 16e is for people who last bought an iPhone in 2019 or 2020. Six years on from the iPhone 11 and five years on from the iPhone, this is the best iPhone to upgrade to and Apple is aiming to sweeten the deal.

The first clue of the market Apple is aiming for with the new iPhone comes in the comparisons.

"iPhone 16e has the best battery life ever on a 6.1-inch iPhone," says Apple's press release, "lasting up to six hours longer than iPhone 11 and up to 12 hours longer than all generations of iPhone SE."

Apple then compares the A18 processor in the iPhone 16e to the A13 Bionic processor in the iPhone 11. Unsurprisingly, the new processor is faster than the old, but Apple didn't just search for the comparison that makes the A18 look the best.

Instead, Apple wants users of the A13 Bionic processor to know how much faster the new iPhone will feel. Given that iPhone batteries from 2019 or 2020 will be degrading by now, it also wants to present the new iPhone as having a miraculously longer-life charge.

If Apple hooks iPhone 11 or iPhone 12 users in with these features, it then works to seal the deal with the pricing. Whether users choose to trade in their old iPhones through Apple or through their carrier, Apple is promoting how much money they will save on the new model.

The new iPhone 16e starts at $599, which is significantly more than the $429 of the iPhone SE that it replaces. Where the old iPhone SE's strongest selling point was that it was much lower cost than any other iPhone, the iPhone 16e is now only $200 less than the iPhone 16.

That's still low enough make it a bargain, given what features it provides, but it's also high enough to be a barrier. Except Apple itself is offering to take an old iPhone 11 for up to $120 in trade-in value, or up to $170 for an iPhone 12.

Those trade-ins make the iPhone 16e more affordable, but Apple doesn't stop with its own offers. For once, it lists specific carrier offers, which in this case start with $400 for an iPhone 11 -- or $599 for an iPhone 12.

So people who have held on to their iPhone 11 since 2019 can get the new iPhone 16e from $199. And iPhone 12 users can get it for free.

Way back in 2013, Apple's Phil Schiller said that the company would never make a cheap iPhone. But that doesn't mean it can't arrange its pricing cleverly when it wants to target certain buyers.



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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 8
    jbirdiikunjbirdiikun Posts: 7member
    $599 price tag AND no MagSafe..? Disappointed.
    mdwDAalsethwilliamlondonwatto_cobragrandact73
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  • Reply 2 of 8
    Hrebhreb Posts: 96member
    As an iphone 12 user, the clumsy, giant form factor of the 16e combined with lack of magsafe makes the 16e extremely uncompelling.  It's not even cheap.  Zero chance this is my next smartphone.
    kiltedgreenmdwDAalsethwilliamlondonJoharwatto_cobragrandact73
     6Likes 1Dislike 0Informatives
  • Reply 3 of 8
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,712member
    Hreb said:
    As an iphone 12 user, the clumsy, giant form factor of the 16e combined with lack of magsafe makes the 16e extremely uncompelling.  It's not even cheap.  Zero chance this is my next smartphone.
    As the owner of a very good and fully operational 11 I would agree. The 16E is not at all tempting. 
    mdwDAalsethJoharwatto_cobragrandact73
     4Likes 1Dislike 0Informatives
  • Reply 4 of 8
    kiltedgreenkiltedgreen Posts: 645member
    Hreb said:
    As an iphone 12 user, the clumsy, giant form factor of the 16e combined with lack of magsafe makes the 16e extremely uncompelling.  It's not even cheap.  Zero chance this is my next smartphone.

    Agreed, my iPhone 12mini is currently on eBay as I needed more storage … so I bought a 13mini! I want to keep hold of that small form factor for as long as I possible can. I am going to be so annoyed when I’m finally pushed into buying a bigger iPhone.

    Joharwatto_cobra
     2Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 5 of 8
    DAalsethdaalseth Posts: 3,200member
    No MagSafe, a poorer camera, and a disturbingly high price, for starters.
    If they were aiming at this iPhone 11 owner, they missed badly. 
    williamlondonwatto_cobragrandact73
     2Likes 1Dislike 0Informatives
  • Reply 6 of 8
    Wolfenwolfen Posts: 6member
    11 Pro Max owner here.

    It's not even in the same galaxy as far as I'm concerned. My battery is at 81% and nothing has been replaced or needing repair. I would like to move up to USB-C but at the price that so many other iPhones are here in Japan I don't see that happening anytime soon. My iPhone continues to do what I need and I'm good with that.
    watto_cobragrandact73
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  • Reply 7 of 8
    Fred257fred257 Posts: 278member
    iPhone 12 mini user here. I bought this for $549.00 new.  It is a far superior phone in every way. Apple made a huge mistake with this device. Will not even go near it…
    HrebJohar
     2Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 8 of 8
    Joharjohar Posts: 21member
    I too have a beloved 12 Mini. Funny that Apple decides to just ignore those of us who prefer a smaller form factor. I'll hold on to my perfect size phone until Apple launches a similar sized model again.
    watto_cobra
     1Like 0Dislikes 0Informatives
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