Keep your 13 Mini, it’s a great phone. Put a new battery in it and it’ll be like new.
Last November I bought a brand new iPhone 13 and it’s insanely fast, smooth and capable. It will easily last many more years.
I agree with you about the 16e. I was hoping for a budget king at €500 including tax. That’s about $420 if the tax is removed. In other words, same price as the last SE. I would have expected basically an iPhone 13 at that price but with one camera. I feel like most SE owners would consider that a fantastic upgrade for the price and it might have made it attractive to budget android users who can’t afford an iPhone normally.
Alas that isn’t the case and instead everyone is left disappointed - both SE users and budget android users alike.
Lastly, at the price they are asking for the 16e - €700 - you used to be able to buy an iPhone 13 and 14 here in Europe. You still can if you find a reseller with old stock. That is nuts and shows you how overpriced the E really is.
Here is Tim Cook again, he can‘t shake off his COO roots to constantly bargain state-of-the-art features for a better total cost tag. I was looking for an affordable full screen budget phone from Apple to supplement my corporate phone. The SE was always a meager compromise with all it’s limitations, particularly the super old fashioned screen layout. Now, that is obviously fixed with the 16e, and certainly there are some other improvements which makes the phone qualify for what I was looking for to begin with…just to find out about the limitations again in other areas: no MagSafe (seriously? that alone totally disqualifies the phone!), no colors (again, ever thought about kids or just people who‘s world is not black and white?), just to name the two most prominent problems…oh, the price tag being among them for sure.
So again a phone with compromises, facing the need to please shareholders and keep the margin up. As much as I am a fan of the Apple ecosystem, how long do they believe to keep their monopoly? Every year they increase the risk to ultimately reach the breaking point where even loyal users have enough of this shareholder game and want to see well thought through products across the entire budget line! A normal consumer has little understanding for a company accumulating billions of dollars and not investing in the right things. Guess what, it is our money that makes you run, maybe you should remember that now and then…
So the complaint here is that the entry level model lacks some of the features of the regular and premium models. Interesting.
It's not that it's missing features between regular and premium. It's that it's missing features between last generation and the generation that came out five months ago. And my issue is that the features that exist are perplexing, not that it's missing them.
While the iPhone 16e appears to be aimed at iPhone 11 and iPhone 12 users looking to upgrade, IMO it misses even that target - that group is better served by just picking up a second-hand iPhone 14 Pro, for example.
To me, the iPhone 16e is a 'hard pass' for two reasons :
1) lack of Dynamic Island. There is ZERO reason for this omission in a device with the A18 chip, and the components all cost the same, since they are by now widely used across the entire iPhone line. Zero excuse to not provide the Dynamic Island. This omission feels more like a slap in the face and a pathetic cash grab of wanting to push buyers to the next higher model. Hard Pass.
2) lack of MagSafe. Same for all the good reasons you've already pointed out in your article, so I won't rehash these good reasons. Again, it feels like a slap in the face and a deliberate effort to present a 'cheapened' product. Hard Pass.
Personally, my iPhone 14 Pro has been performing well enough for me that I see very little reason to upgrade to an iPhone 15 or iPhone 16 model ... Apple 'Intelligence' is more less similar to an early 'Newton' level handwriting joke, especially since the one component that could benefit the most from any sort of intelligence upgrade is Siri, and Apple's current solution is to have Siri ask *every single time* "would you like to use chatGPT for that" ... yeah, no thanks .. I'll just continue using the ChatGPT app on my iPhone 14 Pro, which appears to be doing a much better job that all of Apple 'Intelligence' on the newer models. So, again, Hard Pass.
Apple is really failing on too many fronts these days, mainly when it comes to small details that matter, or just simply bare functionality (that Siri is still pathetic after all these years is inexcusable) - and this is coming from an Apple Guy that bleeds in 6-colors ;-)
Well those 2 features are pretty much all that is different between the e and the not-e. If those are worth $200, but the not-e; if they aren't buy the e (or stay put or buy a second-hand phone).
Great article. iPhone 16e is simply the worst targeted Apple product in these years. If its price were $399, I won't say anything. But you can get iPhone 16 at $649 in third-party already, $549 for iPhone 15, and the cost-down variant is set on that ridiculous price. Only market will this model be popular may be Japan or I don't know where. They could just make an iPhone 16 - Ultra wide camera - design, but they have decided to start over and scrape some crap together.
If the iPhone 16 is available for $150 (19%) off after less than a year, then, by the same logic/market operations, the iPhone 16e will be available for $486 in less than a year. That's cool.
I do think Apple will lose some customers to Android by raising the iPhone price-of-entry to $599. Mostly the cheapskate customers that don't buy anything else from Apple apart from the phone, so I'm reasonably sure Apple is cutting those people loose and wishing them godspeed and good riddance to the cheap Android market.
But the 16e is still a budget iPhone. Indeed, it's the cheapest iPhone currently available from Apple, since they discontinued the iPhone 14 line and the SE third-gen.
If you have an older iPhone (preferably small) and want to upgrade for as cheap as possible (and fear Apple Intelligence), grab an iPhone SE third-gen. It will go obsolete someday (a bit sooner than later models, obviously), but that's not anytime in the next few years.
Maybe there will be some clearance pricing for the iPhone 14 line, and the iPhone 15. If you're a Costco member, I'd check there and Apple's refurb page. Either will do you for quite a few years to come.
Or, if you can stretch to $599, consider the iPhone 16e. It will certainly be supported for longer, and despite the inexplicable lack of MagSafe (easily and cheaply remedied with a case), it's still head and shoulders above any similarly-priced Android phone.
This article is way too long just to tell us readers why she doesn't like the 16e. Where is the AI story summary button? Do writers still get paid by the word?
Here's what's interesting: in the midst of ALL the press that the iPhone Slim has gotten as the rumored replacement for the iPhone Plus, no one is lamenting the demise of the Plus for a phone which--if rumors prove--will be very diifferent, less well-featured AND more expensive. Generally, everyone seems to understand that the Plus has not sold well for Apple and that's why it's being replaced. (As opposed to the Slim being sold in addition to the Plus.)
Well, guess what? According to the sales rankings, the Plus is a better seller than the SE. The SE is the worst selling model in the iPhone lineup, which is the last thing you want to see in an aggressively low-priced phone that doesn't deliver the profit-margins of more expensive models. At the very least, it needs to deliver volume sales and the SE failed to do that. This isnt so much a case of Apple killing the SE as it is a case of customers voting with their wallets that their preference is for more expensive, more feature-rich iPhones.
I'm not surprised that SE fans aren't finding a lot to like in the 16e. The 16e isn't just a new model, it's the end of a genuinely low-priced phone in the lineup. It's like the demise of the iPhone Mini after just two years or (for me) the end of the Macbook 12" Retina--products beloved by their fanbase, but that fanbase wasn't large enough for Apple to continue making it. In April, when Apple reports the quarter that closes March 31, we'll hear the first general indications from Apple as to how the 16e is doing.
I am pretty sure there was an Apple employee quoted that the ‘e’ stands for ‘essentials’. A phone that has the core of the current phone models’ capabilities.
Taking a step back, what do people think are the most important things to have on a phone? Time and time again, the factors affecting the majority of phone users when they want/need to upgrade are battery, camera, security, and performance. The 16e is purpose built for each of these factors. It has the best battery life of a standard sized iPhone, the best individual camera they wish to put into their phone, and the latest processor to assure the phone receives the most security updates while still maintaining performance.
This article is way too long just to tell us readers why she doesn't like the 16e. Where is the AI story summary button? Do writers still get paid by the word?
Nah, I just talk too much. Thanks for taking time out of your day to click through and comment, though.
Here's what's interesting: in the midst of ALL the press that the iPhone Slim has gotten as the rumored replacement for the iPhone Plus, no one is lamenting the demise of the Plus for a phone which--if rumors prove--will be very diifferent, less well-featured AND more expensive. Generally, everyone seems to understand that the Plus has not sold well for Apple and that's why it's being replaced. (As opposed to the Slim being sold in addition to the Plus.)
Well, guess what? According to the sales rankings, the Plus is a better seller than the SE. The SE is the worst selling model in the iPhone lineup, which is the last thing you want to see in an aggressively low-priced phone that doesn't deliver the profit-margins of more expensive models. At the very least, it needs to deliver volume sales and the SE failed to do that. This isnt so much a case of Apple killing the SE as it is a case of customers voting with their wallets that their preference is for more expensive, more feature-rich iPhones.
I'm not surprised that SE fans aren't finding a lot to like in the 16e. The 16e isn't just a new model, it's the end of a genuinely low-priced phone in the lineup. It's like the demise of the iPhone Mini after just two years or (for me) the end of the Macbook 12" Retina--products beloved by their fanbase, but that fanbase wasn't large enough for Apple to continue making it. In April, when Apple reports the quarter that closes March 31, we'll hear the first general indications from Apple as to how the 16e is doing.
I will say that for the first time since I've been working at AppleInsider, which has been since 2019, this is the first time I've never seen a shipment date get pushed back.
edit: Thinking back on it, I think that potentially some models of SE 3 didn't have delivery date pushbacks, actually. Which would make sense. The SE 3 was a big enterprise phone so places were snatching up the lower end models in bulk. I doubt they're gonna do the same with the 16e until they get time with it.
So the complaint here is that the entry level model lacks some of the features of the regular and premium models. Interesting.
No, the complaint is that Apple is prioritising as-yet uninteresting AI and not features that the author (and myself) actually care about or would get more use out of, including: MagSafe, more/better cameras, brighter display; and Dynamic Island instead of the ugly notch, to name but a few.
See my other comments here about AI. Its inclusion in the 16e makes it pretty clear that AI is going to be so central to iOS and the rest of the Apple ecosystem that Apple isn't going to produce a device in 2025 that can't support it. You may care more about those other things now, but in three or four years, a decision to give them up save $200 won't mean more then than it does now. On the other hand, you'll be considerably more upset in a few years if your decision to save $200 now means your phone can't do things that are considered basic to iOS by that time because AI has been baked into everything.
Here's what's interesting: in the midst of ALL the press that the iPhone Slim has gotten as the rumored replacement for the iPhone Plus, no one is lamenting the demise of the Plus for a phone which--if rumors prove--will be very diifferent, less well-featured AND more expensive. Generally, everyone seems to understand that the Plus has not sold well for Apple and that's why it's being replaced. (As opposed to the Slim being sold in addition to the Plus.)
Well, guess what? According to the sales rankings, the Plus is a better seller than the SE. The SE is the worst selling model in the iPhone lineup, which is the last thing you want to see in an aggressively low-priced phone that doesn't deliver the profit-margins of more expensive models. At the very least, it needs to deliver volume sales and the SE failed to do that. This isnt so much a case of Apple killing the SE as it is a case of customers voting with their wallets that their preference is for more expensive, more feature-rich iPhones.
I'm not surprised that SE fans aren't finding a lot to like in the 16e. The 16e isn't just a new model, it's the end of a genuinely low-priced phone in the lineup. It's like the demise of the iPhone Mini after just two years or (for me) the end of the Macbook 12" Retina--products beloved by their fanbase, but that fanbase wasn't large enough for Apple to continue making it. In April, when Apple reports the quarter that closes March 31, we'll hear the first general indications from Apple as to how the 16e is doing.
I will say that for the first time since I've been working at AppleInsider, which has been since 2019, this is the first time I've never seen a shipment date get pushed back.
First: congrats on an article that has generated more comments than just about anything I've read on AppleInsider. CLEARLY, you touched a nerve with this one!
As for shipping dates not being pushed back. that may signify something or nothing. No one knows. The SE selling proposition was certainly a whole lot easier for customers to immediately grasp: a brand new iPhone for a dramatically lower price. Everybody gets that. An SE was 46% cheaper than the base iPhone 16. The 16e is only 25% cheaper--that's a huge difference and takes what was an easy decision for price-sensitive shoppers and makes it much more complicated. Do you want the full feature set of the 16 for $200 more? Or the full feature set of the 15 for $100 more? OR: maybe all the new iPhones are too expensive now and you'd rather shop refurbs. Or go to Android. The 16e certainly gives buyers a lot more to think about before making a purchase decision.
All we know for certain right now is that competing in the aggressively lower price point arena was not good business for Apple and so they have abandoned that effort completely. Sales of the SE never equaled those of any of Apple's more expensive iPhones, even the Plus, which is itself on the chopping block due to reported low sales. I'll be very curious to see how Apple markets the 16e and what they'll choose to emphasize about the phone. I think the greatest risk with this phone is the degree to which it might cannibalize sales of the regular iPhone 16. I could imagine that for many shoppers considering the 16, the "e" in the 16e might very well mean it's "enough."
I'm one of those with a 12 mini that didn't get a 13 mini when the death knell sounded for the mini line. My 12 mini is in need of a battery which I'll get done at Apple. I wouldn't mind scoring a NOSIB 13 mini, but I've no interest in a bigger phone.
I thought I might get a 16e if it were an SE replacement and not that much bigger than my mini. But that thought is past. When my mini is incapable of the minor tasks I assign I'll have to settle for whatever model is the smallest of the line.
Apple will never again make a phone as small as the 12/13 minis, so I won't love whatever replaces it. AI isn't on the table for me. Except for a better camera, no newer iPhone scratches an itch I didn't know I had.
The SE selling proposition was certainly a whole lot easier for customers to immediately grasp: a brand new iPhone for a dramatically lower price. Everybody gets that. An SE was 46% cheaper than the base iPhone 16. The 16e is only 25% cheaper--that's a huge difference and takes what was an easy decision for price-sensitive shoppers and makes it much more complicated. Do you want the full feature set of the 16 for $200 more? Or the full feature set of the 15 for $100 more? OR: maybe all the new iPhones are too expensive now and you'd rather shop refurbs. Or go to Android. The 16e certainly gives buyers a lot more to think about before making a purchase decision.
All we know for certain right now is that competing in the aggressively lower price point arena was not good business for Apple and so they have abandoned that effort completely. Sales of the SE never equaled those of any of Apple's more expensive iPhones, even the Plus, which is itself on the chopping block due to reported low sales. I'll be very curious to see how Apple markets the 16e and what they'll choose to emphasize about the phone. I think the greatest risk with this phone is the degree to which it might cannibalize sales of the regular iPhone 16. I could imagine that for many shoppers considering the 16, the "e" in the 16e might very well mean it's "enough."
The 16e is effectively a replacement for the iPhone 14, which was also sold at $599.
Instead of an older model at a lower price, it's a cut down version of the main model at a lower price. The old SE had an IPS display, moving to OLED had to increase the cost.
There have been some marketshare reports showing the low-end and mini models don't make up much of the overall sales:
It's still a lot of people as the total is 250m units so 6% = 15m. Most of these people will eventually buy a larger model, very few would move to Android as they have large screens too.
A lot of people buy on contracts so the price difference is negligible:
After using larger displays for a while, the 5.4" mini display felt cramped, especially when typing in portrait but the 5.8" on the iPhone X felt like the largest usable single-handed size. Larger phones (above 2.8" wide) have to be shuffled around or held with one hand to type with the other because they are too wide and it's difficult to do gestures like swipe back on a browser.
If they make a mini model again, it would be good to see a 5.6-5.8" model that is thinner and lighter. It probably still wouldn't be lower than $599 due to the OLED display and higher spec components.
I moved to the iPhone ecosystem from Android because of the iphone SE (1st Gen). It was the perfect entry-level phone (as were the 5s/5c, which were basically identical!) + small enough to fit in a pocket + battery was OK + camera was good enough for the 80% of occasions where I just needed a quick snap, and didn't want/need to get my DSLR out.
Battery died three years ago; got a iPhone SE 2 - bigger, falls out of my pocket - more expensive - battery hasn't lasted - full of gimmicks like "Hey Siri", that I just turn off.
Now, the 16e is - even bigger - more expensive - full of gimmicks like AI, that I'd just turn off.
So... I'm with the OP on this. I'm SO annoyed with Apple, and can't understand why the 16e exists at all (exc a iPhone 16 with bits taken out, is cheaper for Apple to produce than a separate, smaller unit)
I _was_ waiting on the announcement, and I'm now just intent on getting a battery replacement (3rd party, if Genius Bar can't offer me a decent rate) and crack on with the SE 2 until it finally dies, or I spot ANY phone in the $400-$600 range that is just simple, reliable, smooth and with basic smartphone features without falling out of my pocket or needing constant charging.
After using larger displays for a while, the 5.4" mini display felt cramped, especially when typing in portrait but the 5.8" on the iPhone X felt like the largest usable single-handed size.
I'd be super-duper curious if dudes were the primary people polled for that. My iPhone 11 was 6.1 on the diagonal and it hurt my hands to use one-handed. I get that I have tiny little baby hands (I'm only 5'2!) but I feel like the mini audience was predominantly (but not exclusively) female.
I noticed that the "below 6" option came in as the second highest choice, though, so.
If they bring the mini back for the 17 (this is extremely wishful thinking) I will definitely snag it the day it goes up for preorder.
Also, Apple directly compares the iPhone 16e and iPhone 11/12 on the 16e splash page. I really think its geared toward those folks (of which there are still a ton), but I do agree that they're probably also targeting iPhone 14 owners a bit.
On the other hand, you'll be considerably more upset in a few years if your decision to save $200 now means your phone can't do things that are considered basic to iOS by that time because AI has been baked into everything.
I didn't say this before, but as AppleInsider's resident "I hate artificial intelligence" cheerleader (and probably the only person on staff that hates it as much as I do), I can say that if they gave me a phone without it, I'd be like "Hell yeah, brother, thanks."
I get that there are people out there who are excited for it, but as a person who works both as an artist and a journalist, I'm not exactly loving the push by big tech and Silicon Valley to remove the human from the humanities.
After using larger displays for a while, the 5.4" mini display felt cramped, especially when typing in portrait but the 5.8" on the iPhone X felt like the largest usable single-handed size.
I'd be super-duper curious if dudes were the primary people polled for that. My iPhone 11 was 6.1 on the diagonal and it hurt my hands to use one-handed. I get that I have tiny little baby hands (I'm only 5'2!) but I feel like the mini audience was predominantly (but not exclusively) female.
I noticed that the "below 6" option came in as the second highest choice, though, so.
If they bring the mini back for the 17 (this is extremely wishful thinking) I will definitely snag it the day it goes up for preorder.
Also, Apple directly compares the iPhone 16e and iPhone 11/12 on the 16e splash page. I really think its geared toward those folks (of which there are still a ton), but I do agree that they're probably also targeting iPhone 14 owners a bit.
Even people with tiny hands can use the larger phones without any issues. In my view, comfort of handling a phone with single hand is not as important as people make it out to be. Size (and even weight) is not an issue when you use both the hands to use the phone. It is just a mental adjustment that people need to make.
In the Android world, there does not exist a decent phone with size similar to iPhone mini series (12/13) in the last 5 years. Apple has not launched successor to iPhone 13 mini for 3 years already. And SE is gone as well. So, the writing is on the wall when it comes to availability of compact phones for users. They are becoming extinct due to market forces. Sooner the people get used to the larger phones, the better for them when it comes to options to choose.
No. Some of us genuinely have to think hard before plunking down $400 on anything. The SE has been truly a gift for those of us who need an iPhone for its apps, but simply don't have the budget for a cutting-edge phone.
“Also, Apple directly compares the iPhone 16e and iPhone 11/12 on the 16e splash page. I really think its geared toward those folks (of which there are still a ton), but I do agree that they're probably also targeting iPhone 14 owners a bit.”
I said this in another thread but it applies to this thread as well.
Apple seemed to be targeting the iphone 11 and 12 owners with this 16E release. Imagine upgrading from your 2019 model iphone 11, you get everything transferred over to your new 16E, then you realize that you can’t “detail track” down your many AirTags that you have, including keys, wallet etc. that even your 5 year old iPhone 11 could do, because Apple did not include the UWB chip in your new iPhone 16E! What a disappointment!
Comments
I was looking for an affordable full screen budget phone from Apple to supplement my corporate phone. The SE was always a meager compromise with all it’s limitations, particularly the super old fashioned screen layout. Now, that is obviously fixed with the 16e, and certainly there are some other improvements which makes the phone qualify for what I was looking for to begin with…just to find out about the limitations again in other areas: no MagSafe (seriously? that alone totally disqualifies the phone!), no colors (again, ever thought about kids or just people who‘s world is not black and white?), just to name the two most prominent problems…oh, the price tag being among them for sure.
So again a phone with compromises, facing the need to please shareholders and keep the margin up. As much as I am a fan of the Apple ecosystem, how long do they believe to keep their monopoly? Every year they increase the risk to ultimately reach the breaking point where even loyal users have enough of this shareholder game and want to see well thought through products across the entire budget line! A normal consumer has little understanding for a company accumulating billions of dollars and not investing in the right things. Guess what, it is our money that makes you run, maybe you should remember that now and then…
If you have an older iPhone (preferably small) and want to upgrade for as cheap as possible (and fear Apple Intelligence), grab an iPhone SE third-gen. It will go obsolete someday (a bit sooner than later models, obviously), but that's not anytime in the next few years.
Or, if you can stretch to $599, consider the iPhone 16e. It will certainly be supported for longer, and despite the inexplicable lack of MagSafe (easily and cheaply remedied with a case), it's still head and shoulders above any similarly-priced Android phone.
Well, guess what? According to the sales rankings, the Plus is a better seller than the SE. The SE is the worst selling model in the iPhone lineup, which is the last thing you want to see in an aggressively low-priced phone that doesn't deliver the profit-margins of more expensive models. At the very least, it needs to deliver volume sales and the SE failed to do that. This isnt so much a case of Apple killing the SE as it is a case of customers voting with their wallets that their preference is for more expensive, more feature-rich iPhones.
I'm not surprised that SE fans aren't finding a lot to like in the 16e. The 16e isn't just a new model, it's the end of a genuinely low-priced phone in the lineup. It's like the demise of the iPhone Mini after just two years or (for me) the end of the Macbook 12" Retina--products beloved by their fanbase, but that fanbase wasn't large enough for Apple to continue making it. In April, when Apple reports the quarter that closes March 31, we'll hear the first general indications from Apple as to how the 16e is doing.
Taking a step back, what do people think are the most important things to have on a phone? Time and time again, the factors affecting the majority of phone users when they want/need to upgrade are battery, camera, security, and performance. The 16e is purpose built for each of these factors. It has the best battery life of a standard sized iPhone, the best individual camera they wish to put into their phone, and the latest processor to assure the phone receives the most security updates while still maintaining performance.
edit: Thinking back on it, I think that potentially some models of SE 3 didn't have delivery date pushbacks, actually. Which would make sense. The SE 3 was a big enterprise phone so places were snatching up the lower end models in bulk. I doubt they're gonna do the same with the 16e until they get time with it.
As for shipping dates not being pushed back. that may signify something or nothing. No one knows. The SE selling proposition was certainly a whole lot easier for customers to immediately grasp: a brand new iPhone for a dramatically lower price. Everybody gets that. An SE was 46% cheaper than the base iPhone 16. The 16e is only 25% cheaper--that's a huge difference and takes what was an easy decision for price-sensitive shoppers and makes it much more complicated. Do you want the full feature set of the 16 for $200 more? Or the full feature set of the 15 for $100 more? OR: maybe all the new iPhones are too expensive now and you'd rather shop refurbs. Or go to Android. The 16e certainly gives buyers a lot more to think about before making a purchase decision.
All we know for certain right now is that competing in the aggressively lower price point arena was not good business for Apple and so they have abandoned that effort completely. Sales of the SE never equaled those of any of Apple's more expensive iPhones, even the Plus, which is itself on the chopping block due to reported low sales. I'll be very curious to see how Apple markets the 16e and what they'll choose to emphasize about the phone. I think the greatest risk with this phone is the degree to which it might cannibalize sales of the regular iPhone 16. I could imagine that for many shoppers considering the 16, the "e" in the 16e might very well mean it's "enough."
I thought I might get a 16e if it were an SE replacement and not that much bigger than my mini. But that thought is past. When my mini is incapable of the minor tasks I assign I'll have to settle for whatever model is the smallest of the line.
Apple will never again make a phone as small as the 12/13 minis, so I won't love whatever replaces it. AI isn't on the table for me. Except for a better camera, no newer iPhone scratches an itch I didn't know I had.
https://www.apple.com/iphone/compare/?modelList=iphone-16e,iphone-14,iphone-16
The 16e is effectively a replacement for the iPhone 14, which was also sold at $599.
Instead of an older model at a lower price, it's a cut down version of the main model at a lower price. The old SE had an IPS display, moving to OLED had to increase the cost.
There have been some marketshare reports showing the low-end and mini models don't make up much of the overall sales:
https://www.techradar.com/phones/iphone/iphone-15-sales-figures-show-the-pro-models-have-become-the-default
It's still a lot of people as the total is 250m units so 6% = 15m. Most of these people will eventually buy a larger model, very few would move to Android as they have large screens too.
A lot of people buy on contracts so the price difference is negligible:
https://www.att.com/brand/apple/iphone/
The 6.1" size is bulky but it's the most popular size. There was a poll done here that had 6.1" as the top choice:
https://www.gsmarena.com/weekly_poll_what_is_the_ideal_screen_size_for_a_smartphone-news-57173.php
After using larger displays for a while, the 5.4" mini display felt cramped, especially when typing in portrait but the 5.8" on the iPhone X felt like the largest usable single-handed size. Larger phones (above 2.8" wide) have to be shuffled around or held with one hand to type with the other because they are too wide and it's difficult to do gestures like swipe back on a browser.
If they make a mini model again, it would be good to see a 5.6-5.8" model that is thinner and lighter. It probably still wouldn't be lower than $599 due to the OLED display and higher spec components.
I moved to the iPhone ecosystem from Android because of the iphone SE (1st Gen). It was the perfect entry-level phone (as were the 5s/5c, which were basically identical!)
+ small enough to fit in a pocket
+ battery was OK
+ camera was good enough for the 80% of occasions where I just needed a quick snap, and didn't want/need to get my DSLR out.
Battery died three years ago; got a iPhone SE 2
- bigger, falls out of my pocket
- more expensive
- battery hasn't lasted
- full of gimmicks like "Hey Siri", that I just turn off.
Now, the 16e is
- even bigger
- more expensive
- full of gimmicks like AI, that I'd just turn off.
So... I'm with the OP on this. I'm SO annoyed with Apple, and can't understand why the 16e exists at all (exc a iPhone 16 with bits taken out, is cheaper for Apple to produce than a separate, smaller unit)
I _was_ waiting on the announcement, and I'm now just intent on getting a battery replacement (3rd party, if Genius Bar can't offer me a decent rate) and crack on with the SE 2 until it finally dies, or I spot ANY phone in the $400-$600 range that is just simple, reliable, smooth and with basic smartphone features without falling out of my pocket or needing constant charging.
I noticed that the "below 6" option came in as the second highest choice, though, so.
If they bring the mini back for the 17 (this is extremely wishful thinking) I will definitely snag it the day it goes up for preorder.
Also, Apple directly compares the iPhone 16e and iPhone 11/12 on the 16e splash page. I really think its geared toward those folks (of which there are still a ton), but I do agree that they're probably also targeting iPhone 14 owners a bit.
I get that there are people out there who are excited for it, but as a person who works both as an artist and a journalist, I'm not exactly loving the push by big tech and Silicon Valley to remove the human from the humanities.
In the Android world, there does not exist a decent phone with size similar to iPhone mini series (12/13) in the last 5 years. Apple has not launched successor to iPhone 13 mini for 3 years already. And SE is gone as well. So, the writing is on the wall when it comes to availability of compact phones for users. They are becoming extinct due to market forces. Sooner the people get used to the larger phones, the better for them when it comes to options to choose.