AmberNeely

AppleZulu said:

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. 

I get what Apple's doing. I've been doing tech journalism for nearly a decade at this point. I know that AI is the next big thing. I would prefer if it wasn't, but I do get it.

That being said, I don't think Apple needs to include Apple Intelligence in every single phone. Or at least not to the extent that it's powering more features than it isn't. 

In 2013, my dad got his first iPhone. He's not a dumb guy by any means, but he's a dude who hasn't had to interface with technology the way that I have. It's always a joke that everyone says their parents and grandparents are bad about using their phones, but my dad was a god-honest adult, probably in his early 20s, by the time color TV became like, a thing that the average person interfaced with. When I was 21, the first iPhone was out. 

We have different experiences.

I honestly applaud anyone over the age of 60 right now who uses any smartphone with any degree of success. And, for the most part, dad's actually REALLY good with his iPhone now. He can often troubleshoot most of his phone-related issues by himself, he texts me all the time, he knows how to check his email, and even pay some bills online from his phone. 

But his iPhone experience has been pretty consistent. Thankfully. Blessedly. Apple has done a great job of making the transition between most generations of iPhone and most major OS updates. The baby steps method is good. Yes, there was a bit of an adjustment period between iOS 12 and iOS 13, that one was a little rough, but we got through it just the same.

The man has had an iPhone 6, and every one of the iPhone SE models (partly because he keeps breaking them in a series of comedic accidents.) 

He's comfortable with it, and I honestly feel so much better knowing he has a phone. He's my dad, y'know? I want him to be able to contact me -- or anyone else -- if he needs to.

That being said, the idea of trying to help my 72 year old father navigate around Apple Intelligence features is, frankly, a nightmare. I love him so much but the man panic-called me one day to let me know that "the bell" and I quote "had a one on it." The bell had a one on it? What does that mean? What bell? What do you mean it has a one on it? I am 62 miles away and my father is telling me the bell has a one on it in a voice that suggests he is distressed. 

Turns out it just meant that someone he subscribed to on YouTube had uploaded a video. The little alert bell in the top right of the screen said (1). The bell did, in fact, have a one on it. But something that I, a 29-at-the-time-year-old barely recognizes as a data blip in my day-to-day, was not as easily understood by a 62-at-the-time-year-old whose primary interaction with a web browser is to go to the Home Depot and price compare home appliances. 

He's going to see the new full-sentence AI generated response and he's going to furrow his brow, stare at his phone, wonder who said it, and then call me to tell me that the phone screen is messed up or something.

And I assure you, Apple isn't going to let you disable the feature after a while, or even if they do, it's on by default and there are going to be people who give less tech savvy people an iPhone and not disable it. It'd be nice to have a model that is, y'know, just a phone.

This isn't just about me and my dad, though I bet if you go on the internet right now, there are hundreds of people worrying about the exact things I'm saying here. My dad is a smart guy, and I'm sure he'll get the hang of the iPhone 16e, and probably the 18e when he somehow destroys his 16e in a chainsaw accident or something. My gripes about my dad are, more or less, meant to illustrate that there are a significant number of people who are going to have to deal with teaching less tech savvy people how to use the over-engineered pocket rectangle. 

The argument was never that the iPhone 16e lacked features.... well, save for MagsSafe. It is actually about that a little.

It's about Apple creating a new mainline entry to replace what was never meant to be a mainline entry in the first place. It's about the 16e being stuck somewhere between an iPhone 15 and an iPhone 16, but somehow lacking capabilities that have been around since the iPhone 12. It's about alienating a smaller, yet significant market of people who don't need -- and in a lot of cases don't even want -- a phone that is geared toward the middle class office worker. 

Apple used to provide that in a market that everyone else seems very eager to forget exists. There's a reason a lot of people, even womb-to-tomb Android users, suggest them for seniors. Or for people who may need a really pared down, simple phone. You can really strip an iPhone down if you need to, which makes them great for younger users, users with mental disabilities, hell, even physical disabilities. 

At what point does Apple Intelligence start hindering people the iPhone was helping?

If I was a betting man, I'd probably say in about eight days, but it'll really become a thing around Christmas.

I never jump in and comment on stuff, but this was a really nice read, William. I am honestly kinda sad to see the iPhone SE go. My dad's always had the SE lineup, Josie's got an SE. I had the first SE when it came out and I loved it. 

I've been holding on to my iPhone 13 mini for as long as I could, hoping that the iPhone SE 4 would be a compelling purchase. The iPhone 16e isn't compelling. At that point, I'd rather just pony up the extra $100 to get MagSafe, Dynamic Island, and the extra camera on the iPhone 15. I know it only has the A16, but I'm not a power user (Which would be why I'd be looking at the iPhone 16e in the first place.)

Or I could just pony up the extra $200 to get the iPhone 16 base model which has all the stuff that the iPhone 15 has, has the A18 chip, comes in better colors, has significantly better cameras, and the new camera button. 

I dunno. It feels like the 16e should have more features or cost less. As Wes said earlier, $599 is a tough sell.

RIP, SE, I was hoping we'd one day meet again.

randominternetperson said:

AppleInsider said:

In fact, the introduction of the iPhone 16e also means that you cannot purchase any new Apple products that feature a Lightning port

That really is a milestone. I hadn't noticed that.

We need an in memoriam for that little guy. So much better than all the alternatives at the time.

THANK YOU. I know people are like "ugh Apple and its proprietary charging ports" but it was such an upgrade over the 30-pin, which was honestly a nightmare, and microUSB?? I still have a few things that use microUSB and they are one of the most "death by a thousand paper cuts" interactions you can have with a charging port. Especially on all-black electronics where the port is kind of obscured (like Bluetooth speakers and the such.)

I dunno. I do prefer USB-C, I think it's a far and away better than the rest of the USB lineup, and I do think its better than Lightning, but at no point in my life did I ever look at a Lightning charger and get mad. (Definitely can't say the same for the 30-pin or microUSB... and don't even get me stated on miniUSB.) 

ringodude said:

AppleInsider said:

The Home Button became the designated home for Apple's first biometric security feature, Touch ID, in 2013 with the introduction of the iPhone 5s. 

It was actually the iPhone 5 in 2012 that introduced Touch ID. Close, but no cigar today.

Apple saved all its new and noteable features for the "s" lineups for that era.

• iPhone 4s brought Siri
• iPhone 5s brought touch ID
• iPhone 6s ... I think was 4k video and force touch? (That one I'm a little more shaky on.) 

Simpler times. Gotta say, I don't love the whole iPhone x, iPhone x Plus, iPhone x Pro, iPhone x Pro Max, and now iPhone x-e. 


But they went and killed off my mini. I'm definitely not salty about that at all. Perish the thought.

tiredskills said:

I feel like I'm in some sort of inverted reality.  I and the few people I know who watched any of Severance (bar one who has questionable taste at the best of times) think it's tedious, self indulgent rubbish.  'Genre-defining "cultural phenomenon"' is way overboard.

I mean you're absolutely entitled to your opinion on whether or not you like the show. I don't actually care one way or the other. I don't watch Severance. I don't watch TV much at all. I think most of it is garbage. 

That being said, Neilson rankings, social media hype, Apple's own data, and even some posts in this very thread seem to suggest that there's, I dunno, a couple dozen or so people who think it's pretty neat.