iPhone 16e launch as it happened – Apple's next-gen budget iPhone is official

Welcome to our iPhone SE 4 liveblog

Hello, I'm Axel Metz (TechRadar's Phones Editor) and I'll be running our Apple event live blog for the next few hours. We're expecting Apple to announce something later today, and though nothing has been confirmed as yet, all the signs point towards a refresh for the company's ageing iPhone SE line.

In the following posts, I'll be rounding up the latest news and rumors about the iPhone SE 4 (or might that be the iPhone 16E?), and keeping you updated with all the official information as it's revealed by Apple.

What does Apple's teaser tell us?

Let's kick off with a proper look at Apple's official teaser, which was shared to X on February 13. Tim Cook's shiny Apple logo doesn't give a lot away, but the internet has some compelling theories.

Firstly, the tagline "get ready to meet the newest member of the family" does tally with rumors of a new iPhone SE. It'd be part of the iPhone family, but does that also hint at a rebrand? The iPhone SE 3 was simply the iPhone SE (2022) and there have also been rumors that the new model might be called the iPhone 16E.

The circle around the logo could also be hinting at the new SE's single camera, or the move away from a physical home button. It does also look a lot like an AirTag (potentially the AirTag 2?), but we weren't expecting to see a new one of those for quite a while yet...

The biggest iPhone SE upgrade rumors

As for the iPhone SE 4 specifically, we're expecting the new device to bring major hardware and software improvements over its now-outdated predecessor. The biggest rumored upgrades for the iPhone SE 4 are as follows:

• A bigger, better display: Where the iPhone SE (2022) uses a 4.7-inch LCD panel, its successor is tipped to use a 6.1-inch OLED display running at a resolution of 2532 x 1170 pixels.
• Apple Intelligence compatibility: The iPhone SE 4 will likely be the cheapest entry point into Apple Intelligence, and therefore one of the best AI phones at its price point.
• A more powerful camera: The iPhone SE 4 will very likely get a better camera than the almost three-year-old iPhone SE (2022), and the latest rumors point towards a single 48MP rear snapper and a 12MP selfie camera.
• A longer-lasting battery: The iPhone SE 4 will almost certainly get a larger, longer-lasting battery than that of its predecessor. The latest leaks suggest it’ll be an iPhone 14-style 3,279mAh cell, which will surely bring tangible improvements to endurance.

The Apple Store is down!

OK, here's our first big indicator that a product launch is imminent. Apple has closed its online store for maintenance, which is almost always a sign that new devices are on the way.

In this case, Apple has only closed the product page for the iPhone SE (2022), which (surprise!) strongly hints that a replacement device is about to be revealed. But will it be the iPhone SE 4, the iPhone SE (2022), or the iPhone 16E? Given Tim Cook's "family" comment, my money's on the latter.

What might the iPhone SE 4 look like?

We don't yet know the name of Apple's new device, but is this its official design?

The above images (or perhaps best-guess renders) shared by leaker Majin Bu are the closest thing we have to a peek at the new iPhone SE's possible design. They certainly line up with previous leaks; the device in question has a notch, a flat metal frame, and a single-lens camera.

There's also a customizable action button (a nice bonus for a more affordable iPhone). The notch means this should also be the first SE model with Face ID, which is a nice time-saver on my iPhone 16 Pro. If this is all true, it could prove popular – if the price is right...

The iPhone 16e is official!

The iPhone 16e is official!

Apple officially announced the new device on its website at 11am ET / 8am PT / 4pm GMT, confirming that the iPhone 16e is a new member of the iPhone 16 family and not, as many suspected, a standalone iPhone SE 4.

Specs incoming...

Here's the official product page for the iPhone 16e in the UK.

The phone will start at $599 / £599 / AU$999 and comes in either 128GB, 256GB, or 512GB storage configurations. That's a huge increase on the $429 / £419 / AU$719 starting price of the iPhone SE (2022). Can we really consider this a budget phone?

Farewell, iPhone 14 and iPhone SE (2022)

And just like that, the iPhone 14 and iPhone SE (2022) are no more. Apple has removed both models from its website.

The official iPhone 16e announcement video

Introducing iPhone 16e - February 19 - YouTube

Watch On

Here's the official iPhone 16e announcement video, hosted by Tim Cook himself.

Initial reaction from TechRadar's US Managing Editor of News, Jake Krol: "The iPhone 16e seemingly took some inspiration from the iPhone 4, and I'm kind of here for it"

Do the specs justify the price?

Now for those specs...

The iPhone 16e features the A18 chipset, a 6.1-inch OLED display, Apple Intelligence compatibility, a single 48MP rear camera, and a 12MP front-facing camera. There's a notch instead of the Dynamic Island, but the new phone does inherit the Action button from the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 lines.

All told, then, this is a major step up from the iPhone SE (2022), but the iPhone 16e's $599 / £599 / AU$999 price tag also marks a major increase over that of its predecessor.

Here's that 48MP camera lens up close. It's the same 'Fusion' camera as you'll find on the iPhone 16, which Apple claims "has the capabilities of two cameras in one." That's because it features an integrated 2x telephoto that lets you zoom in with optical quality. The 48MP Fusion camera lets you shoot 4K video in Dolby Vision, too, which is neat.

'I think this could be a hit for Apple'

Some more reactions to the iPhone 16e announcement from the TechRadar team for you here:

"I like the simple, unfussy design paired with some powerful chips and access to Apple Intelligence. I think this could be a hit for Apple, though the price is a bit high, but I think people will gobble it up." – Roland Moore-Colyer, Managing Editor, Mobile Computing

"At $599, the iPhone 16e is more expensive than any of us were hoping – but it looks like there's some serious Apple power under the hood, too. Looking forward to trying this one out, but not sure I'd recommend pre-ordering." – Jamie Richards, Staff Writer, Mobile Computing

"It's somehow killed off two phones [the iPhone 14 and previous iPhone SE] without filling the void left by either of them." – Rob Dunne (aka The Dunnster), VPN Editor

No MagSafe?!

A quick look at Apple's new model comparison page reveals a few frustrating omissions for the iPhone 16e.

The biggest is the lack of MagSafe support. Yes, you read that right: the iPhone 16e will not support MagSafe cases, wallets, and wireless chargers. The phone does have wireless charging capabilities, but only up to 7.5W, which is punishingly slow. There's also no ultra-wideband (UWB) technology, and the GPU is made up of only four cores (compared to five and six on the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro Max, respectively).

'Apple is finally simplifying its iPhone lineup'

"Apple is finally simplifying its iPhone lineup, squeezing almost all of it into the 16 family. This is a good thing for people trying to choose and it also means that the distance from a budget iPhone to a Pro one isn't as great as it used to be. For my money, though, the inclusion of the C1 chip is the most intriguing bit. It isn't often your most affordable handset gets your newest and maybe most controversial piece of tech." – Lance Ulanoff, Editor-at-Large

"What would have sold it for me is Apple opting down in terms of computing power to offer a non-AI iPhone alternative, which would cater to a big chunk of consumers who just aren't bothered about AI et. But then, that's basically admitting that consumers might not care about Silicon Valley's latest golden goose." – Josie Watson, Managing Editor, Lifestyle

"I've never noticed Tim Cook's accent before – isn't it lovely?" – Becky Scarrott, Audio Editor

Thanks, Becky.

Here's the front and back of the new iPhone 16e, which comes in either Black or White (where are the funky colors, Apple?).

C1, who?

Let's talk quickly about that C1 modem.

Ever since Apple acquired Intel’s modem business for $1 billion, the company has been racing to build its own modem in a bit to reduce reliance on Qualcomm, which produces the modems for all current iPhone models. Perhaps surprisingly, the iPhone 16e is the first beneficiary of this years-long project.

It's not yet clear how much better or worse Apple's C1 modem is versus Qualcomm's equivalent, but superior battery efficiency could be on the cards for iPhone 16e owners. Indeed, Apple is touting 26 hours of video playback, which is certainly an impressive figure.

So what does the iPhone 16e get that makes it worth more than the iPhone SE, besides the latest Apple A18 processor? The addition of FaceID is especially interesting. Unlike basic face unlock methods on Android phones, Apple isn't just using a camera for FaceID. It has specialized hardware that would make it a more expensive proposition for a bargain phone.

FaceID needs an infrared emitter to spray your face with invisible dots (you can see them with an infrared camera). Then it has a special camera to read those dots and make a 3D model of your face, which is much more secure than simply reading a photograph of your face. That's why banks have long allowed Apple to use FaceID to unlock banking apps, but Android phones usually won't let you use your face to unlock your bank account.

I've used every unlock method, and I'd have to say that Apple's FaceID is the fastest and most reliable by a wide margin. Whatever sacrifices the iPhone 16e makes, Apple clearly felt the super-fast, secure unlock method was worth the trade for bargain hunters.

Let's be honest, this is a huge price hike for Apple's bargain iPhone offering. It's a big jump over the iPhone SE (2022), which started at $429 / £419 / AU$719, but that phone was also more expensive than its predecessor, the iPhone SE (2020), which cost only $399 / £389 / AU$679.

Of course, to be fair to Apple, the original budget iPhone was the iPhone 5c, launched in 2013, and that phone cost $549 / £469 / AU$739 at launch (wow, sorry GBP :-£).

Also, previous budget iPhone models have skimped on the processing power, and therefore the potential longevity with software updates, compared to the base model iPhone of the same year. It's a very big deal that the iPhone 16e gets an Apple A18 chipset and Apple Intelligence features. Those would have been doubtful for the predicted iPhone SE 4 that did not arrive today.

If the iPhone 16e is drumming up Apple nostalgia for long-time Apple followers, for me it resembles nothing so much as the original (in)Famous iPod nano. I personally loved the nano's look and design, but it replaced the iPod mini, the most popular iPod of all time (thus far). The iPod mini was bright and colorful, available in pink and blue and green. The iPod nano was sleek and professional, available only black and white.

The iPod nano was the future, of course, with its solid state storage. I might argue that Apple's incredible investment in the iPod nano and solid state drives drove the price of that technology down faster, and ultimately led to the smartphones and other mobile innovation we have today. It all started with the iPod nano, folks.

So, if the iPhone 16e color options make you sad, they don't bring me down. They remind me of an important an influential time for Apple, when it shifted from old and fun to innovative and new.

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One Apple product that the iPhone 16e might foreshadow is the rumored iPhone 17 Air. With Samsung launching a super-slim Galaxy S25 Edge later this year, it is more likely than ever than we'll see an extra-thin iPhone from Apple to answer the long-running rumors.

With its single high-resolution, wide aperture camera, the iPhone 16e might be a good model for a thin iPhone 17 Air. Cameras add much of the thickness to today's big phones, so I expect two cameras on an iPhone Air at most, but one great camera with flexible shooting modes, like we see on the new iPhone 16e, would do the trick.

Will the iPhone 17 Air arrive looking like a slimmed-down iPhone 16e? We'll find out eventually, if the rumors are true.

iPhone 16e – 5 things you need to know

Check out our roundup of the 5 key things you need to know about the iPhone 16e, which includes a breakdown of the new phone's price, specs, cameras, and more.