The iPhone 16th is official: € 719, difficult to talk about "affordable" smartphone

It's very difficult to distinguish the iPhone 16e from the iPhone 14. The new smartphone recycles the chassis and design of its 2022 cousin, including the notch. So, goodbye to the design from the iPhone 8 with its thick borders around the screen and its Touch ID home button! The iPhone 16e has a 6.1-inch OLED panel with thin borders, FaceID is integrated into the notch. There's even an action button to customize in the settings! On the other hand, there is no control button for the camera, reserved for the iPhone 16.

It is actually at the back that the difference is most visible: the iPhone 16e is in fact limited to a single photo sensor, in this case 48 mpx. The 12 mpx sensor of the iPhone SE 3 was not without merit, but it is true that it is now sad to see. The Lightning port is replaced by a USB-C port, which will allow Apple to sell the smartphone in Europe.

Support for Apple Intelligence features is included, which is very good news… even if you decide to disable them! This means that the iPhone 16e has 8GB of RAM, double that of its predecessor — a good sign for the future, this smartphone will be able to hold up for several years without coughing. Likewise, the A18 chip gives it good longevity… even if it has 1 GPU core less than the chip in the iPhone 16.

The iPhone 16e is the first Apple smartphone to integrate a 5G cellular chip developed in-house. Called C1, it also contributes to the energy efficiency of the device. In terms of autonomy, this iPhone is a camel: it provides up to 26 hours of video playback. That's 6 hours more than the iPhone 11, and 12 hours more than the iPhone SE 3.

Then the thousand-euro question remains, literally: the price! And for once, it's hard to call the iPhone 16th an "affordable" smartphone, which it is no longer at all. Prices start at €719 for the 128GB model, and skyrocket to €1099 for the 512GB version. The comparison with the iPhone SE 3 hurts: the model (of 64GB, admittedly) started at €559, or €160 less.

Pre-orders start this Friday, the first deliveries will take place a week later, on February 28.