Apple clearly has a target audience in mind for the new iPhone 16e. The company is also rather forthcoming about the future of the iPhone 16e.
Who is iPhone 16e for?
If you’ve always wanted an iPhone with an extra lowercase e in the name, then wow does Apple have an iPhone to sell you.
But seriously, Apple is pretty straightforward about which existing iPhone customers it anticipates will upgrade to the iPhone 16e.
Apple is aiming to reach current users of iPhone SE 2 and iPhone SE 3, iPhone 11, iPhone 12, and iPhone 12 mini. Or Android users who are already used to weird model names with random letters.
For these iPhone users, Apple has made a modern iPhone that isn’t completely state-of-the-art.
The target customer group is evident by how Apple compares the iPhone 16e to previous generation models — not just because the numbers are favorable for Apple (and favorable they are).
In the official press release, Apple specifically calls out iPhone 16e having six more hours of battery life than iPhone 11, and up to 12 more hours of battery life than any iPhone SE model. Apple also says that iPhone 16e is up to 80% faster than iPhone 11, and machine learning models run up to six times faster.
Apple goes into more detail on its iPhone 16e product page with its comparison tools. It highlights these battery life benchmarks for video playback:
- iPhone 16e: up to 26 hours
- iPhone 11 and 12: up to 17 hours
- iPhone 12 mini and SE 2: up to 15 hours
- iPhone SE 2: up to 13 hours
Apple then compares iPhone 16e CPU performance compared to these older phones. iPhone 16e is 80% faster than iPhone 11, 90% faster than iPhone SE 2, 50% faster than iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini, and 40% faster than iPhone SE 3.
In terms of graphics processing, iPhone 16e is 70% faster than iPhone 11, 200% faster than iPhone SE 2, 50% faster than iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini, and 40% faster than iPhone SE 3.
Have an even older iPhone? Apple will gladly take your $600, but the company probably has data suggesting these specific iPhone users are most likely to be drawn to the iPhone 16e.
If you’re curious, however, Apple will let you compare the iPhone 16e to models as far back as iPhone 6 and iPhone SE 1. If you’re upgrading from 2014’s newest iPhone, you’re in for up to 15 hours of additional battery life and a chip jump from A8 to A18 among countless other improvements.
This line says a lot about the future of iPhone 16e
Apple has been planning a successor to the iPhone SE 3 for longer than modern generative artificial intelligence has existed.
It’s unlikely that Apple set out to replace the $430 iPhone SE 3 with the $600 iPhone 16e.
But the iPhone 16e has one primary job: bring Apple Intelligence to the good iPhone in a good-better-best lineup.
Apple was so unprepared for generative AI that the company lacked the foresight to include enough RAM in the iPhone 15 to support Apple Intelligence — a suite of AI features announced while the iPhone 15 was still the best better model in the lineup.
Now that the iPhone 16e is here to bring Apple Intelligence to everyone else, Apple can let its good iPhone linger in the lineup for a few years.
The company is most clear about its plans for the iPhone 16e in the 12-minute product launch video released this week.
When discussing the chip inside the iPhone 16e, Apple’s Kaiann Drance says the “A18 will help iPhone 16e feel fast for years to come.”
Translation: Apple plans to sell the iPhone 16e for years to come. I don’t expect an iPhone 17e or iPhone 18e. Who knows, maybe the iPhone 16e will be the only “e” model, much like how Apple only made one “C” model and one “R” model.
One thing is certain about the iPhone 16e: Apple’s latest lower-priced model doesn’t follow the colorful path of the iPhone 5C or iPhone XR. You can choose any color you like — as long as it’s black or white.
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