Not SE, but lower price

The new Apple iPhone 16E is here - a cheaper iPhone

Apple's new cheaper iPhone is here, with the latest powerful chip, AI support, and a few compromises. The price starts at 8500 kronor.

Erik Mörner

Published 19 February 2025 - 17:50 Modified 19 February 2025 - 17:50

Instead of releasing an updated iPhone SE, Apple is launching the new cheaper iPhone under a new name. The regular iPhone 16 series has a price tag starting at 11,500 kronor, so this is 3,000 kronor cheaper.

Of course, the iPhone 16E comes with the latest version of iOS and features the same system chip as the more expensive iPhone 16 models, the A18 chip, which also means that the iPhone 16E supports AI with Apple Intelligence when it eventually comes to Sweden. Additionally, the iPhone 16E, just as rumours predicted, is the first phone to use Apple's custom-designed modem chip called C1, which is expected to be included in upcoming iPhone models from now on.

Differences from the more expensive models

A quick look at the iPhone 16E quickly reveals that the phone lacks the dynamic island and instead has the sensor panel we recognise from the iPhone 13 Pro and earlier. The edge is aluminium, and on the back, there is only a single camera. It is a 48-megapixel camera, and according to Apple, it provides good quality even when you zoom 2x, even though it is a single camera and not a separate telephoto lens with optical zoom.

Iphone 16E supports Apple Intelligence when it arrives in early April. However, it does not yet have Swedish language support and will be released in English.

The iPhone 16E has received the action button introduced in the iPhone 15 Pro, and it can be used as a shortcut for, for example, the camera or a function you choose. However, the phone does not have the separate camera button with swipe function found in the more expensive iPhone 16 models.

The screen in the iPhone 16E is 6.1 inches (the same as the iPhone 16), thus lacking the dynamic island mentioned, and also does not have an increased refresh rate, settling for a 60 hertz refresh rate. However, it is an OLED screen with HDR support.

The iPhone 16E is released in only two colours, black or white, so if you want more colour, you'll need to use a case. The storage options are 128, 256, or 512 GB, and the simplest model of these costs 8500 kronor. Pre-orders open on 21 February and the phone will be delivered from 28 February onwards.