Apple debuts budget iPhone 16e – and SA price revealed

The new “iPhone lite”, better known as the Apple iPhone 16e, was unveiled on Wednesday to widespread indifference, as commentators questioned whether a “cheaper” model would make an impact on the market.

It’s US pricing, at $599, wss expected to translate in South Africa into a R14,000-R18,000 device, which is not exactly a budget phone, even if it sits at the top of the mid-range pricing tier rather than competing with flagship phones.

Patient Apple fans were rewarded yesterday with the price announcement from the Core group, the authorised South African distributor: it will start at R15,999, at the exact midpoint of the expected price range.

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Core says the iStore has also set a new standard for trade-in values worldwide, offering up to R22,000 cash back when customers trade in their old device.

Customers can trade-in up to five devices (Mac, iPad, iPhone, Apple Watch, PC or Android smartphones) to further discount the new iPhone. Find out a device’s trade-in value here: https://www.istore.co.za/trade-in-cash-back

Even at the price at which it is set locally, the 16e is likely to make an impact on a market that is deeply enamoured with the brand. Across Africa, it is less about the specs than the brand perception – hence continued appeal of each new model, even when they only present incremental enhancements over previous versions.

The iPhone 16e features Apple’s A18 chip, as well as its version of AI, Apple Intelligence, and a 48MP 2-in-1 camera system. That is enough to convince users they are holding an advanced – and credible – iPhone in their hands. 

It will be available to pre-order from today (21 February) in 59 countries, including South Africa? and in store from next Friday, 28 February. Apple Intelligence will be available on the phone in “localised English” in South Africa, according to Apple’s announcement on Wednesday.

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It’s satellite features, such as Emergency SOS, Roadside Assistance, and Find My via satellite, will not be available here, however.

“iPhone 16e packs in the features our users love about the iPhone 16 lineup, including breakthrough battery life, fast performance powered by the latest-generation A18 chip, an innovative 2-in-1 camera system, and Apple Intelligence,” said Kaiann Drance, Apple vice president of worldwide iPhone product marketing. 

The iPhone 16e features splash, water, and dust resistance with a rating of IP68; a Ceramic Shield front cover with an “advanced formulation that is tougher than any smartphone glass” and “the toughest back glass in a smartphone”. 

A 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR display with OLED technology has an edge-to-edge design, Face ID enabled by a TrueDepth camera system. Charging options include wireless charging and USB-C. 

The device is available in elegant matte white and black finishes.

Apple provided the following information on the specs, features and performance of the 16e (Including the silly PR hype):

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Performance and Connectivity

iPhone 16e is powered by Apple’s latest-generation A18 chip, which enables fast, smooth performance, incredible power efficiency, and Apple Intelligence. The 6-core CPU is up to 80 percent faster than the A13 Bionic chip on iPhone 11, handling both everyday and intensive tasks with ease — from simple workloads, to more demanding actions with Apple Intelligence. The 4-core GPU powers stunning graphics performance and unlocks next-level mobile gaming on the go, enabling graphically demanding AAA titles and hardware-accelerated ray tracing for more realistic lighting and reflections. The 16-core Neural Engine is optimised for large generative models and runs machine learning (ML) models up to 6x faster than A13 Bionic.

The A18 chip enables fast, smooth performance and stunning graphics for next-level mobile gaming in titles like Infinity Nikki.

Expanding the benefits of Apple silicon, C1 is the first modem designed by Apple and the most power-efficient modem ever on an iPhone, delivering fast and reliable 5G cellular connectivity. Apple silicon — including C1 — the all-new internal design, and the advanced power management of iOS 18 all contribute to extraordinary battery life.

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Built for Apple Intelligence

iPhone 16e is built for Apple Intelligence, unlocking exciting new capabilities that make iPhone even more helpful and powerful. With the Clean Up tool, it’s easy to remove distracting elements in images, and natural language search in the Photos app allows users to search for just about any photo or video by simply describing what they are looking for.

Users can also explore creative new ways to express themselves visually with Image Playground, create the perfect emoji with Genmoji, and make their writing even more dynamic with Writing Tools. They can now type to Siri, and Siri is more conversational with the ability to follow along if users stumble over their words. Siri can also maintain context from one request to the next. With extensive product knowledge, Siri can answer thousands of questions about the features and settings of Apple products, so users can learn how to do things like take a screen recording or schedule a text message to send later.

With access to ChatGPT seamlessly integrated into Writing Tools and Siri, users can choose to access ChatGPT’s expertise without jumping between applications, so they can get things done faster and easier than ever before. In addition, users can access ChatGPT for free without creating an account, and privacy protections are built in — their IP addresses are obscured and OpenAI won’t store requests. Users can choose whether to enable ChatGPT integration, and are in full control of when to use it and what information is shared with ChatGPT.

Apple Intelligence marks an extraordinary step forward for privacy in AI and is designed to protect users’ privacy at every step. It starts with on-device processing, meaning that many of the models that power Apple Inteligence run entirely on device. For requests that require access to larger models, Apple’s groundbreaking Private Cloud Compute extends the privacy and security of iPhone into the cloud to unlock even more intelligence. When using Private Cloud Compute, users’ data is never stored or shared with Apple; it is used only to fulfill their request.

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Action Button

iPhone 16e features the Action button, allowing users to easily access a variety of functions with just a press. Once customised in Settings, the Action button can be used to quickly open the camera or flashlight; switch between Ring and Silent modes; recognise music with Shazam; activate Voice Memos, Focus, Translate, and accessibility features like Magnifier; or use Shortcuts for more options. The Action button can even access in-app functionality like launching the camera in Snapchat, unlocking a car door with FordPass, tracking a child’s sleep schedule with Napper, and more.

The Action button on iPhone 16e also unlocks a new visual intelligence experience that builds on Apple Intelligence to help users learn about objects and places. Visual intelligence can summarise and copy text, translate text between languages, detect phone numbers or email addresses with the option to add to contacts, identify an animal or plant, and more. Visual intelligence also allows users to search Google so they can see where they can buy an item, or benefit from ChatGPT’s problem-solving skills. Users are in control of when third-party tools are used and what information is shared.

A Powerful Camera System 

The powerful 2-in-1 camera system on iPhone 16e is perfect for capturing everyday moments and important memories, including in Night mode and Portrait mode. Using computational photography, the 48MP Fusion camera takes super-high-resolution photos, so users can capture gorgeous images that balance light and detail. With an integrated 2x Telephoto, users have the equivalent of two cameras in one, and can zoom in with optical quality to get closer to the subject and easily frame their shot. And the front-facing TrueDepth camera with autofocus enables sharper close-ups and beautiful group selfies. The latest generation of HDR captures subjects and the background with true-to-life renderings of skin tones, while ensuring photos have bright highlights, rich mid-tones, and deep shadows.

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iPhone 16e takes stunning videos with the ability to record in 4K with Dolby Vision up to 60 fps, and users can stop and restart a recording for more flexibility when capturing the moment. iPhone 16e also records video in Spatial Audio for immersive listening with AirPods, Apple Vision Pro, or a surround sound system, and enables more ways to edit video sound with Audio Mix. Users can adjust their sound after capture to focus on the voice of the person on camera, make it sound like the video was recorded inside a professional studio, or position vocal tracks in the front and environmental noises in surround sound. With wind noise reduction, powerful ML algorithms automatically reduce unwanted noise for better audio quality.

* Arthur Goldstuck is CEO of World Wide Worx and editor-in-chief of Gadget.co.za. Follow him on Bluesky on @art2gee.bsky.social.