iPhone 16e price: how much does Apple's entry-level iPhone cost?
It's a question that I feel guilty answering, because the price has gone up compared to the iPhone SE
Apple just dropped the iPhone 16e to replace the aging iPhone SE 3
The phone comes with an iPhone 14-like design and USB-C
There’s a single rear camera, Apple’s C1 modem, and long battery life
But the question is: how much does this thing cost?
Apple overpriced the iPhone 16e.
Well, maybe it didn’t. The Shortcut team hasn’t had a chance to publish a full iPhone 16e review, and we’re basing our expectations off a spec sheet and some fancy photos of the latest iPhone. Apple is notorious for charging high prices for its gadgets, though, so it’s no shock that the iPhone 16e costs significantly more than the SE of yesteryear.
For context, this is an entirely new device… sort of. It has an iPhone 14-like design with a 6.1-inch OLED display, Face ID, and a USB-C port on the bottom. Like the rest of the iPhone 16 lineup, there’s an Action button on the left side that can be used to access Visual Intelligence features through Apple Intelligence. You also get the A18 chip from the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus, a single 48MP rear caemra, Apple’s own C1 5G modem, and the longest battery life ever for an iPhone of this size (according to Apple, that is).
There are some meaningful upgrades here, but as an entry-level iPhone, you want to be paying somewhere around $400-$500 for the value to make sense. So, how much does the iPhone 16e cost?
iPhone 16e price
The iPhone 16e costs $599. It’s a $170 increase over the iPhone SE 3 which is being discontinued. That means moving forward, the least amount of money you can pay for a new iPhone is $599, and that’s not including tax.
The good news is that storage space isn’t terrible. You can choose between 128GB, 256GB, or 512GB models, which is particularly nice for the base model after rumors suggested it could only come with 64GB. However, the price increases a lot once you get to the higher tiers; the 256GB model is $699, while the 512GB model is a whopping $899.
For that kind of money, you can get the regular iPhone 16 with Dynamic Island, a second rear camera, MagSafe support, and Camera Control. You’ll get less storage, sure, but the other upgrades significantly outweigh what you get from the 16e.
Still, this is a big upgrade for Apple’s entry-level iPhone series, and it’s one of the most interesting devices I’ve personally ever seen from the company. With a single rear camera, the same chip as the regular iPhone 16, and Apple Intelligence, it’ll be interesting to see how it fairs against the Pixel 9a and Galaxy A56, both of which are expected to be positioned to take it on head-first.
Max Buondonno is Editor at The Shortcut. He’s been reporting on the latest consumer technology since 2015, with his work featured on CNN Underscored, ZDNET, Newsweek, TheStreet, and more. Follow him on X @LegendaryScoop and Instagram @LegendaryScoop.
