The starting price of the iPhone 16e is $599, featuring Apple's first self-developed 5G baseband chip C1, claimed to be the "most energy-efficient modem for iPhone." Like other models in the iPhone 16 series, the iPhone 16e also comes equipped with Apple's latest second-generation 3-nanometer chip A18 and a dual-purpose 48 million pixel fusion camera, but it only has one rear camera. The iPhone 16e adopts facial recognition and is the first iPhone model to completely abandon the Home button. The iPhone 16e could become the best-selling iPhone SE model, with Ming-Chi Kuo recently estimating shipments to exceed 20 million units this year.
The rumored iPhone SE 4 has arrived. In the face of declining iPhone sales and increasing competition from Chinese rivals, Apple is making a push into the lower market by launching the iPhone 16 high-end model's "alternative". It not only incorporates Apple's advanced AI functions but also features its self-developed first 5G modem chip.
On Wednesday, February 19, Eastern Time, Apple announced that the latest flagship Smart Phone iPhone 16 series has added a new budget member, the iPhone 16e, which is the fourth generation iPhone SE as expected by the outside world. Like the other members of iPhone 16, the iPhone 16e also comes preloaded with iOS 18 and features AI functions brought by Apple's personal intelligent system, Apple Intelligence, including ChatGPT-assisted writing and imaging functions.
The iPhone 16e, like other iPhone 16 models, is equipped with Apple's latest second-generation 3-nanometer chip A18, which offers up to 30% faster six-core CPU processing speed and up to 40% faster five-core GPU speed compared to the A16 chip used in the iPhone 15. This means that the iPhone 16e can also run applications and games designed for other high stock price iPhone 16 models.
Unlike other iPhone 16 models, the iPhone 16e did not continue to use the modem, but instead is equipped with Apple's first self-designed modem, C1, which Apple refers to as "the highest energy-efficient modem for iPhone."$Qualcomm (QCOM.US)$Earlier this year, there were rumors that the Low Stock Price iPhone would be equipped with Apple's self-developed 5G baseband chip.
In terms of the camera system, the iPhone 16e also features a 48 million pixel dual-purpose camera capable of taking ultra-high resolution photos and using a 2x optical quality telephoto feature to zoom in on distant scenes. However, the iPhone 16e has only one rear camera, while the standard iPhone 16 and Plus have two rear cameras and the high-end Pro model has three.
Apple claims that the iPhone 16e has the most powerful battery life among 6.1-inch iPhones, lasting up to 12 hours longer than the iPhone SE and 6 hours longer than the iPhone 11.
The iPhone 16e uses facial recognition instead of fingerprint recognition. Since the release of the original iPhone in 2007, this is the first time Apple has not sold any new models with a Home button, marking a complete abandonment of the Home button.
The iPhone 16e is available in black and white, with memory options of 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB, starting at a price of $599. Pre-orders will begin on Friday, February 21, and sales will start on Friday, February 28.
The starting price of the iPhone 16e is $400 lower than that of the iPhone 16 Pro launched last September and $200 lower than the standard iPhone 16, which means it is 40% cheaper than the high-end iPhone 16 model and 25% cheaper than the standard version. Compared to the previous generation iPhone SE released by Apple in 2022, the iPhone 16e's starting price is $100 more.
The iPhone 16e may become the best-selling iPhone SE model, and Ming-Chi Kuo expects shipments to exceed 20 million units this year.
Apple has not updated the iPhone SE for nearly three years, and the launch of the iPhone 16e is seen as an effort to boost sales growth of iPhones, the company's most important product category.
The Earnings Reports released at the end of last month revealed that in the fourth quarter, which included the major shopping season at the end of last year, Apple achieved a significant double-digit increase in service revenue, setting a record for the highest quarterly revenue in the company's history. However, in the first full quarter of sales for the new iPhone models, the iPhone 16 series failed to maintain the sales momentum of the iPhone, and sales in China, the largest smart phone market, further declined.
In the fourth quarter, net sales of the iPhone dropped 0.8% year-on-year to $69.14 billion, while analysts had expected an increase of nearly 2% to $71.04 billion. During the quarter, Apple's revenue in Greater China fell 11% year-on-year, a decrease much greater than the 0.3% decline in the third quarter, while analysts had forecast a growth of 3.6%.
After the results were announced, Apple executives explained that sales in Greater China during the fourth quarter were affected by a reduction in channel inventory and the absence of Apple Intelligence in the local market. Over half of the year-on-year decline was attributed to decreasing channel inventory, and it was suggested that the national subsidies introduced by the Chinese government in January could help boost some iPhone sales, noting that the new "national subsidies" in January did not impact the fourth quarter.
Apple's launch of the Low Stock Price iPhone can take advantage of the "national subsidies" tailwind, and it is expected $Alibaba (BABA.US)$That Apple's partners help in launching the Apple Intelligence feature in China, which is also likely to further stimulate sales.
Apple's "prophet", Tianfeng International Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, recently predicted that the iPhone SE 4 will ship more than 20 million units this year, making it the best-selling SE model of all time. Among them, the shipment volume in the first half of the year and the second half of the year is expected to be about 12 million units and 10 million units, respectively. He believes that the new iPhone SE can reduce the impact of the off-season on shipments while also increasing the penetration rate of Apple Intelligence.
The iPhone 16e has become a "testing tool" for Apple's self-developed baseband chip.
Analysts believe that the iPhone SE 4, or iPhone 16e, will give Apple the opportunity to test its self-developed 5G baseband chip on the phone before promoting it to the main iPhone models.
Edward Snyder, managing director of Charter Equity Research and a senior expert in the wireless industry, stated that the iPhone SE 4 is a "testing tool", as Apple hopes to obtain on-site data about the (chip) running condition before integrating the baseband chip into the iPhone 17.
Snyder predicts that 20% of the new products released by Apple this fall will be equipped with self-developed modems, while the remaining devices will continue to use chips supplied by Qualcomm. Snyder expects that if the self-developed modem performs well, Apple will completely eliminate Qualcomm's baseband chips in about two years.
As of the time of writing, $Apple (AAPL.US)$After hours, it fell by 0.06% to $244.733.
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