Apple Launches Low-Cost iPhone 16e, Taking AI Features to Lower Price Points

An Apple logo adorns the facade of the downtown Brooklyn Apple store on March 14, 2020, in New York. (AP)
An Apple logo adorns the facade of the downtown Brooklyn Apple store on March 14, 2020, in New York. (AP)
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Apple Launches Low-Cost iPhone 16e, Taking AI Features to Lower Price Points

An Apple logo adorns the facade of the downtown Brooklyn Apple store on March 14, 2020, in New York. (AP)
An Apple logo adorns the facade of the downtown Brooklyn Apple store on March 14, 2020, in New York. (AP)

Apple launched its latest low-cost model, dubbed the iPhone 16e, on Wednesday as it looks to grab a bigger share of the mid-range smartphone market and fend off competition from rivals such as Samsung and China's Huawei.

The new phone, which leaves behind the SE naming convention for Apple's budget series, will take on popular Android smartphones at a time when consumer electronics makers are looking to add artificial intelligence tools to their devices.

Priced at $599, the iPhone 16e will have enough computing power to run Apple Intelligence, the set of features that includes integrated access to ChatGPT.

Apple late last month forecast strong sales growth signaling that it will recover from a dip in iPhone sales as it rolls out artificial intelligence features to more regions and languages.

However, analysts have been cautious about the sales boost such tools could provide as the AI features are set to be launched in phases in some regions on its latest iPhone 16 line-up and the iPhone 15 Pro model.

The sales of SE model as a share of total revenue for iPhones has dropped from 10% from its introduction in 2016 to about 1% last year, according to Counterpoint Research.

"Apple can use the lower-end phone in markets where Android phones have higher share without losing too much on the higher-priced iPhones," said Gil Luria, analyst at DA Davidson.

The iPhone 16e will be powered by the A18 chip used in more expensive models launched in September last year and will support Apple Intelligence out of the box.

It will be about $200 less expensive than the cheapest version of iPhone 16, launched in September.

The iPhone 16e will also be the first device from Apple to feature the C1 chip, which is the first modem designed in house for cellular connectivity, a shift from chips made by Qualcomm .

The new device's camera system will have a 48 megapixel sensor and two lenses, one of which will be a two times zoom lens integrated into the primary camera.

Previous SE models were known for their smaller screen size and attracted a niche group of buyers, but the latest generation comes with a 6.1 inch display, the same as the least expensive iPhone 16 model.

This year's much-anticipated update brings a change to its slab-design, nixing the physical home button and introducing Apple's FaceID feature.

Apple said the iPhone 16e will be available for pre-order in 59 countries, including the US, China and India from February 21, with shipments starting from February 28.

The SE model would be the last among iPhones to adopt the USB Type-C port for charging, leaving behind Apple's proprietary Lightning connector and letting it return to the European Union market.

Apple had discontinued the third-generation SE model and iPhone 14 in the EU as the products did not conform with local laws requiring USB Type-C charging standard.



Samsung Says Trade Turmoil Raises Chip Business Volatilities, May Hit Phone Demand

A man walks past the logo of Samsung Electronics displayed outside the company's Seocho building in Seoul on April 30, 2025. (Photo by Jung Yeon-je / AFP)
A man walks past the logo of Samsung Electronics displayed outside the company's Seocho building in Seoul on April 30, 2025. (Photo by Jung Yeon-je / AFP)
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Samsung Says Trade Turmoil Raises Chip Business Volatilities, May Hit Phone Demand

A man walks past the logo of Samsung Electronics displayed outside the company's Seocho building in Seoul on April 30, 2025. (Photo by Jung Yeon-je / AFP)
A man walks past the logo of Samsung Electronics displayed outside the company's Seocho building in Seoul on April 30, 2025. (Photo by Jung Yeon-je / AFP)

South Korean technology giant Samsung Electronics warned on Wednesday US tariffs could cut demand for products such as smartphones, making it difficult to predict future performance.
According to Reuters, Samsung said it expected its semiconductor business to encounter greater uncertainties throughout the year, while its smartphone shipments faced downward pressure in the second quarter.
The cautious outlook from one of the world's biggest electronics manufacturers reflects the uncertainties roiling global trade due to US President Donald Trump's tariff war, and comes a day after General Motors pulled its annual forecast.
The world's largest memory chipmaker reported a small rise in first-quarter operating profit as customers concerned about US tariffs rushed to purchase smartphones and commodity chips, mitigating the impact of its underperforming artificial intelligence chip business.
It reported 6.7 trillion won ($4.68 billion) in operating profit for the quarter ended in March, up 1.2% from a year earlier and in line with its earlier estimate.
Samsung shares, one of the worst-performing major tech stocks last year, fell 0.4% in line with the broader market.
Steep US tariffs on Chinese goods and toughening restrictions on AI chip sales to China, Samsung's top market, threaten to dampen demand for some of the electronics components the company produces such as chips and smartphone displays.
Trump's "reciprocal" tariffs, most of which have been suspended until July, threaten to hit dozens of countries including Vietnam and South Korea where Samsung produces smartphones and displays.
Samsung said it was considering relocating the production of TVs and home appliances in response to the tariffs.
Chip demand is expected to remain solid in the second quarter, driven by AI servers and preemptive purchasing activities after the pause in tariffs, Samsung said.
But it warned that the frontloading of chip shipments by some customers may have a negative impact on demand later this year.
“We believe that demand uncertainties are growing in the second half as a result of recent changes in tariff policies in major countries, and strengthening of AI chip export controls,” Kim Jae-june, a Samsung vice president in the memory division, said on an earnings call.
Samsung CFO Park Soon-cheol said however that "we cautiously expect the overall performance to gradually improve as we move into the second half, assuming the easing of current uncertainties".
Some analysts were unconvinced, saying the company did not give detailed guidance for its struggling AI chip business.
"With pull-in demand still ongoing and macro uncertainty lingering, the explanation for the 'first-half low, second-half rebound' outlook was lacking," Ryu Young-ho, a senior analyst at NH Investment & Securities said.
AI CHIPS
Samsung's mobile device and network business reported a 23% rise in profit to 4.3 trillion won during the period, reaching its highest level in four years, helped by the latest version of the flagship Galaxy S model with AI features.
Samsung has accelerated smartphone production in Vietnam, India and South Korea ahead of the US duties, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters earlier.
While mobile performed strongly, the chip division's operating profit slumped 42% to 1.1 trillion won from a year earlier despite chip stockpiling by some customers.
Samsung reported a fall in sales of High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) - used in AI processors - due in part to US export controls on AI chips.
Samsung said it had supplied samples of its enhanced HBM3E products to major customers and expected HBM sales, which have bottomed out in the first quarter, to "gradually" rise from the second quarter, without offering detailed targets.
Analysts estimate that about one third of Samsung's HBM revenue has come from China, and it lags behind cross-town rival SK Hynix in supplying such chips to Nvidia in the United States.
SK Hynix last week logged its second-highest quarterly operating profit in the first quarter with a 158% jump to 7.4 trillion won, boosted by strong AI-related demand.
Revenue rose 10% to 79.1 trillion won in the January-to-March period, in line with its earlier estimate of 79 trillion won.