Apple Launches the iPhone 16E, With In-House Modem and Support For AI (theverge.com) 81
Apple has launched the iPhone 16E, featuring a 6.1-inch OLED display, Face ID, an A18 chipset, USB-C, 48MP camera, and support for Apple Intelligence. Gone but not forgotten: the home button, Touch ID and 64GB of base storage. The Verge reports: The 16E includes the customizable Action Button, but not the new Camera Control you'll find on the 16 series. It does swap its Lightning port for USB-C, now a requirement for the phone to be sold in the EU. On the inside, there's an A18 chipset, the same chip as the iPhone 16. That makes the 16E powerful enough to run Apple Intelligence, the suite of AI tools that includes notification summaries. Even the non-Pro iPhone 15 can't do that, so the 16E is one of the most capable iPhones out there. Apple has previously confirmed that 8GB RAM was the minimum to get Apple Intelligence support in the iPhone 16 series, so it's likely that the 16E also boasts at least that much memory. It's also been bumped to a baseline of 128GB of storage, meaning there's no longer a 64GB iPhone.
There's only a single 48-megapixel rear camera; the lack of additional cameras is the biggest downgrade compared to the company's other handsets. With support for wireless charging and a water-resistant IP rating, there's little you have to give up elsewhere. The iPhone 16E is also the first iPhone to include a modem developed by Apple itself. The company has spent years trying to move away from modems developed by Qualcomm, and we're finally seeing the fruits of that labor. The big questions now are how well the new modem performs and whether Apple is ready to roll out its own connectivity components in the iPhone 17 line later this year. It's available for Friday starting at $599 with 128GB of storage.
There's only a single 48-megapixel rear camera; the lack of additional cameras is the biggest downgrade compared to the company's other handsets. With support for wireless charging and a water-resistant IP rating, there's little you have to give up elsewhere. The iPhone 16E is also the first iPhone to include a modem developed by Apple itself. The company has spent years trying to move away from modems developed by Qualcomm, and we're finally seeing the fruits of that labor. The big questions now are how well the new modem performs and whether Apple is ready to roll out its own connectivity components in the iPhone 17 line later this year. It's available for Friday starting at $599 with 128GB of storage.
Re:$TYPICAL slashdot comments (Score:4)
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That's why we should send more of them to russia
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If your adversary is people with guns and night vision, then traveling at night with your iphone out is the least of your worries lmao
LMAO. People navigating without a phone? Please. At least make up a realistic scenario.
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I thought that you could sideload apps in the EU now, no?
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to side load apps, a lot of pre requisites are needed, minimum number of downloads in offical app store first, and a large "safety" deposit at a authorized bank.
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"This phone is too expensive (nevermind that Samsung sells more expensive models)"
Samsung also sells a bunch of phones that are much cheaper than this one as well. Like half of this price. And those come with more than one camera on the back.
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Also why do Apple fanbois think that the only companies that exist are Apple, Samsung, and Dell?
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Also why do Apple fanbois think that the only companies that exist are Apple, Samsung, and Dell?
Probably because the market share numbers for phones in the US look like:
Nobody cares about anyone in the last category.
Source [statista.com]
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So...
- There is at least one other major phone manufacturer
- Apple Fanbois are ignoring all the others because somehow if a manufacturer of a phone doesn't have a huge marketshare it does not exist?
- Certainly the "Nobody cares" comment is absurd given the fact these devices are, actually, mentioned regularly here on Slashdot or are you telling me you've never heard of Fairphone, OnePlus, or that obscure, never heard of it outfit, Google, and never seen any of the articles here about their phones?
Your comme
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Actually my comment was going to be:
Why the fuck do the slashdot editors shit their pants with excitement every time apple does a minor iteration?
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Actually my comment was going to be:
Why the fuck do the slashdot editors shit their pants with excitement every time apple does a minor iteration?
Because it is always fun to watch the bar room brawl that breaks out.
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You can spin it how you like, but $600 isn't "budget" which was what this thing was meant to be. It wasn't budget at its old price either tbh. You are paying for the name - this phone does nothing else that models costing a few hundred do.
Storage (Score:5, Interesting)
I'm surprised to see 128 GB be the standard storage size, as opposed to a lower price, with 64 GB the default and a $100 upgrade to 128.
My baseless speculation is that it's to fit on-device AI models without crippling the phone. I suspect many budget-conscious consumers would have preferred to go without AI..
Re:Storage (Score:4, Interesting)
My phones have been at least 128GB since the Pixel 2 in, what, 2017?
And I think it was $30 difference then or maybe a year later, I probably got it used.
The recent refurbs I've had in were all 256.
It surprised me that 64GB was even available!
I mean the retail price of 500GB nvme is $35 now, with board and controller.
It's probably $5 or less to Apple to bump up 64GB.
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.I mean the retail price of 500GB nvme is $35 now, with board and controller. It's probably $5 or less to Apple to bump up 64GB.
Well, sure, but anyone who's spec'd out an Apple device in the past decade knows that what Apple charges has almost nothing to do with the cost of components.
What I've gotten used to is that their entry-level models tend to have an almost-mandatory upgrade to get a reasonably spec'd device (e.g., $200 to get a MacBook Air with more than 256 GB of storage). They get a larger volume of people in the door with the lower base price, and then absolutely rake it in selling a few bucks of flash for $100-200 fo
No AI, won’t be an option. (Score:4, Insightful)
I'm surprised to see 128 GB be the standard storage size, as opposed to a lower price, with 64 GB the default and a $100 upgrade to 128.
My baseless speculation is that it's to fit on-device AI models without crippling the phone. I suspect many budget-conscious consumers would have preferred to go without AI..
Sorry, but going without AI won’t be an option. For every vendor developing and offering it. Why else would you find Apple giving away “free” memory upgrades like that.
Yes. Every AI-enhanced vendor. If you thought your everyday behavior was ripe for the data mining before, just imagine the corrupt marketing/insurance value selling AI malware that starts tattling on everything you do. And I mean everything.
The Insurance Industrial Complex cannot wait to bend you over and data mine you so hard that insurance rates will be surge-priced by the hour on your ass.
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If you thought your everyday behavior was ripe for the data mining before, just imagine the corrupt marketing/insurance value selling AI malware that starts tattling on everything you do.
If Apple wanted to mine my personal data and sell it to marketers/insurers, why would they need to implement "AI" to do it? They already own the phone OS and, for the vast majority of customers, the backups. They can already do what they want with any data contained on the device.
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iOS and the default apps alone takes up like 20GB. 64GB does not go very far nowadays, and the marginal cost for Apple for 64GB vs 128Gb is not $100, it is only a few dollars. They likely determined it isn't worth the expense of stocking two SKUs.
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My speculation is that it isn't actually cheaper to get lower capacity flash SKUs anymore.
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I suspect many budget-conscious consumers would have preferred to go without AI..
Yeah, my prediction was that Apple was going to leave out the AI features to keep the cost of the phone down. Previously, the SE was the model the prepaid carriers tended to promote, since it could be purchased outright without too much sticker shock.
At some point though, Apple made the decision to continue production of very old models as direct-to-carrier offerings. You can still buy a brand new iPhone 12 [walmart.com]. Obviously, the major disadvantage with going with an older series phone as a budget option is tha
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The cost price of 128GB of high end NAND is around $8-12 at volume. Going for a 64GB chip would save a couple dollars. For obvious reasons they rather just pick the upgrade for you and up the price $100.
vs iPhone 15? (Score:5, Interesting)
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Why are car companies selling 2025 models? The automobile hasn't changed in a century.
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The 15 has a CPU that's two generations older and in all likelihood, less RAM as well. I guess if you really wanted the wide angle camera and hate the idea of having to rely on a case to provide MagSafe docking, the 15 might seem superior. To me, it seems like a bit of a farce that Apple is still keeping that sore thumb of a phone in their line-up priced at $100 higher than the 16E.
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I was more than ready for a new phone when the SE3 came out. Luckily, many YouTube reviewers convinced me, since I didn't care about 5G or a better camera, to get the iPhone 11. Which was $75 cheaper at $350.
Now that the 16e is out I'm patiently waiting for another set of comparison videos.
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Previous generation? EEEEEWWWWWWWWW.
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Substantially longer battery life, noticeably faster CPU. Presumably will receive iOS updates farther into the future (if that matters to you). Much more RAM (which is why it can run Apple’s AI stuff). For a lot of people this will matter more then the extra colors the iPhone 15 comes in, and the extra cameras on the 15.
I don't want AI on my phone. (Score:5, Informative)
Apple has broken bad. They are no longer a productive company at the same time their tech is enabling widespread data-theft, extortion and stalking.
Here's a friendly reminder of Apples track record. https://violationtracker.goodj... [goodjobsfirst.org]
27 violations for a total of over $1.4 BILLION in penalties.
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Simply turn it off. It's right there in the settings to turn off Apple Intelligence. Super simple. But for the 99.9% of users who want it, it's there and on by default.
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Simply turn it off. It's right there in the settings to turn off Apple Intelligence. Super simple. But for the 99.9% of users who want it, it's there and on by default.
That last part is what makes your 99.9% claim irrelevant. The default setting.
Why? Because we now live on a planet full of ignorant tech junkies far too fucking lazy/stupid to change the default settings.
Vendors each pay billions every year to BE those default settings, because they statistically know the above statement is 100% true. When consumer behavior is that predictable, “simple” isn’t so simple when you account for what they know to be statistically true. And what they intend
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No, we live on a planet where 99.99% of the people aren't tech junkies. They don't know how to turn something on or wouldn't know the feature exists if it wasn't on by default. Much like they wouldn't turn on security features or have a secure password unless prompted to do so.
The defaults are chosen because they work well for the vast majority of users. If you don't want something turned on, we hope you're smart enough to figure out how to turn it off. But grandma and the average non-tech user aren't going
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The defaults are chosen because they work well for the vast majority of users.
Keep telling yourself that. Then look at all the default settings in your phone, and wonder how many of them you don’t see and can’t turn off.
Lets also not forget all those default features no user ever asked for, now represents a four-figure MSRP for a smartphone. This is also why most vehicle upgrades we saw 10+ years ago, are now standard (default) today. Along with defaulting up to a $49K average new car price.
Vendors don’t pay billions to be the default because it works for you. T
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Great job changing to subject to something it never was about. Keep rambling about something unrelated. I'm sure others care.
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Why are you angry about a product you won't even buy?
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Times change. Life changes, deal with it.
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Apple has always been pretty good about letting you disable features you don't want. iCloud, Siri, iMessage, even stereo audio can be turned off if you find the concept of separate left and right channels offensive. Hell, you can delete every app from the phone except the dialer and messaging app and use it as a glorified dumbphone if that makes you happy.
It's really a stretch to imagine Apple ever forcing anyone to use AI if they really don't want it. At least on Apple's devices, you'll always be able t
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>Apple has always been pretty good about letting you disable features you don't want. iCloud, Siri, iMessage
except 8 days ago, apple has been pushing out ios updates that auto turns on apple AI after you turn it off.
https://forums.macrumors.com/t... [macrumors.com]
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Why are you angry about a product you won't even buy?
Because Apple as a "reputable brand" (read: with lots of fanboys) will tend to set the trend of what's expected in similar products, and invariably other manufacturers will imitate it and all the non-optional features, such that you'll essentially be stuck with whatever those features are, whether you actually want them enabled or not.
Control freaks everywhere (Score:2)
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Yes, except the OP asked why they would buy a phone pre=loaded with AI that they characterize as spyware. The answer is “not specifically because it has that, but if you wanted anything else in it, just turn that part off”. It is like complaining that a new car has automatic windshield wipers and those bug the crap out of you, why would you buy a car that has those? The answer is “just don’t set it on au
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theres a setting to turn it off but when you update ios, it automattically is re-enabled. https://forums.macrumors.com/t... [macrumors.com]
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Your phone itself is spyware regardless of operating system or software.
Re: I don't want AI on my phone. (Score:2)
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I don't want AI on my phone. Why would I buy a phone that comes pre-loaded with spyware?
Are these meant to be two related thoughts?
Hate to break it to you, but if Apple had any desire to put spyware into iOS they didn't need to bundle it with "AI" to do so.
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Eh? If you are afraid that some built in part of the operating system is spy where, you have already lost the battle. While I doubt Apple’s AI stuff is spy where, I have absolutely no doubt that if A
now 25% more (Score:5, Insightful)
The 3rd generation iPhone SE with 128GB of storage was $479.00 new. The 16e is $599.00, which is a 25% increase over the previous SE model. $600 is too much for what is Apple's low-end phone. My budget didn't increase 25%.
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Inflation is a thing.
As is Moore's Law.
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To be honest, I do not want or need the "AI" bits that increased the cost. Maybe the low-end does not need features like "4K video recording at 60fps".
Try this calculator: https://www.bls.gov/data/infla... [bls.gov]
Enter a value of $479, start at Jan 2022, end at Jan 2025, the CPI calculator shows $541.23 - meaning Apple pricing is out-pacing inflation, generally. Yes, yes, more capable - so apparently there is no more efficiency in Apple's processes in years, right?
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meaning Apple pricing is out-pacing inflation, generally. Yes, yes, more capable - so apparently there is no more efficiency in Apple's processes in years, right?
Not to mention the lack of improvements in its warranties - you're not getting any more coverage than you were 10 years ago for your non-repairable device, for which the justification was that it's more reliable if you don't make it repairable.
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Apple already had phones in their lineup for people who wanted to spend more to get more. Price is a legitimate concern with what is ostensibly the "budget" model, and Apple clearly missed the mark here.
Maybe Apple is just figuring they'll sell a bunch of these as "work phones" to corporate accounts.
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it's not an 'SE'. SE was always a sort of modern clone of the previous generations. the E is a pared down version of the modern kit. ie, they 'cancelled' the SE and replaced it.
The 6E is in-line with similarly capable phones. The market has just moved up this far.
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Semantics. The SE was the paired down model too. They cancelled one and released another, both the 'low-end' device.
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not semantics. SE was previous gen specs. 6E is modern specs but trimmed down. ie, 6E has the single 48MP camera, skipping the telephoto lens but it's the modern camera. 6E is the modern CPU, just with 1 less GPU core. The SE was 1-2 generations of CPU behind, and not just a single camera, a couple generations out of date camera. SE was like taking a 1-2 generation out of date phone and throwing it in a blastic box and calling it new. The 6E is a current gen phone and features with no frills.
I never
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Tablet (Score:2)
The (real) SE is going to be my last Apple phone, unless they release another one smaller than a tablet.
I understand engagement metrics rise with larger phones, thus Apple PMs want larger phones.
Personally, I don't want to engage with it. I want to use it when I need something it provides and not think about it otherwise. I'm willing to spend time setting up an MDM profile turning off all the operant conditioning and data exfiltration settings, but I'm not holding a fucking tablet to
Good Move, Pain Incoming (Score:3)
We're going to get all kinds of stories about Apple modems not working in various edge cases, overheating, poor signal strength, etc.
But seriously good for them for taking on the monopolist. They may even find a secondary business selling modems once everything is ironed out.
I get that this is Goliath vs. Goliath but also monoculture is always bad for society so thanks in advance to the buyers who will work through the difficulties.
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We're going to get all kinds of stories about Apple modems not working in various edge cases, overheating, poor signal strength, etc.
I wonder if I could go back to the Slashdot articles about the first devices with Apple silicon in them and find similar (possibly justified) comments. How could a consumer electronics company whose main innovation is rounded corners possibly take on the greatest minds of Intel??
In all seriousness, you're probably right. It'd be shocking if they come in and throw a knockout punch at Qualcomm in the first round. Smart move by Apple to work out the kinks in a budget phone where they have cover if some benc
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We're going to get all kinds of stories about Apple modems not working in various edge cases, overheating, poor signal strength, etc.
Probably, yes. And Apple being Apple, we can expect software updates to correct some of these issues. Up to the point that the edge cases will be acceptable for most persons, providing that the Apple modems are less battery hungry.
And thank you, early iPhone 16e adopters, for being beta testers.
Apple's First Modem (Score:5, Insightful)
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I don't care who makes it as long as it supports V.32bis, plus V.23 if I need to use Prestel. Ideally with V.42bis error correction/data compression.
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Checks UID.
Yes, we are both grey beards!
Re:Apple's First Modem (Score:4, Insightful)
A ~500,000 UID calling themselves a grey beard ...
Kids these days, pfft.
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I'm surprised there's not more discussion about this phone having the first Apple cellular modem. That would seem to be a huge deal for Apple and Qualcomm. There's probably a reason it's first appearance is in a lower-quantity phone. Think of it as a beta-release.
I guess we will see this modem very soon in iPads, MacBooks and Apple Watches.
And much later in high-end iPhones, whose owners want the best possible phone.
More than one camera (Score:2)
"There's only a single 48-megapixel rear camera"
Plus the TrueDepth camera. The one that watches you while you watch the phone.
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Plus the TrueDepth camera. The one that watches you while you watch the phone.
Thus completely ruining the "in Soviet Russia" joke for the younger generations.
Meanwhile, my iPhone XR is still working.... (Score:2)