Apple Unveils iPhone 16e Equipped with AI Assistance & Action Button
Starting at $599, the cheapest model from the iPhone 16 family packs a powerful punch with Apple Intelligence and a new button allowing users to easily access a variety of functions.
On Wednesday, Apple announced a new addition to the iPhone 16 lineup: the iPhone 16e, the generation’s cheapest model. However, even with an accessible price point beginning at $599, the device delivers unprecedented performance with a variety of innovative features including an A18 chip, Apple Intelligence, advanced battery life, and a 48MP 2-in-1 camera system.
Made in two black and white matte finishes, the new model features a 6.1” display boasting Super Retina XDR display. The 16e has unprecedented power with the best battery life ever on a 6.1-inch iPhone, lasting 12 hours longer than all SE models.
The A18 chip will provide users with smooth performance and efficiency with the 6-core CPU 80% faster than the A13 Bionic chip on iPhone 11 and a 4-core GPU for optimized graphics. Finally, a 16-core Neural Engine is equipped for generative models and machine learning (ML) models up to six times faster than A13.
With Apple Intelligence, users can unlock new features like Clean Up, which efficiently removes unwanted elements from photos and Genmoji, allowing users to generate custom emojis. Apple’s AI technology also enhances the abilities of Siri with more conversational interactions and context awareness. Furthermore, Apple has integrated ChatGPT into its operating system, allowing users to easily access the chatbot for day-to-day assistance.
On the side of the device, users will find the new Action Button above the volume controls. Apple lists a suite of capabilities available from the button once set up on the device settings: opening the camera or flashlight; switching between Ring and Silent modes; recognizing music with Shazam; activating Voice Memos, Focus, Translate, and accessibility features; or access Shortcuts.
The Action button also prompts a novel visual intelligence feature using Apple Intelligence to educate users about objects and places, summarize and copy text, translate text between languages, detect phone numbers or email addresses, identify an animal or a plant, and more.
See the full specs of the iPhone 16e on the official Apple website. The iPhone 16e will be available for pre-order at 5 am PST on February 21, with full availability beginning Friday, February 28.
