Apple’s latest iPhone 16 is N300k cheaper than older versions

Apple’s new iPhone 16e will cost N300,000 less than the normal iPhone 16 when it is released.

On Wednesday, the smartphone maker launched a budget phone with artificial intelligence, the iPhone 16e, targeted at middle-level customers and to aid its growth in China and India. Pre-orders for this phone begin on February 21 with availability set for February 28.

The iPhone 16e joins the iPhone 16 Pro sold for $999 (N1.49 million), the iPhone 16 Pro Max for $1199 (N1.79 million), iPhone 16 for $799 (N1.19 million), and iPhone 16 Plus for $899 (N1.35 million). The iPhone 16e will retail at $599 (N898,500), N300,000 cheaper than the iPhone 16 which sells for N1.19 million.

Kaiann Drance, Apple’s VP of Worldwide iPhone Product Marketing, noted, “iPhone 16e packs in the features our users love about the iPhone 16 lineup, including breakthrough battery life, fast performance powered by the latest-generation A18 chip, an innovative 2-in-1 camera system, and Apple Intelligence.

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“We’re so excited for iPhone 16e to complete the lineup as a powerful, more affordable option to bring the iPhone experience to even more people,” he said.

The new phone will take on Android smartphones like those of Samsung and China’s Huawei. Sales of Apple phones dropped last quarter, with sales of its budget line of phones plummeting as a proportion of iPhone revenue over the last decade.

However, according to Canalys research, Apple remained the top smartphone vendor for the second year running in 2024, backed by growth and performances in North America and Europe, which helped it offset challenges in Mainland China. It noted that iPhone shipments declined by one percent to 225.9 million units for the full year 2024.

The 16E is a kind of iPhone SE successor based on the design of 2022’s iPhone 14. With its 6.06-inch OLED display, the 16E is close to the same size as Apple’s standard 6.12-inch iPhone 16, meaning the company no longer offers a phone significantly smaller than its default model. The 16E’s measurements show it’s about 0.1mm narrower and 0.7mm shorter than the standard iPhone 16.

On the inside, the phone has an A18 chipset, the same chip as the iPhone 16, making it powerful enough to run Apple Intelligence. However, it has only a single 48-megapixel rear camera, a significant downgrade from Apple’s other handsets.