iPhone 16e review: The most expensive cheap iPhone yet

The iPhone 16e rethinks—and prices up—the basic iPhone.

See full article...

 

[JustYourAverageJDP]

I understand why Canadians would feel outraged and threatened by the actions of the Trump government. And of course you should stand up for yourselves here. But something worth mentioning from the 'inside' (within the U.S.) that may not be visible from the outside: millions of Americans are likewise outraged and did not vote for this shit. Something like 2.5 Canadas worth of American voters voted against this and wanted something much better including continued good relations with our Canadian neighbors and other countries. Unfortunately there is that 2.6-ish Canadas worth of other American voters who voted otherwise and there we are. Those in the 2.5 can understand how you're going to do what you have to do at this point. But try to remember the many of us who hate what the Trump government stands for and don't want it and have never had anything against Canada and instead felt and feel a lot of respect for you and other countries too. It is not all American voters or even more than 50% who want this. (Not even 50% because some of us voted for candidates besides Republican or Democrat).

Edit: Fixed arithmetic and typos.

Americans failed to vote for a reasonable leader. The actions of Trump, Musk, and other enabling oligarchs will stain American foreign relations for generations to come.

I pity the common American person, but I must not feed the beast that threatens my Country's very existence.

"#NotAllAmericans! bla bla bla..."

We don't give a shit. You had the power to prevent Trump. We didn't. As long as he remains in power, mocking our soveraignty on a daily basis (and most importantly, normalizing the idea of it to the populace), and you continue to do nothing about it, you're all complicit in this.

The American democracy is over. It doesn't matter how many people voted against Trump. The very existence of peaceful democracies is now at risk when Trump is eyeing up sovereign nations to steal and rape to enhance American oligarch wealth. Canada, Greenland, Panama, Ukraine and any other country does not want to join with America.

America is a hostile nation that must be diversified away from. I will do business with China before I do it with America. China may be a lot of things, but they are not threatening to end my Country and starve my people.

I dont care how good the next Apple product is. It is supporting the new nazi regime. My country didnt support fascist German products in WWII even if there were some perfectly nice German people that didnt vote for the Nazies and we will not support Trump fourth Reich.

 

[Steven N]

I understand why Canadians would feel outraged and threatened by the actions of the Trump government. And of course you should stand up for yourselves here. But something worth mentioning from the 'inside' (within the U.S.) that may not be visible from the outside: millions of Americans are likewise outraged and did not vote for this shit. Something like 2.5 Canadas worth of American voters voted against this and wanted something much better including continued good relations with our Canadian neighbors and other countries. Unfortunately there is that 2.6-ish Canadas worth of other American voters who voted otherwise and there we are. Those in the 2.5 can understand how you're going to do what you have to do at this point. But try to remember the many of us who hate what the Trump government stands for and don't want it and have never had anything against Canada and instead felt and feel a lot of respect for you and other countries too. It is not all American voters or even more than 50% who want this. (Not even 50% because some of us voted for candidates besides Republican or Democrat).

Edit: Fixed arithmetic and typos.

Well, then why aren’t some of those 2,5 canadas occupying 20% of Mar-a-lago and some Trump towers with their 2-nd amendment guns and tell Trump to “Suck it up, man, we only want peace.”?

Seriously, the only influence folks outside the US have, is to use their wallets since it appears there is a direct line of communication between the GOP and the billionaires depending on our hard earned money for their fortune.

 

[UrbanSlayer]

No TouchID is a huge deal breaker for me. I hate having to type in my password, which I would definitely need to do regularly for FaceID considering how I use it.

I will stay on my 2020 SE as long as possible, and maybe just go to a 2022 SE.

 

[Unclebugs]

It is interesting to read many of these posts that are all about NOT buying this iPhone because of Trump-o-nomics. The real question for me will how El Cheeto's war on all things not America affect the world economy. Since WWII, the world has become increasingly dependent on the USA, either as a reliable friend or enemy. Meanwhile, the barely in charge GOP is acting like they have a mandate. DOGE keeps losing more than it gains in court while also slipping on one banana peel after another forcing it undo so much. I sure hope the rest of the world says they have had enough of those wacky gringos. I'm sure that Trump will be remembered as fondly as Hoover.

 

[TwoKiloBalls]

Why would anyone want to buy American products? You're supporting tyranny.

 

[Errum]

No TouchID is a huge deal breaker for me. I hate having to type in my password, which I would definitely need to do regularly for FaceID considering how I use it.

I will stay on my 2020 SE as long as possible, and maybe just go to a 2022 SE.

For several years I used a TouchID iPad and a FaceID iPhone. While both worked, my experience has been that FaceID is better in every way.

 

[danm628]

The bulk of the modem design is from the Intel modem group that Apple purchased in 2019. This was teams in the US (Santa Clara and San Diego) and Germany. Part of that team was the Infineon 2G/3G modem team purchased by Intel in 2010.

https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2019...majority-of-intels-smartphone-modem-business/

https://www.infineon.com/cms/en/about-infineon/press/press-releases/2010/INFXX201008-069.html

 

[Mr_AX]

Well, then why aren’t some of those 2,5 canadas occupying 20% of Mar-a-lago and some Trump towers with their 2-nd amendment guns and tell Trump to “Suck it up, man, we only want peace.”?

Seriously, the only influence folks outside the US have, is to use their wallets since it appears there is a direct line of communication between the GOP and the billionaires depending on our hard earned money for their fortune.

It may come to that! And I said, I understand the outrage from the outside and do what you have to do! But many news sites and outside commenters characterize the Trump government's actions and desires as being all of America's. It's not the case, though obviously the fact that he controls the government means he has more individual impact on the outside than someone like me does. Anyway, do with the info what you will. It's a fact that those characterizations are inaccurate. If you like ignoring facts then you have something in common with America's Trumptards.

 

[Fred Duck]

Interestingly, Apple have an advert where the tag is "At a price you can't ignore."

So while the "e in iPhone 16e is for enterprise" theory is eenteresting, unlike the similar "e in eMac is for edumacation," they are pitching the product to ordinary consumers.

 

[CeeTee]

Apple are convinced that people will stay "loyal" to them regardless of what overpriced trinkets they offer. It seems they not interested in users who just want a phone for communication and ad-hoc web browsing, where price is important, and performance is not. But of course, this overlooks the new buyer who has no allegiance to an "ecosystem" or corporate spin, and is free to declare the emperor has no clothes.

 

[Mr_AX]

Americans failed to vote for a reasonable leader. The actions of Trump, Musk, and other enabling oligarchs will stain American foreign relations for generations to come.

I pity the common American person, but I must not feed the beast that threatens my Country's very existence.



The American democracy is over. It doesn't matter how many people voted against Trump. The very existence of peaceful democracies is now at risk when Trump is eyeing up sovereign nations to steal and rape to enhance American oligarch wealth. Canada, Greenland, Panama, Ukraine and any other country does not want to join with America.

America is a hostile nation that must be diversified away from. I will do business with China before I do it with America. China may be a lot of things, but they are not threatening to end my Country and starve my people.

I dont care how good the next Apple product is. It is supporting the new nazi regime. My country didnt support fascist German products in WWII even if there were some perfectly nice German people that didnt vote for the Nazies and we will not support Trump fourth Reich.

Me and millions of other Americans agree that Trump is a threat in the ways you state. We don't like it any more than you do. I am not asking you to support the Trump government, and in fact explicitly stated I understand the outrage and that you need to stand up for yourselves against it. Americans inside the country have to do that too, it's not a day at the beach for people living under that government. We shall see what it all means in the end. I would agree that the Trump people are a threat to democracy but we shall see if it's actually over within the USA or not. And I will directly contest one of your statements. Millions of Americans did in fact not vote for Trump and did vote instead for sane alternatives. We're all having to deal with the bad decisions of the 49.6% who voted otherwise. But don't get it twisted. You're going to need the rest of us to put things right. Perhaps you are effectively referring to Trump voters only but to the extent you are somehow blaming those who voted against him as well ...that is ridiculous and wrong.

 

[Steven N]

It may come to that! And I said, I understand the outrage from the outside and do what you have to do! But many news sites and outside commenters characterize the Trump government's actions and desires as being all of America's. It's not the case, though obviously the fact that he controls the government means he has more individual impact on the outside than someone like me does. Anyway, do with the info what you will. It's a fact that those characterizations are inaccurate. If you like ignoring facts then you have something in common with America's Trumptards.

Trust me, I follow the news using English news media (and that includes Ars), and I know some efforts are being made to slow him down. And I definitely hope every single of those 2,5 canadas are doing what they can to further slow him down and make sure those 2,5 grow enough to put a final end to it.
But even acknowledging that doesn’t mean anything if you’re not living in the US. The only thing that we can do is vote with our wallets.
And please refrain from insulting people that try to do what is within their means to fight the slide into fascism of your country.

(Edited to add as a reaction to your comment to Antibolo further down)
I noticed that sometimes people feel personally attacked in these kinds of discussions, which I feel is in some part due to the inability to differentiate between you (as an individual) and you (as a group) in English.
So let me add this: I fully appreciate how you (the individual) feels as being the victim of your (as in the group of all voters) choices.

 

[twilightomni]

I'm still on my XS, and plan to be until security updates stop.

What I dread is having to buy a phone that's meaningfully heavier. Better battery life to be sure, but I'm fine w/ my XS.

My wife will certainly miss the smaller form factor of her 2020 SE when it's time for that one to go.

All post iPhone-12 regular size iPhones are lighter weight than the iPhone XS (177g). The 16 is 170g and the 16e is 167g, per Wikipedia.

So cosmetics aside you’ll get both way better battery and actually lighter weight by upgrading.

 

[Mr_AX]

"#NotAllAmericans! bla bla bla..."

We don't give a shit. You had the power to prevent Trump. We didn't. As long as he remains in power, mocking our soveraignty on a daily basis (and most importantly, normalizing the idea of it to the populace), and you continue to do nothing about it, you're all complicit in this.

It's a failure on a national level that enough people voted for him to enable him to win the election. But the fact remains, less than 50% of voters actually voted for him, more than 50% voted against. He doesn't have majority support for what he's doing, even within the U.S., let alone outside. I'm telling you directly....majorities of Americans respect sovereignty of Canada and every other country. We don't want what Trump is doing. It's tbd how people here will resist any actions he takes. But people here who never voted for him in the first place and never at any time agreed with or cooperate with his ideas are not complicit. You're mad and feeling threatened and looking to lash out in response and that's all understandable. But tarring your friends here with an overly broad brush is not going to help the situation. To use WW II analogies like you seem to enjoy doing, people outside of France didn't refuse to work with the Resistance because of hate they felt towards the Vichy government. They were clear eyed enough to be able to tell the difference between their friends and enemies within France, and did what they could to help their friends eventually triumph. Same with WW II Norwegian resistance and Quislings. Back in the days when Americans and Canadians worked together for a common good. In those days there was the o.g version of America First. Canadians of that time probably had a low opinion of the 1940's America Firsters. But they didn't let it get in the way of working with other Americans who had their heads screwed on straight.

 

[paradox00]

I understand why Canadians would feel outraged and threatened by the actions of the Trump government. And of course you should stand up for yourselves here. But something worth mentioning from the 'inside' (within the U.S.) that may not be visible from the outside: millions of Americans are likewise outraged and did not vote for this shit. Something like 2.5 Canadas worth of American voters voted against this and wanted something much better including continued good relations with our Canadian neighbors and other countries. Unfortunately there is that 2.6-ish Canadas worth of other American voters who voted otherwise and there we are. Those in the 2.5 can understand how you're going to do what you have to do at this point. But try to remember the many of us who hate what the Trump government stands for and don't want it and have never had anything against Canada and instead felt and feel a lot of respect for you and other countries too. It is not all American voters or even more than 50% who want this. (Not even 50% because some of us voted for candidates besides Republican or Democrat).

Edit: Fixed arithmetic and typos.

Canadians do know that this trade war is not popular among most Americans, including many that voted for Trump. The issue is that it doesn’t matter. At the end of the day the USA elected Donald Trump. Twice! Americans have proven to be an unreliable ally and partner and genuine threat to our well being and sovereignty.

What needs to be understood is that threatening to destroy a country economically is not different from threatening to destroy them militarily. A genuine trade war is the not very different from a hot war. The US is currently as great a threat to Canada as China is to Taiwan. Canadians are treating it as such; to the point that our leaders are talking about seeking assurances from the UK and France as a nuclear deterrent to an American nuclear strike. This isn’t a game, so don’t expect Canadian sympathy unless you’re actively fighting the fascist movement that threatens your democracy and our sovereignty.

 

[Mr_AX]

Trust me, I follow the news using English news media (and that includes Ars), and I know some efforts are being made to slow him down. And I definitely hope every single of those 2,5 canadas are doing what they can to further slow him down and make sure those 2,5 grow enough to put a final end to it.
But even acknowledging that doesn’t mean anything anything if you’re not living in the US. The only thing that we can do is vote with our wallets.
And please refrain from insulting people that try to do what is within their means to fight the slide into fascism of your country.

It's not an insult to say that ignoring facts is what Trumptards do. It's the truth. I would hope that everyone would be better than that.

 

[Mr_AX]

Canadians do know that this trade war is not popular among most Americans, including many that voted for Trump. The issue is that it doesn’t matter. At the end of the day the USA elected Donald Trump. Twice! Americans have proven to be an unreliable ally and partner and genuine threat to our well being and sovereignty.

What needs to be understood is that threatening to destroy a country economically is not different as threatening to destroy them militarily. A genuine trade war is the not very different from a hot war. The US is currently as great a threat to Canada as China is to Taiwan. Canadians are treating it as such; to the point that our leaders are talking about seeking assurances from the UK and France as a nuclear deterrent to an American nuclear strike. This isn’t a game, so don’t expect Canadian sympathy unless you’re actively fighting the fascist movement that threatens your democracy and our sovereignty.

I don't think it's a game either. Plenty of us are against Trump's fascism. That's kinda my thesis here. It's not very visible from the outside. Media reporting doesn't help when it conflates Trump government actions as being all of America. But it's not the case, and I want people to know. Maybe my side of this will lose, though obviously working against that possibility. Plenty of us (though not yet enough) think he's a Russian agent at least effectively if not actually, and want him gone.

One problem here is how it seems to fall to people like me to have to make statements like this to the outside! I'm not at all ashamed to say it, I'm proud to say it. But at the same time, I'm just a rando individual citizen. More people in our government should be doing it and they aren't and it's a problem. It's a mystery to me why not. It's not because Democrats or all Republicans agree with Trump. They don't. But yet they don't seem to understand the importance of publicly refuting his threats to the outside so that people can see that we don't all agree with him. There is thought here that Republicans are afraid of him and making a devil's bargain to go along in exchange for power for themselves. That is complicity and wrong. But I don't think that explains Democrats. They're already out of power. They are the opposition. You would think that would loosen their tongues, especially when there is right on their side. But they lack charisma and effectiveness which is partly why Trump won the election in the first place. I can see why someone like you would add all that up to think we don't care and all of us are happy to just let Trump run wild. But it's not the case, though people better wake up and do something about it before it's too late. Perhaps the Democratic strategy is to sit on their hands and do nothing and let the dumpster fire burn until the next elections in 2 years. But that's way too late and too passive if during that time he has made enemies of every other country, reneged on all of our international commitments and plunged us into deep economic crisis. Yet it seems to be how they think. Part of the problem may be a sort of curse of good fortune. People have had it so good for so long here and never had a governing crisis like this. They don't know what to do about it. They are not used to strong collective action because they haven't had to do it before.

Regarding the trade war: plenty of Americans thought it was a bad idea in the first place and expect it to mean that everyone loses if it is allowed to go on. We will lose here too. People know that in America! Some of the stop/start constant changes of mind by Trump about today , tariffs, tomorrow nope I changed my mind could be because of the pushback from Canada and Mexico. But some is also because of opinion here, and people within his own administration challenging him. He is not a good listener or leader overall. But he does listen to some people and has some awareness of outside perception, dimwitted and blinkered though he is. His government is set up to disproportionately represent oligarchs and aristocrats and not others, which is a bjg problem. But even enough of those are telling him it's a bad idea that it's partially getting through so far. Tbd the final outcome, and it's a travesty that someone like him ever got power in the first place, let alone twice.

 

[mschira]

The 16e is unattractive for it's current price. But that may change once the iPhone 17 is out the 16 line will get a price reduction.

This will probably include the 16e (otherwise the price distance to the other 16 models would become weird.)

That would fix the biggest problem with the 16e, the price.

 

[gnasher729]

Both the Galaxy S24 and Pixel 8 lines have 7 years of software support (both OS and security updates) since release.

Edit: ninjaed

So far this is promised. None of these are anywhere near that old.

 

[Me Myself And I1]

It will outsell any other Android-based phone by a zip code.

Remember the 'mini' line phones? Their sales were considered 'disappointing'.... yet they did outsell any other Android phone in their era. The worst stats I've see was a Mini coming 6th... behind a Samsung at 5th, with the first 4 spots taken by another iPhone models.

 

[ackmondual]

I genuinely don't get complaints about lack of magsafe; the magnets are handy, sure, but these can easily be added with a case - as I do on my Pixel.

Not putting your phone in a case is, to me, like not wearing a seatbelt - you want to seem cool by showing off what phone you have...

I'm sure Apple has evidence to show the target demographic for this phone are exceeding likely to use one so are shifting that cost outside of the BOM.

The argument made in the article of thinking they wanted to align all iPhones after the section acknowledging the screen isn't kind of renders it moot?

In the 14 years I've been using smartphones, I've only ever dropped them twice. Plus, up until a few years back, my phones only cost $100 to $300, so it wasn't a big deal to replace.

 

[benjianth]

Opinions vary, but my 3rd gen SE is the perfect size for my needs with plenty of power and usability.

And this is relevant how?

You guys are a minority. A vocal minority. I don’t miss my SE at all.

 

[adespoton]

There are several potential advantages to this change. In theory, it allows Apple to support its lower-end offerings for longer with software updates, and it gives entry-level buyers access to more current technologies and features. It also simplifies the marketplace of accessories and the like.

The disadvantage is: if they're making the low-end model a stripped down version of the high-end model, that means that they don't have to support the previous years' models to support the low-end model. Which means, my current practice of buying a new phone every 5-6 years may need to switch to Android, where Qualcomm and Google have committed to 8 years of support while Apple's support window appears to have shrunk.

 

[gnasher729]

Yes, Trump is president in large part because of huge corporate donors (he did terribly with small donors this cycle). Tim Apple and Zuck each gave a million dollars to his completely opaque “inaugural fund.” Musk is hundreds of millions of dollars in. They expect a substantial ROI for their investment in Trump. If consumers stop consuming and Apple sales fall like Tesla sales are falling, they will not support the GOP in 2026 when the backlash against all the chaos hits.

I think Tim Cook and Zuckerman had the same thought process: To someone with the brain power of Trump, a whole million is surely a much larger number than a mere quarter of a billion. And for a mere million two companies are safe from revenge actions by Trump.

 

[adespoton]

Consumers can buy older gen models from Apple authorized resellers for the same price as the 16e - and get a dual/triple camera iPhone for the same cost. Yes, the SoC is 2-3 gens old, but who cares - it's not like these models were slow then or now.

This is, in fact, what I just did after waiting for the 16e to come out. The one downside is that the phone came with a battery already at 80%. The one upside is that I actually paid half of the price of the 16e, so I could buy another one in 3 years and still come out ahead.

 

[gnasher729]

For several years I used a TouchID iPad and a FaceID iPhone. While both worked, my experience has been that FaceID is better in every way.

It’s not better when you are a software developer and want to test if a phone doesn’t get unlocked. With FaceID it’s hard looking at the phone screen without unlocking the phone.

 

[evan_s]

It’s not better when you are a software developer and want to test if a phone doesn’t get unlocked. With FaceID it’s hard looking at the phone screen without unlocking the phone.

You don't have to enable FaceID. Probably fine for a test phone but probably a bit annoying if you are using your own phone for testing.

 

[twilightomni]

Apple's support window appears to have shrunk.

Evidence?

 

[wagaf]

I don't think it's a game either. Plenty of us are against Trump's fascism. That's kinda my thesis here. It's not very visible from the outside. Media reporting doesn't help when it conflates Trump government actions as being all of America. But it's not the case, and I want people to know. Maybe my side of this will lose, though obviously working against that possibility. Plenty of us (though not yet enough) think he's a Russian agent at least effectively if not actually, and want him gone.

One problem here is how it seems to fall to people like me to have to make statements like this to the outside! I'm not at all ashamed to say it, I'm proud to say it. But at the same time, I'm just a rando individual citizen. More people in our government should be doing it and they aren't and it's a problem. It's a mystery to me why not. It's not because Democrats or all Republicans agree with Trump. They don't. But yet they don't seem to understand the importance of publicly refuting his threats to the outside so that people can see that we don't all agree with him. There is thought here that Republicans are afraid of him and making a devil's bargain to go along in exchange for power for themselves. That is complicity and wrong. But I don't think that explains Democrats. They're already out of power. They are the opposition. You would think that would loosen their tongues, especially when there is right on their side. But they lack charisma and effectiveness which is partly why Trump won the election in the first place. I can see why someone like you would add all that up to think we don't care and all of us are happy to just let Trump run wild. But it's not the case, though people better wake up and do something about it before it's too late. Perhaps the Democratic strategy is to sit on their hands and do nothing and let the dumpster fire burn until the next elections in 2 years. But that's way too late and too passive if during that time he has made enemies of every other country, reneged on all of our international commitments and plunged us into deep economic crisis. Yet it seems to be how they think. Part of the problem may be a sort of curse of good fortune. People have had it so good for so long here and never had a governing crisis like this. They don't know what to do about it. They are not used to strong collective action because they haven't had to do it before.

Regarding the trade war: plenty of Americans thought it was a bad idea in the first place and expect it to mean that everyone loses if it is allowed to go on. We will lose here too. People know that in America! Some of the stop/start constant changes of mind by Trump about today , tariffs, tomorrow nope I changed my mind could be because of the pushback from Canada and Mexico. But some is also because of opinion here, and people within his own administration challenging him. He is not a good listener or leader overall. But he does listen to some people and has some awareness of outside perception, dimwitted and blinkered though he is. His government is set up to disproportionately represent oligarchs and aristocrats and not others, which is a bjg problem. But even enough of those are telling him it's a bad idea that it's partially getting through so far. Tbd the final outcome, and it's a travesty that someone like him ever got power in the first place, let alone twice.

Unfortunately, whatever deal comes out of this trade war will not fix the permanent damage caused by the insults and attacks again Canadian sovereignty.

 

[kyleblue]

No one should be buying the US backed Apple. Treat them with the same hostility you give to Chinese backed companies. Fuck the entire US!

 

[Aaylas]

"The Ugly II"

Supporting a US tech company, at a time when the US is acting as a hostile nation towards my country.

Hard pass this time around. And likely for at least 4 years.

We'll see what comes after that,

Are you boycotting all US companies, or just the bad ones (in your view) like Apple?

 

[SeanJW]

It's a model made for carrier deals and to cover a certain price point - one thing the old Apple said they never do 'make a product to match a price point'.
Anyone else that pays for the iPhone full price, don't get the 16e. Look very hard at the 14 with same screen, dual cameras, sensor-shift image stabilization, and you only loose out on the USB-C for Lightning port.

I think you're very confused. Apple has always made products for a price point - a big bone of contention for the original Macintosh is when it slipped and pushed it out of the intended price point.

What Apple under Jobs (we won't discuss the insanity of the early/mid 90s...) is not cover all price points. They set a minimum baseline of intended quality they designate as "this is the least people should have to put up with" and then go from there.

 

[SeanJW]

It’s not better when you are a software developer and want to test if a phone doesn’t get unlocked. With FaceID it’s hard looking at the phone screen without unlocking the phone.

I have no faith in a developer who is incapable of turning off FaceID which will resolve the problem for the duration of testing.

 

[Renne]

Personally, as someone who doesn't use wireless charging on principle (inefficiencies and all that), the lack of MagSafe doesn't bother me nearly as much as it does others. If I were in the market for a new phone—which I am not at the moment, my 13 is going just fine despite some inexplicable chips in the screen—this would be up there on the list for what I'd get.

 

[Quiet Entropy]

Keeping my 3rd gen SE. As for boycotting my country, do it. Really need to get the point across of what consequences of electing a kleptocracy can entail.

 

[abazigal]

I still don't understand who should buy this.

Basically for people who want Apple intelligence at the cheapest price possible.

 

[macosandlinux]

This is, in fact, what I just did after waiting for the 16e to come out. The one downside is that the phone came with a battery already at 80%. The one upside is that I actually paid half of the price of the 16e, so I could buy another one in 3 years and still come out ahead.

I thought certified refurbs from Apple come with new batteries? Seems that's not the case (anymore)?

 

[macosandlinux]

I think you're very confused. Apple has always made products for a price point - a big bone of contention for the original Macintosh is when it slipped and pushed it out of the intended price point.

What Apple under Jobs (we won't discuss the insanity of the early/mid 90s...) is not cover all price points. They set a minimum baseline of intended quality they designate as "this is the least people should have to put up with" and then go from there.

You're definitely right here! Maybe I should have made my sarcasms more clear. The first product of each category like iPad/iPhone are made not to hit a price point, but with the intended features. Of course the product matrix and spread is totally based on price points. The iPhone 16e might be a precursor of more expensive 17 lineup after tariffs kicking in, and the overall lifespan of iPhone grows further.

 

[abazigal]

No one should be buying the US backed Apple. Treat them with the same hostility you give to Chinese backed companies. Fuck the entire US!

I hope you all realise that there are people visiting this website who are not just from US or Canada or other western countries.

 

[Rush2112]

Ordered one this morning to replace my Gen 2 SE. Whatever its flaws, it's still the cheapest iPhone available with the longest support window.

I will miss TouchID and the smaller form factor though.

On release day I replaced my Gen 2 SE with a refurbished 13 mini with 256 GB for $300 from Amazon (last time I looked they didn’t have anymore at that price). I’m not going to be strong armed into this over priced POS. Then I went a step further and sold off 30% of my AAPL shares because I think Apple is screwing up.