Apple has launched the iPhone 16e, the latest addition to its smartphone lineup and the official successor to the iPhone SE. Despite preserving its positioning as Apple’s cheapest iPhone, the new 16e is nothing like the SE, which was surviving as the last holdout of the older rounded design that debuted with the iPhone 6 in 2014.

The iPhone SE was the last officially supported model still sporting a home button. The physical component was one of the oldest surviving features of the first iPhone from 2007. Despite being abandoned in favor of the full-screen experience and Face ID authentication starting with the iPhone X, it still had many fans among users who preferred the tactile experience of the button to the screen-based UI controls that are now standard on all iPhone models.

While the iPhone SE was still pretty popular, its design and basic features started showing signs of obsolescence. The new iPhone 16e represents a major leap forward, with a lot more memory, longer battery life, and compatibility with Apple Intelligence.

Moreover, the iPhone 16e sports the Apple C1, the company’s first in-house 5G modem. Overall, the update is a much-needed upgrade from a design strategy and commercial perspective despite a significant price jump compared to the SE model. The only aspect we’re not convinced about is the name. Why leave SE behind in favor of a nomenclature - the ‘e’ after the name - that comes straight from Samsung’s Galaxy playbook?