Cheap new iPhone 16e costs hundreds less than top model – but tempting AI phone kills two iconic Apple features forever

APPLE has revealed a brand new handset that costs hundreds less than last year’s iPhone 16. The new iPhone 16e is brimming with AI tricks – but it also marks the death of two iconic Apple features. Apple’s 6.1-inch iPhone 16e seems to be a rebranding of the iPhone SE series, a line of cheaper smartphones that launched back in 2016. This new model starts at £599 / $599, and is the first "budget" iPhone to support the new Apple Intelligence AI features.

These AI tricks let you create your own emoji, edit people out of selfies, and get your notifications summarised to save you time. That's far cheaper than the iPhone 16 (£699/$699), and hundreds less than the top-end iPhone 16 Pro Max. But the iPhone 16e is also the first model in Apple's "cheaper" iPhone range to finally ditch the Home button. Apple abandoned the Home button on its main line-up of smartphones back with 2017’s iPhone X.

It was ditched to let the iPhone have an all-display design, swapping out the Touch ID fingerprint sensor with a head-scanning Face ID feature instead. But the Home button was kept on with Apple’s cheaper iPhone SE range – until now. It means that 2022’s iPhone SE 3 will probably be the last-ever iPhone to feature a Home button. That’s not the only feature vanishing from the iPhone either. The new iPhone 16e comes equipped with a USB-C charging port, just like the iPhone 16.

Gadget fans will know that USB-C is all the rage, appearing on laptops and Android phones, in cars and hotel rooms, and just about everywhere else. Apple switched away from its own Lightning cable for the more universal USB-C with 2023’s iPhone 15. And now the iPhone 16e has abandoned Lightning for USB-C too. The good news is that it means the same cable will work for more of your devices – not just your iPhone.

But it's also a big sign that Apple is finally leaving Lightning behind. The iPhone 14 from 2022 is now likely the final Apple smartphone with a Lightning port. The new iPhone 16e comes sported an A18 chip built by Apple. And it also connects to the internet using an Apple C1 modem, which is the first built by Apple itself. The gadget boasts a 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR display, built with a TV-style OLED panel that can show true blacks by switching individual pixels off.

Here's how iPhone screen sizes have changed over the years – as measured in inches diagonally from corner to corner... Picture Credit: Apple / The Sun. And it comes with a 48-megapixel Fusion camera on the back (with a built-in 2x telephoto lens too). Apple says this is like "having two cameras in one". You can snap the gadget up in black or white matte finishes, and in 128GB, 256GB, or 512GB storage options.

Here's the official list of Apple devices with processors powerful enough to support the new Apple Intelligence features... Once you've updated to Apple Intelligence, try these out... Genmoji. Open the emoji panel on your keyboard, then tap the smiley face icon with a plus symbol on it. Then enter a description for the Genmoji that you want to create, tap Done, then tap Add on the Genmoji that you want to use.

Mail Summaries. Go to the Mail app and tap on an email. Then just tap the new Summarise button. Clean Up. Go into Photos, select an image, then tap the Edit button (it has three sliders as an icon). Now tap on Clean Up, then tap, brush, or circle the object or person that you want to remove. Once you're happy, hit Done and your changes will be saved. Image Playground. You'll find this feature inside the new Image Playground app.

You can either create an image from a concept (like a theme or place), a description, or inspired by a person in your photo library. Once you're happy with the image, tap Done to save it to your gallery. Smart Reply. Go to the Messages app, tap on a conversation, then press the text field. A suggested reply might then appear – and then Apple Intelligence will draft it for you. If you like it, send it!. To see if you've got an iPhone update waiting, just go to Settings > General > Software Update.