Apple debuted the iPhone 16e last year at a price of $599, and the phone has held up well ever since. It’s been refreshed this year with an A19 chipset, more storage, and MagSafe, but for the most part its position in the market hasn’t really changed. It’s a decent phone at a decent price.
It sold reasonably well, but it didn’t have the same critical appeal to Android users as the MacBook Neo had to PC users. I think that may change.
There was a magic to the launch of the MacBook Neo earlier this year that I never felt with the launch of the iPhone 16e a year ago. As I said earlier, the iPhone 16e is a decent phone at an affordable price. In contrast, the MacBook Neo is a great laptop at an affordable price.
The MacBook Neo shattered expectations for what Apple makes, while the iPhone 16e/17e was exactly what you’d expect from Apple. These weren’t killer values, just cheap iPhones.
I think if Apple really wants to enter the Android market, they could do something more radical. And John Ternas’ leadership will do just that.
Even cheaper iPhone
Rather than taking a parts-box approach like the iPhone 16e, I think the iPhone 18e (or perhaps it could be positioned as an iPhone Neo) could be built from the ground up as a cheaper iPhone, like the MacBook Neo.
Perhaps instead of using the old OLED display, it could use an LCD panel to save cost. It will probably have Face ID instead of Touch ID and a 12MP camera instead of 48MP. It could also feature a smaller 5.8-inch display to appeal to fans of small phones. Instead of the A20 chip, it will likely have an A18 with fewer features.
I think Apple wants to keep the aluminum and glass construction going forward, but either way, if Apple can figure out a way to package a phone at that magical $399 price point, I think it could convince a lot of Android users to make the switch, especially in markets with weaker economies. In the US, most people are financed by some kind of carrier contract, so the price of the device is less important. But in many regions, iPhones are simply too expensive.
Perhaps this device doesn’t necessarily need to replace the iPhone 18e. It could probably sit below that, and there’s probably still a clear market for both devices. Nevertheless, I think it would be very interesting to see Apple do something like the MacBook Neo in the Android market, similar to what they did in the PC market.
My favorite Apple accessory recommendations:
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