Apple’s new iPhone 16e is now available and it comes with the latest A18 chip, Apple Intelligence, Apple C1 (the first cellular modem designed by the company), Action button, 2-in-1 camera system and more. Here are five reasons why the phone will do brisk business.

Power of choices

Soon, the first two Apple stores in India — Apple BKC and Apple Saket — will complete two years (four more stores are planned). Their foundation perhaps has something to do with understanding the degree of sway Apple enjoys in winning people over with iPhones. Fast forward to February 2025 when the company continues to be in a strong growth phase in India, helped by the increasing demand for iPhones. A new phone in the iPhone 16 lineup has the potential to add to the company’s market base around the world.

It’s easy to focus exclusively on the fact that the entire iPhone 16 lineup, including iPhone 16e, is being assembled in India for Indian consumers and for export to select countries. Equally important is the fact that consumers here — and globally — now have a wider selection available.

You can make iPhone buying decisions based on what you want from the camera. It makes a lot of sense. You can now look at an iPhone in terms of camera levels. Most people simply want a phone that takes pictures without having to be an expert and at the same time they expect top-of-the-line output. iPhone 16e delivers.

Delete what you don’t need

Consider the price of iPhone 16e — Rs 59,900. It’s substantially cheaper than iPhone 16. How can a company reach a lower price point without making sacrifices in departments that matter to the overall experience?

Apple has essentially deleted some of the things many may not care about. iPhone 16e essentially does all the iPhone things you need it to.

Many people will be upgrading from an iPhone 12 or 13. And the upgrade will be substantial. There are consumers who want an iPhone for better privacy and the ease with which they can move between Apple devices. To them, MagSafe charging may not be very important. My wife, for example, prefers an iPhone that can do the basic stuff very well. For such customers, the absence of MagSafe doesn’t matter because they will eventually buy a case with a magnetic circle.

In-house effort

Apple has been trying to make its own cellphone modems for years. They have been increasingly trying to make more and more of their own in-house parts. That has worked out well. Take processors as a case in point. The new thing here is the C1, the first cellular modem designed by Apple. All eyes are on it. People will notice the success of the modem from connection stability.

Lasting companion

Many iPhone users hold on to their devices for years and seven is quite a common figure we hear about. Many go longer. Can you hold on to iPhone 16e that long? Yes. There is the latest A18 process that you find in the iPhone 16. It’s powerful enough to run Apple Intelligence and handle all the new features that future updates to the OS will bring.

No compromise on privacy

All the privacy features that come with an iPhone are accessible on iPhone 16e. It’s all the more important in the era of AI. Apple Intelligence starts with on-device processing, meaning that many of the models that power Apple Intelligence run entirely on the device. For requests that require access to larger models, Apple’s Private Cloud Compute extends the privacy and security of iPhone into the Cloud to unlock even more intelligence. When using Private Cloud Compute, users’ data is never stored or shared with Apple.