But hey, that's progress.

Welcome to the new era of iPhones.

This week, Apple discontinued the $430 iPhone SE, killing off the last iPhone that had a classic design with a home button.

In its place is the new $600 iPhone 16E.

It's the cheaper option, but not as cheap of an option as before.

Still, if you're going with the 16E, it's $200 less than the standard iPhone 16.

And with this big update, now every iPhone sold by Apple has Apple Intelligence.

Because Apple really wants everyone to get on the AI train and upgrade, especially all of you who keep hanging on to your old iPhones because they work fine.

But is AI enough to give people the motivation to upgrade?

The 16E has many things that you find in the new iPhone 16.

And there are a few things that are left out, some sacrifices, you could say.

But what Apple focuses on in this new iPhone 16E, what Apple didn't cut, it really gives you clues to what is important to the company in its future iPhone strategy, beyond AI.

I'm Bridget Carey, and we got one more iPhone, so this is one more thing.

I do think it's a little sad that we lost the iPhone SE design with the Touch ID home button, but the 2022 model needed to be upgraded.

It did not have USB-C, so it could not be sold anymore in the European Union because the EU has common charger rules.

But this right here is the first iPhone SE.

It came out in 2016, and it stood for special edition.

It was the last model to have a headphone jack, and it just has a four-inch display.

It has the body of an iPhone 5S, but inside the hardware was like the iPhone 6S.

And that's what Apple always did with the SE line.

It took an old iPhone body and stuffed it with new guts to make it cheaper.

This was $400.

Look at that.

It's a baby.

The next iPhone SE came out in 2020.

It also cost $400, and then the third version released in 2022 at $430.

These last two models had the look of an iPhone 8, but they had the newest processors.

But right now, Apple is ditching the SE series and the strategy for something fresh.

There's no recycled body for the 16E.

This time, it's a Frankenstein creation of old and new.

There's a 6.1-inch screen with the older notch on the top for Face ID, not that pill-cut-out dynamic island.

But this display is very telling.

It's the same size as the iPhone 16.

The more affordable iPhone used to be the smaller iPhone.

It wasn't just about affordability, it was about portability.

But those days are in the dust for Apple.

You can also just tell by the way the iOS 18 operating system is designed that it isn't optimized for smaller phones anymore.

I mean, look here.

When you edit a photo or video, you get all this extra border space now.

So if you have a love of mini iPhones, I don't think Apple shares that love.

Don't count on Apple going smaller any time soon.

In the iPhone 16E, there is no camera control button, but it does have an action button.

And instead of using the camera control button to activate visual intelligence, you could use the action button here instead, which we have not seen done before.

So that tells you Apple intelligence is so important to Apple that they will make sure you don't miss out on any single aspect of it, even if you get the cheapest model.

They will give you visual intelligence, even if you don't have the right buttons for it.

All the AI for everyone.

Now let's look at the back of the phone.

Instead of two cameras, they made a new 48 megapixel two camera in one system.

Cameras are important to every iPhone owner, and this camera system seems solid.

It has perks like 2x telephoto lens and portrait mode, but without two lenses, you can't take spatial video and photo.

Well don't worry, no one buying this phone will care about 3D photos and video, because people just want something simple.

So I think that's fine.

Apple is pushing how the USB-C life is easier with this phone because you don't need to use different cords anymore.

So Apple knows that that is a good selling point.

And the phone still has wireless charging, but Apple did leave out magnetic charging.

There's no MagSafe to snap on those MagSafe chargers.

You can get around that with a third-party case that has a magnetic ring, but Apple figured this 16E customer is not someone who would shell out extra cash for MagSafe accessories anyway.

Inside the 16E, you'll find the new A18 chip.

It's the same processor used by the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus.

But oh, the GPU.

It's a little downgraded.

The normal iPhone 16 has a 5-core GPU, and the 16E has a 4-core.

But you know what?

The people who want an iPhone 16E, they're not counting GPU cores.

These are customers that just want something simple that works well and will last them for years.

So, okay, it's fine that Apple cut that corner.

And probably most important, iPhone customers just want a good battery life, and that's where Apple made an interesting change.

This is the first iPhone with Apple's in-house cellular modem chip, the C1.

It's not Qualcomm's modem anymore.

And by Apple putting in its own modem, the company says it's more power efficient.

Apple released a video saying that it redesigned the inside, and the new design is also optimized for a larger battery.

So Apple is listening.

It knows battery is a big deal for its future iPhones.

And presumably, the C1 is also going into the next iPhones.

Some small things like ultra-wideband technology for precision finding of lost devices was not a priority here, so that was cut out from the 16E.

But Apple did not cut back on safety perks.

Crash detection is in the 16E.

And satellite services connection will kick on when you need help in an emergency.

Apple knows health and safety are big selling points.

It also means Apple wants all of its customers getting accustomed to this feature as standard.

I don't know if Apple Intelligence alone is what's going to get people motivated to upgrade, although that is what Apple hopes jolts some sales here.

But by Apple showing it also is focused around making big improvements to battery life, and making a better 2-in-1 camera, that tells you that Apple knows the 16E customer is practical, and Apple kept working on the basics.

If you own an older iPhone, and you upgrade, prepare yourself for a learning curve to catch up to doing things with Face ID, and maybe that action button will be a little weird to you.

But in the end, Apple made something that you can stick with for a while, and Apple hopes that also means you're going to be playing with Apple Intelligence for a while.

So if you've been waiting for a new lower-cost iPhone, what do you think about the iPhone 16E?

Tell me in the comments.

Does the E stand for exciting?

Is it economical or more expensive than you wanted?

Technically, the E could stand for eco-friendly because it's made from recycled materials.

But maybe the E is for I'm exhausted, so wake me up when the slim 17 model lands in September.

Thanks for watching.

I'll catch you next Friday for one more thing to talk about in the world of Apple.