The names of our smartphones matter. Too clunky and we forget, too wordy and we don’t remember, or too bizarre and we won’t say it. They don’t have to mean anything at all, but they need to fit. The new iPhone 16e’s name fits, far more so than the expected alternatives, and it was one of Apple’s best decisions with the phone. But there’s another name I would have preferred even more.
You’re family now
Since rumors began more than a year ago, it was assumed the iPhone 16e would be called the iPhone SE 4, or the iPhone SE (2025), which mostly followed the trend of previous devices in the range. The original iPhone SE was followed by the iPhone SE (2020), then the iPhone SE (2022), so either name was a logical path for Apple to take.
Except the SE name is, well, a bit silly. It not a Special Edition, as SE is supposed to stand for. It’s an iPhone, and all the SE suffix did was turn Apple’s entry phone into an outlier. It’s entirely separate to the brand’s top phones, and if you decide to buy one, you’re not really joining the club. It’s like making a $1 pledge on a Kickstarter project. Sure, you’ve contributed, but you’re hardly a member of the inner circle and you won’t be getting any of the benefits.
When Tim Cook teased the iPhone 16e’s launch, he used the phrase “meet the newest member of the family,” and with the new name, that’s what we’ve done. The iPhone 16e’s name brings it into the family, where it can sit at the big table with the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, and the two iPhone 16 Pro models too. Sure, the old SE models were all iPhones, but they didn’t have the right number attached, and it set them apart from the latest versions. When people buy an iPhone, they want the latest, and with the iPhone 16e, that’s what they’re getting.
Family forever
The iPhone 16e has been embraced by the family, and this could make a difference in the future too, should Apple decide to shift away from the vague multi-year update schedule it has maintained with the SE series. It could, realistically, announce a new e-series iPhone every year, and ensure it remains a “current” iPhone by adopting the same number strategy. An iPhone 17e would follow the 16e in 2026, for example.
The SE series did show Apple doesn’t feel the need to update its entry-level phone very often though, but it’s the outlier in the industry. New entry-level phones come from practically every other manufacturer on an annual (and sometimes even sooner) basis, and giving the e-series an annual bump, however small, would keep it fresh and exciting for buyers who don’t want to pay for a number-series phone.
While the iPhone 16e’s name fits in with my personal love of logic and order, the continued existence of the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus in Apple’s range makes it less neat than it could be, but I can forgive it because the pricing structure makes up for it. The iPhone 16e starts at $599, the iPhone 15 at $699, the iPhone 16 at $799, and the 16 Pro at $999. The iPhone 14 has gone, which will frustrate some due to some less than ideal spec differences, but it couldn’t exist alongside the 16e.
E is good, but C is better
During discussions with colleagues after the iPhone 16e was announced, I stood more or less alone as someone who liked the new name. Detractors compared it to how Motorola has named some of its lowliest budget phones, and also recalled how Samsung used an e suffix on the budget Galaxy S10e. Others are questioning what the E stands for. Entry-level? Economy? Essential?
It’s an odd one, and ultimately doesn’t need to stand for anything at all, but it’s not a letter tied to Apple’s mobile division. Using S, as it has done in the past for some new models, doesn’t seem right either, as those phones were attached to fairly major annual updates. What’s interesting is the S suffix was easy to tie into new features on the device itself, standing for things like Speed and Siri, and this is where Apple may have missed a trick with the iPhone 16e.
It’s a surprise (and perhaps a missed opportunity for the marketing team) Apple didn’t resurrect the letter C. Calling it the iPhone 16c would have fitted right in as a lower cost, but still premium iPhone, just as the old iPhone 5c did in 2013. Plus, it would have connected (no pun intended) the phone with the introduction of the new C1 modem — which is a bigger deal than Apple made it seem — for some cute, geeky brand synergy.
Names do matter, and I like them to fit. I won’t miss the old SE name, but will remember it fondly for other reasons, and love that with a simple rename the iPhone 16e has become a true member of the family. However, for the ultimate in nerdy satisfaction, I’d have really liked to connect the dots between the new phone and the new C1 modem, if Apple had decided to call it the iPhone 16c instead.
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