The iPhone 16e Marks a Big step in iPhone History

In the beginning, there was iPhone. No SE, no S model,no pro or plus or max, just iPhone. Steve Jobs never shipped a “budget” iPhone - it wasn’t until his passing that we saw the “premium” 5s and the “unapologetically plastic” iPhone 5c.

I often think it’s important to keep in mind the people in our lives who don’t orbit technology. My mum bought a baseline iPhone 5c a year after it came out. with 8GB of storage! And she didn’t think that would be a problem. My gran didn’t loose her home button until her iPhone 6s (a handmedown from another family member) died in 2024. In 2025 my partner still carries an iPhone 11 in its retina LCD, thick bezel, ultra wide, lightning port glory. All these family members are THE target audience for iPhones; they are not the edge case, they are explicitly the target of modern tech.

apple started as a contender to other phone brands. These days, many UK and USA buyers wouldn’t even consider anything without a fruit logo. Then Apple had to compete against themselves. “Why would I buy the latest iPhone? The previous generation is just as good!”. Complaints iPhones weren’t improving came frequently, and Apple kept incrementing their phones.

Consumers went from buying the latest phone every one to two years, to buying older phones every 3-4 years. And this is without even considering the slow creep of another contender: the second hand market.

These days second hand iPhones have moved from expensive, poor quality landfill to reasonably priced, high quality devices. Most people are at least aware that when their relatives get a new phone, their old one is probably in decent shape, and fit for use for the next generation. This is the third great competitor. We went from other phone brands, to other iPhones, to old iPhones. A serious question that must be asked by Apple marketers is “how do we compete with the second hand market?”

Second hand buyers are a tricky bunch. They’re picky, cheap, and free to explore in a sea of competitors. There are LOTS of phones to go around, and lots of good deals if you care to look. But second hand buyers are also unique in another sense: they’re all using old phones, and they don’t care much about the latest and greatest.

Apple has an unusual relationship with the midrange market. They’ve flirted with it with the SE and XR, ultimately landing with a “premium, pro, and premium pro” attitude. The iPhone 16e markets a significant turn: Apple is ready to compete not only with last years phone, but last years second hand phone.

When we approach the 16e, we much first consider its target audience. Who’s buying this? If we use our previous marker of second hand buyers, we can safely say these people are sticking with their X, or their 11. They probably bought that phone second hand, and they’re probably not bothered