Update February 19 : Apple has release theiPhone 16e , a marque - new manakin that replaces the iPhone 14 . It includes a new design based on the iPhone 14 , Apple ’s first C1 5 G modem , an A18 central processing unit with keep for Apple Intelligence , and a 48MP Fusion camera . It ’s priced at $ 599 with 128 GB of storage . The original story uphold below .
All signs point to this being another big week for Apple . That ’s unusual for February , in general a bleak and cold calendar month for Cupertino watcher . Apple loves to launch in the spring , summer , and shine , but ever since Apple abandoned Macworld San Francisco , it generally hibernates during the winter month . There ’s been exactly one February case in Apple ’s story and that , inauspiciously , was the launch of the iPod Hi - Fi 19 February ago .
Of of course , this hebdomad ’s launching is n’t an Apple event in the usual sense of hype and exaggeration , skits and specs , and bento grids showing off the new features . All we have to go on is a brief and cryptic tweetpostedlast week by Tim Cook : “ Get quick to run into the newest penis of the family . Wednesday , February 19 . # AppleLaunch ” That ’s hashtag AppleLaunch , not hashtag AppleEvent as hetweeted last springahead of the Let Loose sock . Hashtag BigDifference .
Rather than a weirdly early saltation event , then , the newest member of Apple ’s family will probably be announced via a press spillage and an update to the company ’s website . One of the companionship ’s downhearted - key launches , but still bait almost a week in forward motion . It ’s the same form of canny via media – physical body expectancy , without elevate expectations beyond what can be meet – that we saw last year when Greg Joswiak advised us to‘Mac ’ our calendarsfor a week of event - free proclamation action . Is this a model for how Apple will establish more of its products in the future?Maybe .
In any case , as with the workweek of Mac , the potential absence seizure of a schematic press upshot should not be pick out as an entree of insignificance . We ’re pretty certain , despite the AirTag - resembling nontextual matter , that the fellowship extremity in motion is thelatest iPhone SE(or16eif one rumour prove to be correct ) , and as we ’ve explained on numerous social function , this is an authoritative and valuable add-on to the Cupertino ecosystem — one that will switch the iPhone lineup in major ways . In one gumption it serve to close out a departing era , with the young French telephone ’s USB - C port probable to work out a big headache in the EU and marking the end of the Lightning embrasure in the U.S. And in another , it help to usher in a raw one : Apple Intelligence on a sub-$500 phone would be something of a game - record changer in ram the adoption of an AI weapons platform that ’s playing a heroic game of snap - up and starting to hobble .
We do n’t know how much Apple will ask for the novel SE . But if it ’s anywhere close to the $ 429 previous modeling , we could be look at a actual bargain : a true budget phone we can recommend wholeheartedly . The 4th - gen SE is run to boast a killer set of specs , not because Apple is find generous , but because it require the SE to support Apple Intelligence . So we ’re looking at an A17 Pro chip and 8 GB of RAM , lower limit . On that degree at least it ’s going to be plug the same free weight as an iPhone 15 Pro .
That ’s liken the machine to a telephone that was country of the art as recently as former 2023 . But compare to the 3rd - gen SE , which number out in early 2022 and was underwhelming even then , the SE 4 should be a massive step forward . Its silver screen will grow , lose the obstacle of a Home push , and see an upgrade from LCD ( the last in Apple ’s iPhone batting order ) to OLED . The rear camera will get a mess more powerful ( 48MP is expected ) . The baseline computer memory is likely to jump from an poor 64 GB to 128 G . We even think Apple ’s long - awaited in - house 5 G modem , bring office and stamp battery improvements , will make its debut on this phone , a unanimous six month before it lands on a flagship iPhone in the fall . For those who ’ve been await three years for this update , it should represent an almost resistless buy .
For perceivable reasons , Apple love to talk about its top - end products . They ’re the ones it ’s most majestic of , and the unity most probable to get ahead over Android or Windows waverers . A budget headphone is never depart to get the same red - carpet handling as a flagship . But a substantive upgrade to the SE will bear upon far more mass in far more heavy ways than a redesign to the camera faculty on the iPhone 17 Pro . This is about put forward the service line offer and delivering a high measure of design and processing power to those who ca n’t open to pay silly money for a newfangled smartphone every downslope .
Starting Wednesday , the clunky older iPhones still on the Apple Store will start to be phased out . Apple fans on a budget wo n’t have to settle any longer ; they ’ll be able to afford a phone with a relatively new design , top - snick component part , and access to all the software sport on the way in the next few twelvemonth . This is immense . effect or no case , I ’m really excited .
Unless , you acknowledge , it just turns out to be a new AirTag .
metalworks
receive to our weekly Apple Breakfast chromatography column , which includes all the Apple intelligence you pretermit last week in a handy bite - sized roundup . We call it Apple Breakfast because we call back it goes neat with a Monday daybreak cup of java or tea , but it ’s coolheaded if you want to give it a read during lunch or dinner hour too .
Could it bethat the era ofthe Apple event is over ?
Mahmoud Itani explainshow a individual Apple Watch alertchanged his living .
Apple Intelligence’sbiggest problemisn’t the intelligence operation – it ’s Apple .
Apple’smagic automaton lampiscoming to save us all , reports a upbeat Macalope .
iCloud encoding explain : How secureis your information ?
Any case canprotect your iPad . This oneprotects you when you die .
You canget extra cashfor yourMac swop - inuntil April 2 .
Podcast of the week
Apple ’s smallest products are actually some of the giving in its lineup . The latest Macworld Podcast discuss the state of Apple ’s AirPods lineup , the new Powerbeats Pro 2 , and more .
you’re able to catch every sequence of the Macworld Podcast onSpotify , Soundcloud , thePodcasts app , orour own situation .
Reviews corner
The rumor mill
Apple ’s going to unveil the“newest member of the family”onFebruary 19 ! ( Our money ’s on a new iPhone . )
Talking of unexampled iPhones … Leak ‘ reveals’iPhone 17 Pro ’s bizarreredesigned camera faculty .
2025 iPad Air : Everything you need to know about Apple’snext mid - range pill .
Appleresearch videooffers a glimpse into itstabletop robot tech .
Apple still trail theAR glasses dreaming … butfears another flop .
Software updates, bugs, and problems
U.K. demandsbackdoorto Apple ’s encrypted cloud store , put everyone at risk of exposure .
iOS 18.3.1released to fix‘extremely sophisticated’security flaw .
PSA : Apple ’s recent updatesturn on Apple Intelligenceeven ifyou had swop it off .
U.S. iPhone users canno longer findtheGulf of Mexicoon Apple Maps .
And with that , we ’re done for this week ’s Apple Breakfast . If you ’d like to get regular roundup , sign on up forour newssheet , including our novel electronic mail from The Macalope – an saucy , humorous take on the latest news and hearsay from a half - man , half - mythical Mac brute . you’re able to also follow us onFacebook , Threads , Bluesky , orXfor discussion of breaking Apple news stories . See you next Monday , and stay Appley .
