Apple (AAPL.US) introduces the new iPhone 16e, with a starting price of RMB4,499 for the Chinese market.

Apple (AAPL.US) officially launched a new iPhone model, the iPhone 16e, on Wednesday, which is priced lower than Apple's traditional flagship iPhone series. The iPhone 16e 128GB starts at RMB4,499 and will be available for pre-order at 9:00 pm Beijing time on February 21 and will be released on February 28. It comes in classic white and black colors, and users can choose one. The new device has eliminated the Home button and fingerprint recognition function and replaced it with Apple's Face ID facial recognition technology. It also features a modernized notch screen design, which is consistent with the appearance style of Apple's mobile phones in recent years. The iPhone 16e is equipped with the same A18 chip as the mainstream iPhone 16 series, which means that the device can run all the latest applications and games and has the same performance as the more expensive iPhone. It is worth noting that the iPhone 16e is the first Apple phone to be equipped with its own cellular modem (C1). Previously, Apple's iPhone devices relied on modems provided by Qualcomm. In addition, the iPhone 16e is equipped with only one camera, while Apple's most advanced iPhone models can be equipped with up to three cameras. In recent years, Apple's iPhone sales have been uneven, so the company hopes to promote the growth of its most important product category through this more affordable device. In the quarter ended last December, Apple's iPhone sales fell 1% year-on-year to US$69 billion. The low-priced iPhone is crucial for Apple, as they can attract new users into the Apple ecosystem. It is worth noting that the iPhone 16e supports "Apple Intelligence", becoming the cheapest device to support this feature. "Apple Intelligence" includes image generation, notification summaries and other artificial intelligence functions. Previously, only iPhone 16 and iPhone 15 Pro series models supported this feature. Apple's stock price reacted little to the news, closing up 0.16% to US$244.87 on Wednesday.