Apple’s iPhone 16E, the replacement for the 2020 iPhone SE, has seen the company finally kill off multiple things in one go. From the home button to the Lightning port, Apple’s new cheapest phone comes with big changes, but it also signals the death of small phones in the tech giant’s lineup. And I think that’s a shame.
At 4.7 inches, the 2020 iPhone SE was the only truly small phone worth buying. For years I’ve maintained a roundup of the best small phones to buy and it’s increasingly hard to find phones that qualify. While Google’s 5.8-inch Pixel 4A used to be on the list, subsequent Pixel phones have all gone beyond 6-inches in size while none of Samsung’s recent Galaxy S-series launches could be considered small.
The iPhone SE was the last option for those of us wanting a solid-performing phone that could easily slip into skinny jeans without creating an embarrassing bulge. With a 6.1-inch display, the new iPhone 16E is almost exactly the same size as the current base iPhone 16. But don’t be too dismayed, small phone lovers, as that’s not really the whole story.
While the display itself may be much bigger in the new model, the physical dimensions of the phone are not that much bigger than the old iPhone SE. The reason is that the screen has been able to stretch right the way to the edges of the phone, eliminating the big expanses of wasted area seen above and below the display of the iPhone SE. So you get a much bigger screen, without a much bigger handset overall. But that space saving has also meant the final death of something else:
The home button.
The home button appeared on the iPhone from its launch in 2007 until it was removed from major iPhone variants on the iPhone X in 2017. Subsequent iPhones instead relied on gestures for navigation, requiring you to swipe in from below or above to perform actions. Nearly all Android manufacturers followed this design and home buttons are nowhere to be seen on pretty much any phone launched since the beginning of 2018.
But the 2020 iPhone SE kept its home button, despite the vast amount of space it took up on the front of the phone. For some, it was a useless addition, while for others it offered a familiar operation more akin to iPhones of old. Relying on buttons rather than gestures can also be much easier for people with impaired motor function to use their phone, although Apple does offer software-based assistive solutions here.
With its full screen display, the new iPhone 16E signals the final death of the physical home button. But it also marks the death of one more thing:
The Lightning port.
Apple’s proprietary charging port came into life on the iPhone 5 in 2012, replacing the massive 32-pin charging connector seen on previous iPhones and iPods. Lightning was smaller, reversible and offered faster data transfer and it quickly became the default charging medium for Apple’s iPhones, AirPods and most iPads.
Apple actually replaced Lightning with USB-C first on the 2018 iPad Pro, but it wasn’t until the iPhone 15 in 2023 that Apple got rid of Lightning from its iPhones, following pressure from the EU. The 2020 iPhone SE was one of the last models you could still buy new from the company that still used the old Lightning charging standard, but that too has gone the way of the dinosaur and the new iPhone 16E, like the others in the iPhone 16 range, uses USB-C.
Watch this: iPhone SE 4 vs. iPhone 17 Air Rumors: Does Size Matter Over Cost?
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