Apple’s new iPhone 16e, which was introduced on Thursday morning and which prices US$599 for the bottom mannequin with 128GB of storage, will likely be priced from R15 999 in South Africa.
That’s roughly in step with the pricing for different iPhone fashions in South Africa, in keeping with a TechCentral evaluation of present iPhone pricing by way of iStore, the know-how retailer owned by South African Apple distributor Core Group.
The bottom iPhone Professional 16 prices R25 999 in South Africa, or 26x the greenback value on the Apple US web site. The bottom iPhone 16, in the meantime, retails for R19 999 by way of iStore and $799 within the US, translating right into a 25x a number of from greenback to rand. For the base-model iPhone 16e, the ratio is barely greater, at 26.6x. The rand was buying and selling on Thursday afternoon at R18.50/$.
It needs to be famous, nevertheless, that the US pricing excludes normal gross sales tax, which is levied at totally different charges relying on the state. In South Africa, the value contains import duties and advert valorem (luxurious) taxes in addition to VAT, which is levied at 15%.
The 256GB mannequin of iPhone 16e line-up will value R19 499 (27.9x the US pricing), whereas the top-end 256GB mannequin will value R24 999 (27.8x).
The iPhone 16e will likely be out there for pre-order this Friday, 21 February, and can go on sale in shops on Friday, 28 February. This implies South African shoppers can get their palms on the brand new mannequin similtaneously main markets just like the US.
The brand new Apple smartphone replaces the iPhone SE, which had value $429, which at present prices R11 999 by way of iStore, or 28x the greenback value.
iPhone 16e specs
Apple modernised the iPhone 16e by eradicating the now-antiquated residence button discovered on the SE and including a bigger display screen with Face ID. The mannequin has a 48-megapixel rear digital camera, the identical A18 chip because the iPhone 16 and a USB-C charging port. It additionally runs the corporate’s synthetic intelligence software program, referred to as Apple Intelligence.
The debut is the primary of a number of iPhone design modifications slated for this yr, with Apple additionally planning a brand new, skinnier model. The corporate’s smartphone enterprise may use a lift. Gross sales fell about 1% within the vacation quarter, when the iPhone 16 didn’t entice consumers.
Learn: iPhone misplaced floor to Android in 2024
China has been a selected weak spot. Apple’s general gross sales fell 11% within the nation final quarter, the place it’s dropping floor to native gamers like Huawei Applied sciences and Xiaomi.
The system is available in choices with 128GB, 256GB and 512GB of storage, in addition to white and black colors. – © 2025 NewsCentral Media, with extra reporting by Mark Gurman, © 2025 Bloomberg LP
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