Release date set for new iPhone as Apple unveils 'totally new' product with 'breakthrough' feature

Apple has announced a surprise new iPhone coming very soon with one feature everyone has been asking for.

There's no doubt buying the brand new iPhone is an expensive purchase, just take the iPhone 16 Pro for example, that starts from $999, with options for extended storage pushing the price up further.

So, that's where the iPhone 16e comes in, a more budget-friendly option for those in the market for a new phone, and the successor to the popular iPhone SE.

Kaiann Drance, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide iPhone Product Marketing, said: "iPhone 16e packs in the features our users love about the iPhone 16 lineup, including breakthrough battery life, fast performance powered by the latest-generation A18 chip, an innovative 2-in-1 camera system, and Apple Intelligence.

iPhone 16e has been announced (Apple)

"We’re so excited for iPhone 16e to complete the lineup as a powerful, more affordable option to bring the iPhone experience to even more people.”

According to Apple, the new iPhone is 'built to last', being resistant to splash, water and dust, while it's also said to be more durable thanks to a 'ceramic shield' front cover.

OLED technology further means the phone has 'edge-to-edge' design, which Apple says makes it 'perfect' to watch HDR clips and play video games.

And as is the case with the majority of Apple products that drop, there is a short cycle between announcement and release date.

Pre-orders for the iPhone 16e begin on Friday, February 21, with an official release coming a week later on February 28.

Priced at $599, it's considerably cheaper than other iPhone 16 models.

While there a ton of new features attached with this latest iPhone, the arguably biggest breakthrough comes with battery life.

iPhone 16e has the best 'ever' battery on any 6.1-inch Apple phone, lasting six hours longer than iPhone 11 and as many as 12 hours longer than all phones belonging to the iPhone SE family tree, according to Apple.

iPhone 16e releases later this month (Apple)

The new phone also has better performance and connectivity thanks to its A18 chip, which is 80 percent faster than that of the iPhone 11 to manage everyday and intense tasks 'with ease.'

Like its predecessor, users can benefit from Face ID to lock or unlock their device and make purchases, Apple is also embracing the future with iPhone 16e with Apple Intelligence helping users to search for 'just about any photo or video' just by describing it.

ChatGPT is also 'seamlessly' integrated, according to Apple.