The Morning After: Our verdict on the iPhone 16e

First up, an apology. In Tuesday’s newsletter, I laid out how to watch (and what to expect from) Amazon’s Alexa press event. But aside from unveiling what Alexa+ will be capable of, there was no silly hardware and no upgraded Echos, but lots of demos . We learned Alexa+ will be included with an Amazon Prime subscription, and the company will also offer the enhanced digital assistant separately, for $20 per month. At the moment, Prime costs $15 per month in the US. So that's weird. Meanwhile, Apple’s new entry-level iPhone, the 16e, launches online and in stores today. The $599 phone is arguably $100 too expensive, but it packs a processor that can deliver Apple Intelligence to the masses. It has a gorgeous screen, with a notch — if not a Dynamic Island — and a long battery life. Thanks to that A18 chip, it is as powerful as iPhones, which cost several hundred dollars more. This is a phone for people who don’t upgrade every year (or two). If you’re coming from an older iPhone, say an ... Read full article.