Apple gravitated from offering its loyal customer base a low-cost model to the mid-tier iPhone 16e in early 2025 that ships with a truckload of upgrades, but also makes compromises in other areas that would discourage interested buyers from entertaining a purchase. Regardless of its shortcomings, in its full month since inception, the iPhone 16e managed to secure a place in Europe’s top 10 best-selling smartphones list, coming in at number 9 and accounting for 2 percent of total device sales for March 2025. However, the initial sales were lower than those of the 2022 iPhone SE and 2020 iPhone SE due to several challenges, including the high starting price.
The iPhone 16e’s success is being hampered by Apple’s other models, coupled with two of Samsung’s flagship offerings
It is no surprise that the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max took first and second place for Europe’s best-selling smartphones in March 2025, at least according to Counterpoint Research. Both handsets had a 6 percent and a 5 percent market share, with the base iPhone 16 coming in at number three by accounting for 5 percent of total sales in the month. Keep in mind that just recently, we reported that the same base model was crowned the best-selling global smartphone for Q1 2025.
Samsung is presenting some heated competition for Apple, with its Galaxy S25 Ultra and Galaxy S25 both attaining a 3 percent share for March 2025, with even last year’s Galaxy S24 maintaining considerable momentum in the region. The Korean giant’s mid-tier and entry-level Galaxy A55 and Galaxy A16 5G also found a place in this list, hinting that Europe is a market that embraces both premium and affordable smartphones, as long as they are appropriately priced.
Unfortunately, several critics have bashed the iPhone 16e’s starting price, with even Counterpoint Research’s Associate Director Jan Stryjak mentioning below that the 2022 iPhone SE and the 2020 iPhone SE achieved a higher success in Europe for this very reason.
“The relatively high price of the iPhone 16e compared to previous iPhone SE devices has limited sales in Europe. At €699 ($599), the 16e is a significant jump from the €519 ($429) launch price of the iPhone SE 2022 and €479 ($399) for the iPhone SE 2020, which has reduced its appeal in this challenging economic climate. Also, some places are offering the iPhone 15 for the same price as the iPhone 16e, so many consumers are opting for arguably the better-specced, albeit nearly two-year-old, device. As such, the iPhone 15 also featured in Europe’s top-10 list for April.”
The launch of the iPhone 16e with Apple’s in-house C1 5G modem sent signals that the technology giant is ready to reduce its dependency on Qualcomm, one release at a time. According to a previous Bill of Materials estimate from Counterpoint Research, the iPhone 16e features 40 percent parts belonging to Apple, with the C1 baseband chip helping the company save $10 per unit.
While the latter might not appear much, based on TF International Securities’ analyst Ming-Chi Kuo’s prediction, the iPhone 16e is expected to record 22 million shipments in 2025, resulting in Apple pocketing a whopping $220 million in bill reductions. Despite these savings, the mid-tier model still ships with a relatively higher price, and that could prove to be a barrier amongst European consumers.
About the author: Omar Sohail is a reporter and analyst for Wccftech's mobile section, specializing in the technology and business of the mobile industry. His expertise lies in the intricate hardware supply chain, covering developments in semiconductor manufacturing, chip lithography, and camera sensor technology.
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