For years, Apple has approached its affordable iPhones with a predictable formula: take an older flagship design, remove a few premium features, lower the price slightly, and position it as the “entry point” into the ecosystem. Financially, the strategy works. Emotionally, it often does not. That is exactly why the upcoming iPhone 18e represents such a major opportunity for Apple. Instead of treating it as another watered-down flagship, Apple should fully embrace a “Neo” identity, one built around color, personality, experimentation, and smart hardware reuse. Apple has already executed it perfectly with the MacBook Neo. It just needs to follow that template for an affordable iPhone. The keyword here is identity For all of Apple’s obsession with design, the company has become surprisingly conservative with the iPhone lineup. Modern iPhones are beautifully engineered, but they increasingly look and feel interchangeable.…