iPhone 16e Reviews: Is It Worth $599?

[stiligFox]

I would have gotten this as an upgrade to my 12 mini that’s sorely aged but the lack of MagSafe breaks it for me, I use MagSafe accessories all the time

 

[iGüey]

This may just be a conspiracy thought, but I was wondering why Apple didn’t use the latest Qualcomm X75 (or X80) modem in the iPhone 16 series last year, something that is usually updated every year. Now it makes sense – when doing benchmark tests against the C1 modem, the speeds don’t show as much of a difference as they would have with the newer Qualcomm modem.

Conspiracy? Really??

 

[aeshaettr_]

People seem to confuse the MagSafe standard with wireless charging. 16e HAS wireless charging just not the magnets for alignment. You can still charge it with any QI wireless charger as per apple product specks

Qi wireless charging up to 7.5W

 

[ghanwani]

MKBHD nailed it. He's the man! He correctly calls out Apple every time they do weird stuff, instead of just playing a yes man.

Apple needs to bring back the old SE and bring back Jony Ive.

 

[JoeDownUnder]

It’s a shame that Apple seems to have given up on, or lost the ability to be creative with lower tiered products. This parts-bin era gives the feeling of something fundamental being in a rut over there.

The old four quadrant product matrix had something unique in every quadrant. There were things about the ‘consumer’ models that even ‘pros’ might be envious of, like the kind-of-terrible but also hugely fun OG iBook for example.

Even the iPhone 5c had something quite uniquely likeable about it even though it wasn’t for me. And in the parts bin, the OG SE still had something to be envied - it was very different from the iPhone 6s and that was a good thing. Lower end products should have their own charm rather than being obviously degenerate versions of higher end products. I’d wager that absolutely no one will ever say ‘I wish my iPhone 16 was a bit more like a 16e…’. A 16e is just a bad 16 and buyers get to console themselves by looking at their wallets, rather than at the actual devices they purchased.

Maybe they’re too big and valuable for their own good. It’s hard when you’re that big and can’t really manoeuvre in any direction without threatening revenue continuity and supposed perpetual growth. Apple has to outsell itself every quarter, and I’m not sure that’s compatible with doing their very best, or at least most creative work.

Yeah, unfortunately, this happens all the time. The startup mentality thrives on exploration and pushing boundaries, but as a company grows, shareholder pressure takes over. The once-innovative culture gets replaced by layers of management, and the very people who made the company successful start losing motivation. I can’t imagine Apple’s engineers are thrilled about rolling out minor updates year after year—it must be demoralizing. Seeing Apple resort to misleading marketing with “Apple Intelligence” feels like a real turning point for me.

 

[Cameront9]

As someone that really wants to upgrade from an 11 Pro Max, even to a less-featured phone, lack of Magsafe is a complete dealbreaker. It's one of the features I really wanted.

it hit me reading about the C1 Modem chip....I wonder if they had issues with MagSafe causing interference with the modem? I don't think MagSafe cuts that much costs, but maybe I'm wrong. Maybe it's a supplier issue.

Anyway, this phone will be great for those that want a basic phone. As it is now though, you can get older iPhones from carriers for better prices than the 16e. I would imagine this will be the "go to" cheap phone in the fall/winter when the iPhone 17's are out.

 

[svish]

It is no doubt a good phone. But would have liked for it to have MagSafe and a slightly lower price.

 

[Viridian5]

I think people are missing how a budget-conscious shopper tends to think about a big purchase. With an essential like a phone it’s cost divided by years of use. This phone is future-proof for at least 7 years and includes some brand new features, all that together makes the price reasonable

 

[Wowereit]

Casey Liss speculated the target audience might be corporations who offer phones to their employees.

That has been one of the biggest markets for the SE as well.

A cheaper, good enough iPhone to mass deploy to employees. I've seen this a lot.

 

[TechWhisperer]

Let me guess… every YouTube shill is raving about how it’s the best iPhone ever made, again. Same script, different year. Lol.

 

[Mitochris]

It’s a shame that Apple seems to have given up on, or lost the ability to be creative with lower tiered products. This parts-bin era gives the feeling of something fundamental being in a rut over there.

The old four quadrant product matrix had something unique in every quadrant. There were things about the ‘consumer’ models that even ‘pros’ might be envious of, like the kind-of-terrible but also hugely fun OG iBook for example.

Even the iPhone 5c had something quite uniquely likeable about it even though it wasn’t for me. And in the parts bin, the OG SE still had something to be envied - it was very different from the iPhone 6s and that was a good thing. Lower end products should have their own charm rather than being obviously degenerate versions of higher end products. I’d wager that absolutely no one will ever say ‘I wish my iPhone 16 was a bit more like a 16e…’. A 16e is just a bad 16 and buyers get to console themselves by looking at their wallets, rather than at the actual devices they purchased.

Maybe they’re too big and valuable for their own good. It’s hard when you’re that big and can’t really manoeuvre in any direction without threatening revenue continuity and supposed perpetual growth. Apple has to outsell itself every quarter, and I’m not sure that’s compatible with doing their very best, or at least most creative work.

But it has a unique feature. It falls off if you try to stick it to a MagSafe mount. No other phone in their lineup can do that.

 

[titanium69]

No one buys apple stuff because it`s 'worth it'

 

[whateverest]

Waiting for in-depth C1 modem reviews and data transfer rate comparisons

 

[bluecoast]

I think the reviews to pay interest to, are the non tech enthusiast reviews.

Those reviewers will have more of a grasp as to what their audience of ‘regular’ people are looking for in an iPhone.

The review in the UK’s Sun is a good example of this.

Newsflash : most regular people have never heard of MagSafe and charge their phones using a cable.

Nor do they care much about things Dynamic Island

Nor do they play around with camera settings - they just point and shoot.

In that respect - if you can get a great carrier bundle deal for the 16e and/or a good exchange rate on your old iPhone, the 16e looks great.

 

[bluecoast]

Get a refurbished iPhone 15 Pro for around the same price

Yeah maybe. But I’ve personally had bad experiences with refurbs and I bet others have too.

You get scratches that seem a little bit too much for the grade you bought.

Batteries at 90% capacity. No AppleCare.

Looks like you’ll need to replace that battery soon & wow that’s expensive.

Then you find yourself thinking:

Maybe I should’ve not have got a refurb & that great deal wasn’t as good a deal as it seemed to be.

 

[SebCohen]

Just buy a refurbished/certified used or used iPhone of any denomination between 12 and 15 and you’ll be fine as can be. Because, currently, nobody really cares about Apple Intelligence and the people who would buy this phone won’t notice the actual difference between this and an iPhone 12. Not really.

 

[bluecoast]

I think people are missing how a budget-conscious shopper tends to think about a big purchase. With an essential like a phone it’s cost divided by years of use. This phone is future-proof for at least 7 years and includes some brand new features, all that together makes the price reasonable

Great point. Let’s say you keep this phone for 4 years or so as I suspect the average buyer of this phone will. That’s about $12 pcm it is costing you if you bought it outright. Sounds good to me.

But apple in their intro video specifically said that there will be some great carrier deals.

And that’s how they’re expecting most people to get this iPhone, I’d say - with some pretty reasonably monthly payments for two years, then you own it outright.

 

[maszaikasza]

AT&T is offering this phone for $5.99 a month for 36 months without a trade in, which appears to be a good deal

But it is also offering $1,000 for my iPhone 14 Pro Max in any condition (my phone currently has a broken glass back) in a trade in for the iPhone 16 Pro, which would get me to a similar per month price.

Unfortunately, deals on other phones are just too good to really consider the 16e right now. It should really be free (or something like $200 split over 36 months) with a new contract. I imagine this phone will get to this price eventually.

I'm not from U.S. and I don't know much about its cellular providers but $5.99 for 36 months is $216 which seems suspiciously cheap. Where is there rest of the cost hidden? What's the total cost for 1 line + phone? Getting only a mobile plan without a phone is significantly cheaper?

 

[Wowereit]

Waiting for in-depth C1 modem reviews and data transfer rate comparisons

The data rates are quite literally the least important part.

Energy efficiency, reception, time to reconnect, handover between cells, handover between cellular and WiFi are all much more important for the general user experience.

99% of customers don't need the throughput of modern wireless standards at all. What do people realistically do on their phone, that's network intensive? Updates? Typically done in the background while charging. Streaming? "4k" Netflix is like 6-8 Mbit/s...

 

[synonys]

Waiting for in-depth C1 modem reviews and data transfer rate comparisons

credit: Dave2D

He reports the C1 performance is similar to Qualcomm but the battery life is significantly better.

 

[Col795]

In my opinion, the $399 price point is the sweet spot. At this price, this phone would be considered the best budget phone the world has ever seen. Unfortunately, Apple missed a huge opportunity. With many teens working part-time jobs to save up for an iPhone, and some people even sacrificing meals to afford one, a $399 iPhone would have been a game-changer. Apple could have made a significant impact with a more affordable option.

 

[Kiwamu]

In my opinion, the $399 price point is the sweet spot. At this price, this phone would be considered the best budget phone the world has ever seen. Unfortunately, Apple missed a huge opportunity. With many teens working part-time jobs to save up for an iPhone, and some people even sacrificing meals to afford one, a $399 iPhone would have been a game-changer. Apple could have made a significant impact with a more affordable option.

I would have even accepted $499 with the additional storage improvements over 64GB, but alas Apple Math for storage and Ram upgrade probably was applied there...

 

[klasma]

I stated here on MacRumors last week that the lack of MagSafe is off brand. Apple did a good job of making it seem like a core feature. But I suspect the cost is more than a "few cents" that I've seen thrown around. I'm not aware of any Android phone with magnets, including the new Samsung S25 flagship phones. This is what leads me to believe that adding MagSafe would have cut too far into Apple's target gross margin for the iPhone 16e.

The production cost of MagSafe is negligible I'm pretty sure, and the real reason is product segmentation, so that people who care about MagSafe are upsold to a higher-spec model. From Apple's perspective, people need to be at least as unhappy about the lack of some features in the 16e as they would be about the price of the regular iPhone.

 

[klasma]

People seem to confuse the MagSafe standard with wireless charging. 16e HAS wireless charging just not the magnets for alignment. You can still charge it with any QI wireless charger as per apple product specks

People understand that, they actually do care about the magnets.

 

[macfacts]

Ben Bajarin thinks Apple is targeting China. It’s early morning there right now.

But still no apple AI in China.