Video: Five Months With the iPhone 16e

[MacRumors]

It's been several months since Apple released the mid-tier iPhone 16e to replace the iPhone SE, so we thought we'd revisit it for a longer-term review.

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With a starting price of $599, the iPhone 16e isn't a low-cost smartphone, but it is Apple's most affordable iPhone option. The iPhone 16e has some of the same technology that's in Apple's flagship iPhone 16 models, so the price isn't bad for what it offers. You can often find deals that lower the price a little.

It has the same A18 chip that's in the iPhone 16, but with a 4-core GPU instead of a 5-core GPU. It's as blazing fast for day-to-day performance, and the only place you might notice that missing GPU core is playing system intensive games. It has the same amount of RAM and supports Apple Intelligence.

You're limited to a single-lens camera, but it's Apple's 48-megapixel Fusion lens. You don't get ultra wide or 5x telephoto images, but it does support standard 26mm images and also 12-megapixel 2x telephoto images.

At 6.1 inches, the iPhone 16e is the same size as the iPhone 16, but it's a little lighter in weight because of the single-lens camera. It doesn't have 120Hz ProMotion or a Dynamic Island. Those features are nice to have, but not essential. Another feature that you might miss more with the iPhone 16e is MagSafe. It's not clear why Apple didn't include MagSafe, but it's limited to slower Qi-based charging.

The iPhone 16e is the first iPhone to use Apple's 5G C1 modem rather than a Qualcomm modem, and in our testing, it works just as well as Qualcomm hardware. Performance can be even better than Qualcomm in some areas with low connectivity. Battery life is better than the iPhone 16, thanks to efficiencies introduced by the C1 modem.

There are some features you miss out on choosing the iPhone 16e over the iPhone 16, but it's $200 less and has a whole lot to offer.

Article Link: Video: Five Months With the iPhone 16e

 

[Sheepish-Lord]

PWM was too much for me. Only model that sorta works for me this gen is the 16 Plus due to the lowest modulation in the lineup.

 

[Lioness~]

Thinner, but still too big for me.
Waiting for a smaller to let go of my 13 mini, which are still great btw.
Apple Flip, where are you, I want to know who you are.

 

[Robert.Walter]

Had mine since beginning of year and am satisfied. Moved up from last model of SE.

 

[thefredelement]

I have a 16 Pro personal phone and a 16e work phone, the 16e has much choppier UI animations but in the end does the same stuff, you probably don't notice it unless you have them side by side.

 

[masterofthedarkarts]

Love mine. Hated moving on from the 12 mini, but those will drop off the trade in value list to 0$ when the iPhone 17 series arrive. The battery life is very good.

 

[AllergyDoc]

My wife and I both have one. They seem remarkably fast with a battery charge that easily lasts me 2 days. But, we had the XRs before this phone, so…

 

[ignatius345]

The one omission I'm baffled by is leaving out the magnets for MagSafe/Qi charging alignment. Seems less like a premium feature than just a baseline way to charge the phone. It also makes it impossible to use a lot of accessories without, I guess, some kind of special case.

 

[peccles]

The $599 price with no UWB chip for better AirTag tracking was a deal breaker for me. Decided to get an Apple iPhone 14 refurb for $467. Maybe the 17e will correct that oversight.

 

[Plutonius]

Looks almost like an advertisement for the 16e.

 

[sonicrobby]

If that back camera were flush and it had MagSafe, I’d be all over it!

 

[ifxf]

The $599 price with no UWB chip for better AirTag tracking was a deal breaker for me. Decided to get an Apple iPhone 14 refurb for $467. Maybe the 17e will correct that oversight.

Don’t miss the UWB. The one time I actually need to find the airtag, the beep was sufficient. Most of the time knowing it is in the general city is fine.

 

[Robert.Walter]

The $599 price with no UWB chip for better AirTag tracking was a deal breaker for me. Decided to get an Apple iPhone 14 refurb for $467. Maybe the 17e will correct that oversight.

Do have to say I was surprised to learn UWB didn’t make the cut. That said it is quite effective, even w/o UWB, at finding a misplaced AirPod (even when it is being sat upon).

 

[jntdroid]

I have a 16 Pro personal phone and a 16e work phone, the 16e has much choppier UI animations but in the end does the same stuff, you probably don't notice it unless you have them side by side.

This is very true. If you go a few days (maybe a little longer, took me almost a week) without having 120hz, your eyes get used to the lack of high refresh and it's no big deal at all. But yeah, side by side every day, 60hz would look/feel pretty bad.

 

[harriska2]

No magsafe no sale. I have very expensive magsafe charger and wallet attachment.

 

[IPheela]

No magsafe no sale. I have very expensive magsafe charger and wallet attachment.

An $8 case adds magsafe

 

[masterofthedarkarts]

The one omission I'm baffled by is leaving out the magnets for MagSafe/Qi charging alignment. Seems less like a premium feature than just a baseline way to charge the phone. It also makes it impossible to use a lot of accessories without, I guess, some kind of special case.

I bought a 20$ ESR case that has the magnets in them, works fine with my Apple MagSafe Chargers, my MagSafe Wallet, and even does that cool alarm clock mode thing when sideways on my Anker MagSafe charger on my nightstand. And it's a really nice case. 🤷‍♂️

 

[dominiongamma]

An $8 case adds magsafe

So does adding it in the phone but Apple was being cheap

 

[letsGoOn2]

IMO this is the best looking iPhone from a physical standpoint. Yes it has a single lens that stands proud from the rear surface, but to me that looks way better than the larger bumps on the standard and pro models.

 

[WarmWinterHat]

No magsafe no sale. I have very expensive magsafe charger and wallet attachment.

A case with magsafe magnets makes it feel identical.

 

[JamesMay82]

I’m currently going through a frugal phase so wish I had bought this over the 16 pro. I do t really take any serious photos with my phone or play games so I’d prob be fine with it.

 

[WarmWinterHat]

I’m currently going through a frugal phase so wish I had bought this over the 16 pro. I do t really take any serious photos with my phone or play games so I’d prob be fine with it.

I've used them a few times here at work, as our company-issued phones are the SE 2022 (which I have) and the 16e. I would have been fine with buying the 16e over my 16 pro; it sure feels a lot better in the hand and pocket.

..but I'm not buying any new tech for the next few years (4ish), so unless mine breaks, I'm sticking with it.

 

[Mikeske]

My wife went for the 16E. She had been using a 13 Mini for the past 3 and half or so years and the battery was down to 79% and the day I was going to take the mini in to the Apple Store for a battery replacement she dropped her phone by accident and the even with the screen protector it cracked the screen after pricing the the battery replacement and screen replacement she went and said that it still be a almost 4 year old phone. So we went to the Apple Store and discussed either replacement or new phone. She choose to go new and she is cheap so she decided on the 16E.

Since it is a larger phone she mentioned that with the larger screen it is easier to read what is on the screen. My wife's impression is that it a nice upgrade and she is happy with it. I did notice she does not take that many pictures so no real difference for her losing a camera and it is mainly used for phone calls and video chats with the kids.

 

[svish]

Good video. It is a very good iPhone. However I would have liked to have MagSafe and more color options.

 

[SebCohen]

Dynamic Island is pretty much useless and just slightly annoying.

ProMotion and its equivalents (100hz and above) are pretty much minimum requirement in 2025.

How did those two together become "nice to have, but not essential"?

Ps: They should have called it something else. Now it just seems like a cheapo 16. They should have kept the SE moniker which is well known and makes it seem better in a way.