What To Consider Before Buying The Apple iPhone 16e
The iPhone 16e is the latest and cheapest phone from Apple; Apple’s latest attempt at reaching budget-conscious consumers. Designed to bridge the gap between budget-conscious consumers and the premium iPhone experience, the 16e promises key Apple features at a more accessible price point. But does it deliver? And should you consider this iPhone?
In this article, we’ll be taking a little exploratory trip into the iPhone 16e and things you need to consider if you’re thinking of grabbing one for yourself or a loved one.
Good Cameras
Similar to previous iPhone SE models, the brand new Apple iPhone 16e features a single 48MP wide camera sensor. No dedicated ultra-wide or telephoto lens, which is a bummer, but at this price point, it’s what we’ve come to expect from Apple. Although the iPhone 16e lacks a dedicated telephoto lens, it can still take high-quality, 2x shots thanks to the main 48 MP sensor being able to losslessly perform 2x zoom.
The main camera itself is as you’d expect from Apple. Color, style, processing, and overall quality are all comparable to the more expensive iPhone 16. A key area where the iPhone 16e’s limitations become apparent is in Night mode. The device’s 48MP sensor is a smaller variant than that found in the iPhone 16, resulting in reduced light intake and a noticeable drop in low-light image quality. It’s the same story with videos: similar impressive daytime performance (compared to the iPhone 16), then worse nighttime videography.
So the camera on the iPhone 16e is good for everyday usage, but if you take a lot of ultra-wide, macro, and long-range zoom shots, then you might have to reconsider getting the iPhone 16e.
Impressive Battery Life
One thing that’s impressed and surprised everyone in the iPhone 16e is its excellent battery life. If you’ve used an iPhone SE before, you’d know how unreliable the battery can be; thankfully, that’s far from the case on this iPhone. According to Apple, the iPhone 16e can provide up to 26 hours of video playback. For context, the iPhone SE 2022 had just 15 hours.
In real-world usage, on average, the iPhone 16e lasts just as long as the regular iPhone 16, which has very good battery life.
So if you’re seriously considering getting the iPhone 16e, you can rest assured that battery life won’t be an issue.
Apple Intelligence
Yes, the iPhone 16e fully supports Apple Intelligence and all its features like Audio Mix, revamped Siri, Genmoji, etc.
If Apple Intelligence is a major factor for you, the iPhone 16e checks the box.
Excellent Performance
Performance is another area where the brand-new iPhone 16e excels. The Apple iPhone 16e is fitted with Silicon Valley’s latest and greatest chip, the Apple Bionic A18. So you can expect the iPhone 16e to easily blaze through any task you throw at it, including graphics-intensive gaming and rendering.
Although the iPhone 16e features the Bionic A18 chipset, it’s not the exact same processor we get in the iPhone 16 lineup. It’s a binned-down version that only has 4 GPU cores compared to 5 on the iPhone 16. Honestly, you’re barely going to notice the 1 less core, even if you put both phones side by side.
The Missing Features
The iPhone 16e misses out on a lot of features that Apple users have grown accustomed to over the years. Many of these features were cut for the sake of keeping the iPhone 16e’s price down. Some of the important features missing are:
- MagSafe—You’ll have to use a case to align the magnets.
- Dynamic Island
- Photographic styles
- Camera control button (but it does have the Action button)
- 7.5W wireless charging speed—15W on the iPhone 16
- Cinematic and action shooting mode
- Wi-Fi 6e and Wi-Fi 7 support
- Ultra-Wideband Support for Precision Finding—used for precisely tracking accessories like AirTags, earbuds, etc.
- The iPhone 16e supports 800 nits typical brightness and 1200 peak brightness compared to 1000(typical) and 2000 nits peak brightness on the iPhone 16.
For many people, the lack of these features on the iPhone 16e is a dealbreaker, but for the others that can comfortably use their iPhone without these features, the iPhone 16e is a great device.
Absurd iPhone 16e Price
Perhaps the most important thing to consider is the iPhone 16e’s price.
The iPhone 16e price is kind of a grey area. The iPhone 16e costs $599, which makes it the cheapest iPhone that Apple currently sells, but for that price, calling it the best value-for-money iPhone on the market could be seen as an an overstatement because for that same price, you can get an iPhone 15 Pro, which has all the features of the iPhone 16e and more, including Apple Intelligence.
Ultimately, the iPhone 16e’s pricing feels like a missed opportunity. At $599, it fails to deliver the compelling value that many budget-conscious consumers seek, especially when compared to the slightly older but more feature-rich and similarly priced iPhone 15 Pro.
So, potential buyers of the iPhone 16e will need to carefully weigh the pros and cons before making a purchase decision.
Apple iPhone 16e Specs
| Specs | Apple iPhone 16e |
| Weight | 167 g (5.89 oz) |
| Display | 6.1 inches, 1170 x 2532 pixels, Super Retina XDR OLED, HDR10. |
| Processor | Apple A18 |
| Internal Memory | 128GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 8GB RAM, 512GB 8GB RAM |
| Rear Camera | 48 MP |
| Front Camera | 12 MP |
| iPhone 16e Colors | Black, White |
| iPhone 16e Release Date | February 19th |
Frequently Searched iPhone 16e Specs
Does the iPhone 16e have wireless charging?
Yes, the iPhone 16e supports Qi wireless charging, but at a speed of 7.5W. It does not support MagSafe wireless charging, but you can use a Magsafe case to align the magnets.
How big is the iPhone 16e?
The Apple iPhone 16e is 6.1 inches. The other dimensions are: 146.7 x 71.5 x 7.8 mm (5.78 x 2.81 x 0.31 in).
What does the iPhone 16e stand for?
According to Apple’s marketing vice president Greg Joz, the “e” in iPhone 16e stands for economical.
How much is the Apple 16e?
The iPhone 16e’s US starting price is $599.
Key Take Away
The iPhone 16e offers solid performance, good camera, great build, and battery, but it sacrifices a number of key features, especially for the price. Look into it carefully, then decide if those trade-offs are worth the lower price.
