iPhone 16e: 20 new features you shouldn't miss
The iPhone 16e is here and it's a weird combination of old and new: it has the familiar look and style of an iPhone 14, but the power and Apple Intelligence chops of an iPhone 16.
So what's the iPhone 16e all about really?
Well, here are cool features and facts you shouldn't miss about the new iPhone 16
1. It has an A18 chip like the latest iPhone 16 (and it supports Apple Intelligence)
The A18 chip and the support for Apple Intelligence are the two big selling points for the iPhone 16e. Apple was behind on AI with previous models and it was just disappointing how the iPhone 14 series and the non-Pro iPhone 15 models do NOT support Apple Intelligence. This new iPhone does, despite being priced lower than the iPhone 15.
Apple is clearly not happy to see iPhones without Apple Intelligence, and our bet is that the iPhone 15 will quickly get discontinued this autumn, and we will have the full iPhone lineup support AI as soon as this fall.
2. Higher than expected price at $600
With the outgoing iPhone SE model costing $430, expectations were that Apple will introduce this new iPhone 16e at a higher price. However, Apple managed to keep it all a secret and surprised everyone with a... higher, $600 price for the base model ($700 if you opt for the 256 GB model, or $900 if you go for the 512 GB version).
This marks a shift for the company, as those looking for a truly cheap iPhone no longer have that option.
3. Apple has discontinued the iPhone 14 and iPhone SE
Many expected Apple to keep the iPhone 14 in its lineup, but surprisingly. the new iPhone 16e replaces the iPhone 14 series.
The writing was already on the wall for the iPhone 14: it uses the older Lightning port and because of European regulations, it's been a few months since it was discontinued in Europe.
Unfortunately, that also means you can no longer buy the iPhone 14 Plus, which was the cheapest larger iPhone available. iPhones are getting more and more expensive, it seems.
4. The longest battery life ever on a 6.1-inch iPhone
While the price of the iPhone 16e was not a pleasant surprise, we never expected the iPhone 16e to have the best battery life ever on a 6.1-inch iPhone.
And this is absolutely fantastic news. We imagine many iPhone 12 or iPhone 12 mini owners are due for an upgrade, and those older phones didn't have the best battery life. The 16e is much more future-proof in that regard.
And here are the numbers: the 16e gets 26 hours of offline video playback, a nearly 20% improvement over the iPhone 15, which gets 22 hours. And you also get 90 hours of audio playback on the 16e vs 80 hours on the iPhone 15, which is a 12% improvement.
5. Yes, it really has just one camera on the back
This might sound like the biggest scandal, but if the single main camera on the back of the iPhone 16e is really the same as the one on the iPhone 15/16, aka a very capable 48 MP one, then... most users might actually like this!
The 48 MP camera supports sensor crop for better zoom quality and you can capture 2X zoom portraits. Add to that the fact that iPhones are known for capturing industry-leading video quality, and you have a surprisingly powerful camera, even with just one lens.
6. It has an Action Button, but no Camera Control
This is a small change, but the Action Button is one of the better Apple hardware additions in recent years. I actually prefer having just the Action button, as the other Camera Control button (available on the more expensive 16 models) can often get in the way and I personally end up turning it off.
7. Better deal than the iPhone 15?
Yes! The iPhone 16e in many ways is a better buy than the iPhone 15, despite its lower price. It has three main advantages over the iPhone 15:
- A faster A18 chip with 8 GB RAM
- It supports Apple Intelligence
- Longer battery life
Those are considerable advantages!
8. But No MagSafe! Are you kidding me, Apple?!
Apart from the higher-than-expected price, the second-biggest disappointment with the iPhone 16e is the lack of MagSafe. The magnets are great to quickly attach your iPhone to a stand or a charger in a car, so it's sad the 16e does not support this.
You can use wireless charging (without magnets), but only use a standard Qi wireless charger with slow 7.5W speeds.
9. It doesn’t have the Dynamic Island
Being the weird mixture that it is, the iPhone 16e has a notch rather than the Dynamic Island that we see on iPhone 15 and newer. To me that’s not a huge loss as the Dynamic Island does not really add many new features, but some people may miss this.
10. iPhone 16e screen does not get as bright
One smaller disadvantage of the iPhone 16e is its lower brightness. It can only go to 1200 nits vs 1600 nits on iPhone 15 and 16, so it will be a bit harder to use outdoors.
11. An A18 chip, but with limitations
While both the iPhone 16 and the 16e have the A18 chip, the GPU on the iPhone 16 has a five-core GPU, while the 16e has four GPU cores.
Should you care?
Absolutely not. This is something you may notice if you play games like Resident Evil on your iPhone, but do you really know many people who would play that game on a phone?
12. The first iPhone with an Apple-made modem, Apple C1
You would expect Apple to promote its very first in-house iPhone modem, the Apple C1, but it barely mentioned this during the iPhone 16e unveiling.
Billions of dollars and years of development, and it got a few seconds in the presentation for the 16e!
Well, at least we got to learn that it is the "most power efficient modem ever on an iPhone". That's no small achievement from Apple, but it will be very interesting to see if Apple got this modem right and if there are no issues with signal reception.
13. No 5G mmWave support in the US
An interesting decision, but it seems that that the hype around 5G mmWave has died down and few users care about this technology.
A reminder is due here — mmWave is the super fast type of 5G, which only works in very small areas (very short waves that can get blocked by a tree!), so it’s nice to have it at a packed football stadium, but it makes little difference elsewhere.
14. The iPhone 16e has a bigger battery
As usual, we have no official battery size numbers from Apple, but considering the roughly 3,500 mAh battery size on the iPhone 16 and how the iPhone 16e has longer battery life, it's only logical to assume it has a bigger battery, possibly to the tune of 3,700 mAh to 3,900 mAh (just a guess here).
15. Redesigned inner structure
The inside structure has been tweaked to allow for this bigger battery, but this iPhone should also be easily repairable too.
16. Visual Intelligence?
No Camera Control means no Visual Intelligence, right? Wrong! Apple has thought of an alternative way, you have to use the Action Button.
17. Only two colors: Matte white or matte black
This one we didn't expect! Why only have two colors for the iPhone 16e, Apple?!
Well, we guess it's one little thing to gently push buyers towards the more expensive models, but it just seems a bit strange not having at least a few additional colors on the 16e.
18. A few design quirks
The design of the iPhone 16e is slightly different than other modern iPhones! Look closer and you'd see that the 16e has a fully flat back, just like iPhone 13/14. Newer iPhones like the 15 and 16 series have slightly tapered back with less sharp edges.
19. No Spatial Photos support
Spatial Photos is that 3D photo format that looks really impressive on the Apple Vision Pro mixed reality headset, but while it really can bring memories back to life in a powerful way, very few people actually own the expensive headset. So should anyone really care? This seems like a niche feature at the moment, so we don't really find not having it a dealbreaker at the moment.
20. No Macro photography on the iPhone 16E
Since macro photography on iPhones uses the ultra-wide camera, you don't have it on the iPhone 16e — the phone doesn't have an ultra-wide camera, remember?
What is the one thing you like and one thing you dislike about the iPhone 16e?
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