iPhone 16e Preview: It can do more, but at a higher price and it lacks MagSafe
iPhone 16e Intro
Apple ends the era of the SE and ushers in the era of the "e" series with the new iPhone 16e.
What does the "e" stand for? As typical with Apple, there is no official explanation, leaving us guessing if it's for "economy", "essential" or something else entirely.
One thing is clear, though: the iPhone 16e is a lot better than previous SE models, but with that increased power comes an unexpected bump in price to $600. This might be the cheapest iPhone available now, but it's not a cheap phone.
Well, at least we have now finally moved away from iPhones with buttons, as this new model has Face ID, a much better screen and one other surprising upgrade.
Table of Contents:
iPhone 16e Specs
Let's start with an overview of the iPhone 16e specs:
| iPhone 16E | iPhone 14 | iPhone SE 3 (2022) |
|---|---|---|
| Size and Weight 146.7 x 71.5 x 7.8 mm 167 g | Size 146.7 x 71.5 x 7.8 mm 172 g | Size 138.4 x 67.3 x 7.3 mm 144 g |
| Display 6.1-inch OLED 60 Hz 1170p | Display 6.1-inch OLED 60 Hz 1170p | Display 4.7-inch LCD 60 Hz 750p |
| Processor A18 (3 nm) | Processor A15 (5 nm) | Processor A15 (5 nm) |
| Cameras 48 MP Main camera - Front camera | Cameras 12 MP main 12 MP ultra-wide 12 MP front | Cameras 12 MP main - |
| Battery Size Unknown Likely more than 3,500 mAh | Battery Size 2,018 mAh | Battery Size 3,279 mAh |
| Charging Speeds 20 W wired Qi 7.5W wireless | Charging 20 W wired 15 W MagSafe | Charging 20 W wired 15 W MagSafe |
| Prices 8/128 GB — $600 | Prices 6/128 GB — $600 Discontinued | Prices 4/64 GB Discontinued |
iPhone 16E Design and Display
Welcome to the modern era
The iPhone 16e looks like an iPhone 14, but has the power of an iPhone 16
The new iPhone 16e adopts a modern design and looks a lot like the now discontinued iPhone 14.
It has flat sides and a 6.1-inch screen, and it even has modern inventions like the Action Button (but there is no Camera Control).
Just like you'd expect, it also has a USB-C port, meaning that Apple has now officially moved away from the Lightning port. Good riddance, it's great having the same port on all of your electronics!
The iPhone 16e has the Action Button instead of a mute switch
What else is new?
Well... not much. Up front you have the notch rather than the newer Dynamic Island. We would not cry over this as there is not all that much new functionality that you get with the Dynamic Island.
While the outgoing SE model had a tiny 4.7-inch LCD screen, the iPhone 16e switches to a much more usable 6.1-inch screen size and it has prettier colors thanks to it being an OLED panel.
We really wish Apple had an "iPhone 16e Plus" model, though. Many people prefer having a larger screen and there is just no budget iPhone with a large screen at the moment, especially now that the iPhone 14 Plus is discontinued.
That cannot be a coincidence, of course. An "iPhone 16e Plus" would eat too much of the sales of the premium iPhone models and Apple knows it.
iPhone 16e Camera
Only one main camera, but most people would be fine with that
The single rear camera on the iPhone 16e is the most controversial decision Apple has made
One of the most controversial decisions Apple made with the iPhone 16e is equipping it with just one rear camera.
Many people would be quick to outrage here and we can see why — most phones these days have a secondary, ultra-wide camera, even much cheaper models.
While we don't want to defend Apple's cost cutting strategy, if there was one place to compromise, the ultra-wide camera might actually be the best one, and we'd much rather have, say, a powerful processor rather than a camera we don't use that often.
Of course, some people might miss having it, but we are just not sure if they will be the majority.
iPhone 16e Camera Samples
The big advantage the iPhone 16e has over its rivals is the stellar video quality out of that single rear camera. The 16e can record 4K video and it has a lot more clarity than rivals in this price segment.
iPhone 16e Performance & Benchmarks
Ahoy, Apple Intelligence!
An A18 chip on a $600 iPhone is great to have and there is no doubt that the iPhone 16e will have the best performance of any phone at this price.
But extraordinary time call for extraordinary measures, and Apple is lagging behind on AI and has to catch up, hence the A18 chip and 8 GB of RAM on the 16e.
We will be updating you with benchmark scores very soon, but you can expect this new iPhone to perform just as fast as the $800 iPhone 16.
No surprises when it comes to storage, though. The base $600 iPhone 16e has 128 GB of native storage. At $700 ($100 more than the base model) you get 256 GB of storage and at $900 you have the 512 GB version. No expandable storage here of course.
iPhone 16e Software
The iPhone 16e runs iOS 18, just like all the other iPhones.
But the big story is all about the fancy new Apple Intelligence features.
Let's list the major ones for your convenience:
- AI Notification Summaries
- Writing Tools
- ChatGPT integration in Siri
- Genmoji
- Image Playground
The big-ticket item, an all-new and much smarter Siri, is expectedly coming in a few weeks with iOS 18.5.
The iPhone 16e also supports Visual Intelligence - despite not having a Camera Control button. Apple has found a work-around and you trigger the Visual Intelligence via the Action Button, and using that you can look up what's in front of your camera, Google it, or ask ChatGPT to tell you what you can do with it.
iPhone 16e Battery
Best battery life on a 6.1-inch iPhone
The most surprising ugprade on the iPhone 16e is a bigger battery.
In fact, Apple claims the 16e has the best battery life of any 6.1-inch iPhone, and here are the official numbers:
| iPhone 16e | iPhone 15 | iPhone 16 |
|---|---|---|
| Video Playback: 26 hours | Video Playback: 20 hours | Video Playback: 22 hours |
| Video Streaming: 21 hours | Video Streaming: 16 hours | Video Streaming: 18 hours |
| Audio Playback: 90 hours | Audio Playback: 80 hours | Audio Playback: 80 hours |
As you can see, these are improvements of somewhere between 15% and 20%, so it's safe to assume the iPhone 16e has a battery size of around 3,500 mAh or more. That's just an estimation based on the battery life numbers, though, and we will get the final number from third parties soon.
We were not so happy to hear that the iPhone 16e lacks MagSafe, though.
Traditional wired charging is unchanged at 20 W speeds, but the 16e lacks the magnets for MagSafe and only supports non-magnetic Qi charging at quite slow 7.5 watt speeds.
Should you buy it?
The iPhone 16e has Face ID, ending the era of iPhones with a button
The iPhone 16e kills two models with its arrival, which is unprecedented in Apple history, as far as we remember. After its arrival, both the iPhone SE (2022) and the iPhone 14 series are discontinued.
At $600, the iPhone 16e is indeed a new chapter for Apple. Gone is the SE model with its cheap prices, and instead we have a more powerful but also pricier entry-level iPhone.
On one hand, that's a disappointment for buyers on a budget. This is not a budget phone by any means.
On the other hand, though, the iPhone 16e beats the competition in performance speeds and video quality.
What are your alternatives? The Galaxy S24 FE is Samsung's $600 phone and it has three cameras on board, but a slower chipset.
The base Pixel 9 model is often discounted to $600 and it offers a solid battery life and a powerful dual camera system, so it's also a great option.
So what do you think: is the iPhone 16e a good move for Apple?
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