It has been around a month since Apple launched its newest iPhone, the iPhone 16e. My thoughts on it were not positive from the get-go, but I didn’t want to compile them into an article straight away. I wanted to wait a bit and let things settle first. We’re at that point now, and I can’t escape the thought that the iPhone 16e is the iPhone nobody asked for. This device is so… odd, in so many ways. It makes me ask the question… why? Why does it even exists. Now, it’s not exactly a simple answer, so I’ll try to group my thoughts below, and explain why I believe this phone should not exist… well, at least in its current form.
Apple was due to offer a successor to the iPhone SE 3, that’s true. That phone arrived in March 2022, so three years has passed between the iPhone SE 3’s launch and the iPhone 16e’s arrival. Apple couldn’t possibly use the same design again, as the iPhone 8’s design was extremely stale back in 2022, let alone 2025. It not only has a tiny battery, extremely thin bezels, and a home key, but it also doesn’t offer the necessary battery capacity. A design upgrade was necessary and expected. So, let’s start with that.
The resurrection of a display notch
The design is the detail that bothers me the least, basically. It makes sense. It’s the size of the iPhone 16, approximately, and the phone has a 6.1-inch display. Many people would say that the size is a sweet spot for many people, which I tend to agree with. The sides are flat, both the frame and front and back sides. There’s really not much to complain here, that’s the design philosophy that Apple is using on its current-gen devices, and that’s perfectly fine.
The one detail that could have been changed is on the front. The iPhone 16e has a display notch, instead of Dynamic Island. The notch should have stayed in the past, but Apple decided to bring it back to life. The front side of this phone’s design is based on the iPhone 14, which is why this happened. The iPhone 16e simply looks like it’s stuck in the past next to more modern iPhones, and that’s not a good look. Then again, it’s possible Apple did this on purpose, so that’s immensely easy to differentiate this phone from the rest.
There is also only one camera on the back, which is another differentiating factor, as the current-gen iPhone models all have two or three cameras. We’ll talk about the camera itself in a separate section. The next one.
Seemingly the same camera as on the iPhone 16, but not even close
There is a single camera included on the back of the phone. That, on its own, makes sense. This is a more affordable phone, so cutting it from two rear cameras two a single one makes sense, right? Especially when the second camera on the iPhone 16 is an ultrawide snapper. The iPhone 16e is supposed to be a phone for regular users after all, and they rarely change cameras for different scenarios.
So, what’s the problem? Well, the camera itself, and its features… or should I say lack thereof. Even though Apple used a 48-megapixel main camera here, no, it’s not the same camera as in the iPhone 16. The iPhone 16 has a 1/1.56-inch camera sensor, while the iPhone 16e flaunts a 1/2.55-inch camera sensor. Needless to say, this is quite a difference, and the iPhone 16e does suffer in the camera department because of it, especially in low light. We were expecting to see the same camera sensor as on the iPhone 16, that’s the least Apple could have done.
That’s not all, though. The iPhone 16e also lacks some camera features from the iPhone 16. You are getting True Tone flash here, and the same goes for Photonic Engine, Deep Fusion, and Smart HDR5 options here. However, some things are missing. Next-gen portraits with Focus Control are not here, nor is the support for the latest Photographic Styles from the iPhone 16 series.
The Apple A18, but not quite
At first glance, it seems like the iPhone 16e has the same processor as the iPhone 16, the Apple A18. That chip is, after all, listed under the iPhone 16e name. It’s not the same chip, though. It comes with one less GPU core compared to the full-fledged iPhone 16. This chip has 4 cores, while the full-fledged version comes with 5 cores. Many would say that’s not a big deal, and it likely isn’t, but still… did Apple really have to cut corners here as well? It’s as if the company purposely tried to remove features whenever it could.
This should not affect the day-to-day performance of the device, but you may see differences in high-end games. Some truly powerful titles are at your disposal via the App Store these days, so… you may see a difference. If you’re not playing truly demanding games, the lack of one more GPU core really won’t present much of a problem for you.
Display brightness decrease
Even in the display category, you’ll see a difference between the two phones. The iPhone 16e comes with a display that is nearly as sharp, and it’s also a Super Retina XDR OLED panel. It supports HDR10 too, and it has a similar bezel thickness. So, what’s the problem then? Where’s the difference?
The iPhone 16e’s display is not as bright as the iPhone 16’s. It’s not dim, but you’ll easily notice a difference in bright situations compared to the iPhone 16. In fact, even truly budget Android smartphones offer brighter displays these days, so we do see this is a semi-problem, it all depends if you spend a lot of time outdoors. On top of that, the iPhone 16 has better protection, but that’s not such a notable problem. Older Ceramic Shield glass should do the trick.
No MagSafe, slow wireless charging
This is another major misstep by Apple, I’d say, the exclusion of MagSafe. This one stands right beside the nerfed camera. As I mentioned earlier, Apple does see this phone as a phone for many regular people. Users that are not as demanding, and which probably don’t use MagSafe. The thing is, MagSafe has become some prominent, especially in the US, that many non-tech-savvy people are used to it.
There are tons of MagSafe accessories these days, both from Apple and a ton of other companies. Including cases, chargers, stands, pop sockets, camera attachments, and so on. Every single iPhone since (and including) iPhone 13 supported MagSafe. So, not including it in this device makes no sense whatsoever.
This does concern charging as well. The iPhone 16e does not support MagSafe, thus it does not support the 25W wireless charging that is on offer on other iPhone 16 phones. The maximum wireless charging that you can get is 7.5W thanks to regular Qi charging. Not even 15W Qi2 charging is supported.
Puzzling price point
All of what was mentioned before would be easier to forgive, or at least understand, if the price for the phone was right. It’s not, though, at least not in my opinion. Even a $499 price tag could be hard to swallow with some of the omissions here, but Apple really went off the rails by slapping a $599 price tag on this phone. There are, arguably, a lot better options at that price tag.
Sure, it is $200 more affordable than the next current-gen iPhone, as the iPhone 16 is priced at $799. But still, it’s a better choice to look for an older-gen iPhone and get that one instead. There are also a ton of Android options that cost less, and offer more in terms of features. This price tag is quite odd. As a reminder, the iPhone SE 3 was priced at $429.
A testbed for Apple’s first in-house 5G modem
I tried to focus on the main cutbacks that Apple made, the ones that irked me the most. So, why did Apple opt to launch this? Why did it not aim for fewer cutbacks, or perhaps a more affordable price tag? Well, we’ll never know for sure, but many people see the iPhone 16e as a testing ground for Apple’s in-house 5G modem. The company’s first in-house 5G modem, to be exact. The iPhone 16e comes with the Apple C1, which is the modem in question.
While I do believe that is true, I did expect more from Apple. For the price that the company is charging here, the iPhone 16e should have, at the very least, the same camera as the iPhone 16 with the same features. On top of that, MagSafe should have been included in the package, and along with it faster wireless charging. That is the bare minimum, the way I see it. This way you’re getting a notably inferior smartphone. This is Apple, though, and the iPhone 16e may find its needed user base over time. Initial reactions were not all that positive, though.
