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The new mid-range iPhone 16e is good, but not that good. It’s cheap, but not that cheap. With room to beat it on both price and features, could it inspire a new wave of great mid-range Android phones?
The Android Mid-Range Is a Mixed Bag
A few years ago, some of the best Android phones were mid-range devices. Samsung’s Galaxy A51 was reported to have sold over 23 million units in 2020, making it the second-best-selling smartphone worldwide. The Pixel A-series was a massive success, with Google saying the 6a had become its fastest-selling phone ever—even the flagship Pixels launched at $200 cheaper than they do today.
These devices delivered premium features at reasonable prices, making the mid-range Android market highly competitive.
Since then, it has become less exciting, as prices have risen and features have either stagnated or been cut. Samsung didn’t even launch the A55 in the US, figuring it could push buyers towards more expensive models like the Galaxy S24 FE instead.
There has been a bit of a resurgence this year with the OnePlus 13R, which launched at the same price as the iPhone 16e in America (but is more expensive globally). Motorola still makes some good, affordable phones, and the Pixel A-series is going strong. But it’s a mixed bag overall, particularly in the US, where you can’t buy a lot of phones that are available elsewhere, and even more so if you’re looking for a compact device.
It’s in this landscape that the iPhone 16e was launched, the cheapest phone in Apple’s lineup, and with a distinct mid-range feel. While its primary audience will be budget-conscious iPhone users who haven’t upgraded for a long time, it might also appeal to iPhone-curious Android users, whether it’s those who’ve resisted iOS for budget reasons or who aren’t committed to any platform.
How the iPhone 16e Compares to Mid-Range Android
There’s been a fair amount of skepticism about the iPhone 16e. Many were disappointed that it wasn’t as cheap as the pre-launch rumors had suggested it would be, and its mix of old and new features makes it an odd device. Yet, despite its quirks, it still offers most of the full iPhone experience.
The phone has lots of the compromises you’d expect—only one camera, no MagSafe charging, and so on—and, in many ways, pales in comparison to the iPhone 15. Yet this might be the first year when buying the previous-generation flagship isn’t the way to go. The base iPhone 15 can’t run Apple Intelligence, and though that isn’t a big selling point right now, the upcoming AI-enabled Siri might change that.
Compared to Android’s mid-range, the iPhone 16e holds its own. The A18 chip will outperform all of its rivals comfortably—and even some flagships—and reviews have praised its excellent battery life. It’s also small, which is increasingly rare at this price point.
Most mid-priced Android phones have displays that are upwards of 6.6 inches; as good as the OnePlus 13R is, it’s pretty big. If you’d prefer a more compact 6.1-incher, you haven’t got many options beyond the Pixel a-series.
There are plenty of areas where Apple’s devices can’t compete. It has a weaker camera system and a very prominent notch, the screen refresh rate is ancient (although somewhat embarrassingly, the full iPhone 16 is still also pegged at 60Hz), and the charging speeds are typically a lot slower.
Yet for anyone looking to move from Android to iPhone—for iMessage, the impressive game catalog, or just because the brand still carries a greater cachet—the path has been made a lot easier.
Bring On the Competition
The iPhone 16e is neither cheap enough nor good enough to blow away the Android mid-range, but it does provide much-needed competition. The hope is that Android manufacturers will have to work harder to retain any potential switchers, and that the added competition will further re-invigorate this part of the market.
Just as Android had to eventually match—or even surpass—Apple’s software update policy and how it frequently takes inspiration from Apple’s hardware, manufacturers might be driven to respond to the iPhone 16e as well.
If it forces them to start pushing new features more aggressively and offer more wallet-friendly prices and deals to show that the idea of a “budget” iPhone is a myth, that’ll be a win for all of us. And you never know, it might even knock Samsung out of its current slump and inspire the company to start making memorable phones again.
