Apple delivered a new addition to its iPhone lineup with the iPhone 16e. It’s a flagship device with the core iPhone experience at a lower price tag, but it won’t be for everybody.
Many users were hoping to see a new iPhone SE 4 in the spring of 2025. Instead, Apple dropped the iPhone 16e.
It’s been divisive in its short time on the market, as users rebel against its perceived high price tag.
We’ve been testing it out and while there weren’t any big surprises, we were pleasantly surprised with Apple’s newest offering.
iPhone 16e review: A new type of iPhone
It’s funny to look at the iPhone 16e, seeing what looks almost exactly like an iPhone 14 mixed with an iPhone 16, but to call it a new type of iPhone.
But in our eyes, that’s exactly what it is. It isn’t as affordable as the iPhone SE used to be but slightly more affordable than a full iPhone 16.
iPhone 16e review: iPhone 16e, iPhone 16, and iPhone 16 Pro
It’s essentially the fifth member of the iPhone 16 family, targeting light users and converters.
The frame is mostly iPhone 16, with matte aluminum sides in both black and white. The back is glass to allow for wireless charging.
There is no Camera Control — that’s still exclusive to the iPhone 16 and up — but there is an Action Button located above the volume toggles.
iPhone 16e review: iPhone 16e uses USB-C instead of Lightning
The bottom is outfitted with USB-C, finally replacing the last iPhone with Lightning.
If you compare it to the iPhone SE, you’ll notice the much more expansive, edge-to-edge, 6.1-inch display. It excises the Home button for Face ID, which lives in the notch at the top.
iPhone 16e review: Internals and the C1
While the notch may look a little dated, the internals are quite modern. It has Apple’s latest A18 chip, a larger battery, and Apple’s first in-house modem — the C1.
Our model is outfitted with 128GB of storage, though 256GB and 512GB are also options. We’re glad Apple is now offering that higher 512GB capacity as it was sorely needed.
The AA8 chip has the same 6-core CPU as the iPhone 16 with two performance and four efficiency cores. The GPU is one-core shy with only four cores.
While this didn’t make much of a difference to us, any mobile gamer watching frame rates will notice its shortcomings on more intensive games like Assassin’s Creed.
The battery is larger thanks to the smaller camera module — more on that soon — and it’s worth it. You get an impressive 26 hours of video playback time.
iPhone 16e review: A great budget device, though we miss MagSafe
While swapping out our iPhone 16 Pro for the iPhone 16e this week, we’ve noticed how much longer the phone lasts. It’s impressive, thanks to that larger battery, plus the power-efficient C1 modem.
Speaking of which, the C1 is one of the coolest pieces of tech to deploy in an iPhone. As Apple’s first attempt, there are some missing features but it’s a great start.
For instance, there’s no mmWave 5G and its speed doesn’t blow away Qualcomm’s by any means. But mmWave is still fairly scarce and speed will only get better.
It does have other tricks though. It’s able to talk directly to the processor.
The C1 modem can tell the processor the network is congested. In return, the processor can tell the modem which data to prioritize, making the phone feel faster to the user, even if it technically isn’t.
iPhone 16e review: One cut too many
The lack of mmWave isn’t the only cut on the iPhone 16e when compared to the iPhone 16. Many other “nice to have” features also were on the chopping block.
You won’t find Thread for smart home control, ultra Wideband for tracking down AirTag or opening doors, ProMotion 120Hz refresh rate, or even the Dynamic Island.
None of these are essential though. The only cut that hurt, was MagSafe.
MagSafe is Apple’s magnetic connection system where you can attach wallets, car chargers, mounts, grips, desk chargers, and more to the back of your iPhone.
Apple says that this is OK as most users of this device will typically just plug it in and let it charge overnight and that’s it. It’s hard to argue with that at face value.
At the same time, we see more and more people using MagSafe accessories. Our local Apple Store offers only MagSafe chargers that are incompatible with this phone.
While yes, you can use a MagSafe-compatible case, it’s important to mention that even Apple’s own case doesn’t include the requisite magnets.
This is just one cut we wish Apple didn’t make.
iPhone 16e review: A curious camera
Apple is once more talking about its Fusion camera on the back of the iPhone 16e. It’s a single, 48MP lens with 2X “optical quality” zoom.
When compared to the iPhone 16, the iPhone 16e does have a smaller sensor. You’ll notice this most in low-light situations.
iPhone 16e review: There is a single 48MP camera on iPhone 16e
Coming from the most capable iPhone 16 Pro, the iPhone 16e made us more considerate when taking pictures. We were more thoughtful about the framing and aware of its limitations.
Users shouldn’t have to do that though. Frankly, just as with the lack of ProMotion, most users aren’t going to notice these camera limitations.
Anyone who is pixel-peeping in low light probably would have been better served with the iPhone 16 or even the iPhone 16 Pro.
The photos taken by the iPhone 16e do look great, are well-balanced, and look markedly better than what we saw on the iPhone SE.
Nothing is amazing about it but nothing is overwhelmingly bad, either.
A few other notable omissions though include the lack of Action Mode and Cinematic Mode.
iPhone 16e review: Living with Apple’s budget phone
The iPhone 16e isn’t for us. Not this writer anyway.
But we wanted to give it a fair shot and gave up our iPhone 16 Pro for the past week to largely test this out.
In many cases, it impressed us and its focus on the core iPhone experience made us feel like we did not need to pay nearly as much for the pro model.
It does everything an iPhone should do from taking great photos to controlling our smart home to ordering dinner.
Only on occasion did we miss certain features that we’d become accustomed to. Like the Live Activities living in the Dynamic Island.
We did miss the Camera Control too. Even just to open the Camera app.
iPhone 16e review: Using the Action Button to run different shortcuts and actions
That said, the Action Button is great. We’ve been experimenting with different uses for the Action Button for a while now and it’s still very handy.
We’ve set it to show our current blood sugar value, run the goodnight scene in our home, and even open our Amazon orders. There are a lot of options and when you remember it’s there, it starts to become a useful tool.
Battery life, again, was top-notch and has quickly made us jealous. That may be the headline feature of this device.
We should also throw in a mention of Apple Intelligence too. There’s no next-gen Siri, as it was delayed, but the rest is here.
You have Image Playgrounds to make images, Genmoji to create your own emoji characters, Writing Tools to improve your composition, ChatGPT integration into Siri, and Clean Up to remove objects from photos.
iPhone 16e review: You can set the Action Button to run Visual Intelligence
They all work about as well as you’d expect and they’re certainly going to improve with time. We wouldn’t buy the iPhone 16e for these features, but we’re glad they are there and are a priority for Apple.
iPhone 16e review: Should you buy it?
Here’s where we stand. The iPhone 16e is a solid iPhone.
There’s a case to be made that too many things were trimmed, but this likely won’t impact its sales by any measurable amount.
This is the iPhone for when someone walks into a carrier or Apple Store and says “I want your most affordable iPhone.” Think about an Android user making the switch, something for a child, or perhaps your grandparents.
iPhone 16e review: The new budget phone fits right into our life
With them as the target audience, the iPhone 16e will sell exceptionally well, especially with any carrier subsidies or payment plans. It hits all the right notes.
Not to mention, with the A18 chip, it has a long lifespan ahead of it.
The users this phone is aimed at will care about price, battery, and overall lifespan — not Thread, UWB, or the Dynamic Island. And that’s what Apple nailed.
iPhone 16e review: Pros
- Amazing battery life
- Modern form factor with current internals
- Custom C1 modem
- More affordable than iPhone 16
- Finally ditches Home Button and Lightning
- Distilled to core iPhone experience
- Support for Apple Intelligence, if limited at launch
iPhone 16e review: Cons
- Still fairly expensive compared to budget Android devices
- MagSafe omission feels like too much
- 48MP camera smaller than iPhone 16 with less features
iPhone 16e rating: 4 out of 5
Where to buy Apple’s iPhone 16e
The best way to save on Apple’s iPhone 16e is to check out wireless carrier deals, with the service providers offering incentives via bill credits and trade-in promotions that can sometimes bring the device down to free (applicable taxes do still apply).
You can hop straight to the carrier offers below. We also cover the best iPhone deals in our dedicated roundup.
Save on iPhones at wireless carriers
- AT&T Wireless: Grab an iPhone for as low as $0 per month* with bill credits and trade-in offers
- Verizon: iPhones start at $0 per month* with incentives
- T-Mobile: Get up to 50% off* iPhones
*Terms and conditions pertaining to each offer can be found on the specific carrier’s site.
And if you want to pick up a new case for your iPhone, check out our roundup of the best iPhone 16e cases that incorporate MagSafe.
