The all-new iPhone 16e is here, headlined by an A18 chip, Apple’s first-ever cellular modem, a 48MP Fusion camera, and more.
Here are a few tidbits you might’ve missed …
No MagSafe support
The iPhone 16e supports Qi wireless charging, but it lacks MagSafe support. This means it has no built-in magnets to help you align to magnetic wireless charging. You won’t benefit from the magnetic connectivity provided by MagSafe and Qi2-enabled wireless chargers. Additionally, you won’t be able to use MagSafe accessories such as mounts, wallets, and more.
This is a pretty notable limitation, especially given that flagship iPhones have offered MagSafe support since the introduction of the iPhone 12 in 2020.
A18 GPU
The iPhone 16e is powered by the A18 chip, the same processor used by the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus. There’s one key difference, though. The iPhone 16’s A18 chip has a 5-core GPU, while the iPhone 16e’s A18 chip has a 4-core GPU.
I don’t think most people will notice this, but it’s a good example of a cost-cutting measure Apple has taken with the iPhone 16e.
Visual Intelligence support
The iPhone 16e offers full support for Apple Intelligence features. Notably, this includes Visual Intelligence. On the iPhone 16 models, Visual Intelligence is activated by long-pressing the Camera Control, but the iPhone 16e doesn’t have the Camera Control. Instead, you can assign Visual Intelligence to the Action button on the iPhone 16e.
You can take a picture of something and then choose to search on Google for similar images or to send that image to ChatGPT to learn more. You can also pull up the hours or reviews for a restaurant, add an event from a flyer to your calendar, quickly identify a dog by breed, and more. The feature also includes integration with Google to easily find out more about a product and see reviews and buying details.
The iPhone 15 Pro phones, which support Apple Intelligence and have an Action button, do not support Visual Intelligence.
128GB base storage
As I predicted would happen, the new iPhone 16e starts at 128GB base storage configuration. This means Apple no longer sells any iPhone with 64GB of storage. In an era where Apple Intelligence takes up roughly 7GB of storage space, it’s nice to see Apple double the base storage configuration.
For context, the iPhone SE 3 started at $429 with 64GB of storage, while the 128GB version was $479. The iPhone 16e starts at $599 with 128GB of storage.
A true $599 starting price
Apple’s flagship iPhones are all burdened by a $30 upcharge if you buy them without a carrier. For example, the iPhone 16 costs $799, but if you buy it without a carrier, you’ll actually pay $829. That’s not the case for the iPhone 16e. Even if you buy it without a carrier, you’ll still pay that flat $599 starting price.
My favorite iPhone accessories:
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