I’ve been touring by way of time this week. Reviewing the iPhone 16e feels directly like I’m visiting my youthful self and likewise compelled to dwell in olden instances, particularly since I’ve been utilizing an iPhone 16 Professional for months. Irrespective of the system you’re at the moment utilizing, getting the iPhone 16e necessitates embracing change. Positive, that’s half and parcel of getting any new cellphone (and any transition in life), however on the subject of the iPhone 16e, not all change is nice. And when you think about the $599 beginning worth, lots of the omissions, ostensibly made in an effort to squeeze Apple Intelligence into probably the most reasonably priced iPhone, develop into more durable to swallow.
It isn’t stunning that Apple needed to make compromises with the iPhone 16e to supply a extra reasonably priced entry-level system; what’s sudden is the choice to not add a second digicam or MagSafe. Simply the truth that it insists on calling the iPhone 16e’s 48-megapixel digicam a “2-in-1 digicam system,” makes it clear the corporate is aware of two sensors is one thing folks need.
As an alternative, the iPhone 16e comes with an A18 chip that powers Apple Intelligence, in addition to the C1 modem, which is the primary designed by the corporate. You’ll must be extraordinarily meticulous when poring over the checklist of similarities and variations between all of the at the moment out there iPhones, since there are lots of tiny components to think about. What wi-fi charging velocity or customary of Wi-Fi would you want? Do you care about cameras?
Positive, you may evaluate these specs your self, however I’m right here to inform you precisely what these variations imply in the true world. In my week or so with the iPhone 16e, I felt the drawbacks of the digicam probably the most — I can dwell with out MagSafe and the Dynamic Island. However what the iPhone 16e does provide is quick efficiency, a clear design, lengthy battery life and, most crucially, cheaper entry to Apple’s ecosystem.
Design and show
Let’s be actual: Apple was by no means going to launch one other iPhone SE in 2025 with a dated design and no AI assist. The iPhone 16e, like its identify suggests, is visually similar to the remainder of the iPhone 16 lineup. That’s, till you flip the display on. As soon as you may see the bezels and the notch up high, the system has a stronger resemblance to an iPhone 14. I used to be solely quickly distracted by the comparatively thick borders, although. Anybody coming to the iPhone 16e from an older iPhone is unlikely to be bothered by this. Extra importantly, the show is protected by the Ceramic Defend materials that was launched on the iPhone 12. The earlier iPhone SE didn’t have this similar safety.
On its again, the iPhone 16e has a plain white (or black) matte floor with a single digicam on the high left nook. It was arduous to distinguish between the three iPhone 16 fashions I carried round for testing until I checked out their rears — that’s how comparable they’re. In actual fact, their dimensions are virtually equivalent, with lower than a millimeter and three grams separating the iPhone 16e and the iPhone 16.
|
iPhone 16e |
iPhone 16 |
iPhone 16 Professional |
|
146.7 x 71.5 x 7.8 mm 5.78 x 2.82 x 0.31 inches |
147.6 x 71.6 x 7.8 mm 5.81 x 2.82 x. 0.31 inches |
149.6 x 71.5 x 8.25 mm 5.89 x 2.81 x 0.32 inches |
|
5.88 ounces / 167 grams |
6.00 ounces / 170 grams |
7.03 ounces / 189 grams |
In actual life, the one factor I actually seen was the burden. All these telephones slot in my pockets and purses, and for as soon as Apple’s most cost-effective cellphone doesn’t instantly seem drastically misplaced. The iPhone 16e even has the Motion Button that debuted on the iPhone 15 Professional Max, which I’ll discuss extra about later.
Even probably the most discerning reviewer may have a tough time complaining concerning the iPhone 16e’s 6.1-inch show. Not solely does it lastly really feel like one thing you need to use in 2025 because of its measurement (in comparison with the 4.7-inch anachronism that’s the iPhone SE’s display), the truth that it’s an OLED panel means it’s brighter and extra vibrant. All the higher to look at Instagram and TikTok movies on, proper?
It’s value noting, although, that the iPhone 16 will get considerably brighter. Even the iPhone 15, which prices $100 greater than the 16e, hits the identical numbers because the iPhone 16, although solely the latter can get all the way down to 1 nit of brightness. I will additionally level out that many Android telephones at this worth provide sooner refresh charges, which might make doomscrolling so much smoother. The iPhone 16e is caught on the similar gradual 60Hz because the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus, whereas the Professional fashions get ProMotion speeds of as much as 120Hz. Neither the iPhone 16 nor the 16e assist Apple’s At all times On Show, both.
One ultimate distinction on the iPhone 16e is that it’s the final remaining handset throughout Apple’s lineup to have a notch on its show. The iPhone 15 and iPhone 16 each have the corporate’s pill-shaped Dynamic Island, which has useful advantages in addition to trying higher. It allows you to regulate dwell actions, like a timer, sports activities occasion ticker, ongoing media playback and extra. It’s humorous how dependent I’ve develop into on this function within the years because it was launched. On the iPhone 16e, I used to be barely confused and irritated that I couldn’t entry fast controls for Spotify within the notch, for instance, or that voice recordings wouldn’t seem within the notch as animated waveforms.
Nonetheless, folks contemplating the iPhone 16e usually tend to have by no means encountered Dynamic Island of their day by day lives, so it received’t be a jarring change. It’s unlikely to issue into your consideration when shopping for a brand new cellphone, however this expertise actually make clear my emotions for a current function I’d grown to take without any consideration.
Digicam expertise and efficiency
Since reviewing the iPhone 16e has felt like touring again in time, I took it to the Met museum to {photograph} some historical artifacts, with the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Professional as testing companions.
For probably the most half, the iPhone 16e and iPhone 16 delivered about the identical stage of element, saturation and vibrancy. It was even arduous to inform which of the 2 gadgets did higher with my low-light pictures of a ravishing chandelier suspended above a room from an 18th-century Parisian resort. Though they’ve comparable 48MP sensors, the iPhone 16’s is bigger, which makes the closeness in efficiency right here barely stunning.
The identical goes for selfies, which largely seemed virtually equivalent whether or not I shot them on the iPhone 16 or the 16e. Although each gadgets pack 12MP TrueDepth cameras up entrance, every packs a customized sensor and lens that combine with the software program and Apple Silicon. It’s unclear what precisely the variations lie, however suffice it to say that regardless, they took images of comparable high quality.
It’d be good if I might say the iPhone 16e delivered mainly the identical digicam expertise because the iPhone 16 for $200 much less. However the lack of a second lens on the rear is limiting in a couple of key methods.
First, there’s the truth that an ultrawide digicam is simply extra versatile. Not having one introduced challenges fairly shortly, like after I entered a small room within the British artwork corridor and needed to seize everything of a pair of tall show circumstances containing dozens of ornate plates. With the iPhone 16e, I needed to again up a lot that I virtually needed to go away the area to get the 2 circumstances to slot in the body. On the iPhone 16 and 16 Professional, switching over to the 0.5x zoom possibility enabled me to take the shot with out shifting a lot in any respect.
You’ll additionally discover an older model of Portrait mode on the iPhone 16e, and that is the place nearly all of my grievances with the digicam lie. In the event you don’t care about footage with blurred backgrounds and a pretend depth of subject impact, you’ll be so much much less bothered. However for these like me, it may be irritating to be taught that the iPhone 16e’s Portrait mode solely works when it detects a face within the scene. This harkens again to the times of the iPhone 7 Plus, when Portrait Camera was first rolled out. Even then, Apple was capable of apply the impact to non-human faces and objects like vegetation because the dual-camera system enabled the iPhone to calculate depth and add blur based mostly on that.
Setting apart the annoyance I felt at not having the ability to use Portrait mode on meals, animals or different topics, the truth that the iPhone 16e is utilizing information from one digicam for this impact additionally impacts its outcomes. This was noticeable in my portraits taken of a bust within the museum’s European Sculpture Courtroom. With the pricier cellphone and its two cameras, Apple delivered extra correct blur, retaining the visage, hair and neck trying crisp. On the iPhone 16e, the sculpture’s neck and chest had been blurry upon nearer inspection.
I ended up enjoying a sport of “Will it Portrait or Will it Not Portrait” within the museum, pointing the iPhone 16e at random faces in pale tapestries, softly outlined sculptures and oh so many busts. Regularly, even when a face was clearly seen to me, the iPhone 16e wouldn’t acknowledge that one was in body and didn’t enable me to snap a Portrait.
Once more, that is irritating provided that you are taking a whole lot of footage in that mode. You would possibly be capable of dwell with a single digicam when you don’t thoughts inferior Portraits in comparison with higher-end iPhones. Nonetheless, keep in mind that the solo sensor setup additionally means you received’t get issues like the most recent era of Photographic Types, the corporate’s refined coloration and tone filters which I raved about after I first examined it for my iPhone 16 Professional overview. Whereas that’s a more moderen function, it’s arduous to disregard that anybody coming from an iPhone 11 or later already has a dual-camera setup and must surrender an ultrawide digicam and a faceless Portrait mode.
The iPhone 16e can also be lacking digicam options like Spatial, Motion and Cinematic modes, that are omissions that really matter much less at this worth. Although I believe having Macro assist can be good, I can perceive its absence because it’s for extra area of interest use circumstances than portraits.
It’s additionally affordable that the iPhone 16e doesn’t have Digicam Management, which is the devoted facet button that debuted on the remainder of the iPhone 16 household final 12 months. I’ve grown to understand it as a fast, tactile approach to launch the digicam app (although I don’t care as a lot for the touch-sensitive slider controls).
I assumed I’d miss it when having to check the iPhone 16e, since I used to be going to be repeatedly opening its digicam all day. However I managed to largely substitute that by configuring the Motion button to launch the digicam. The Motion button’s location close to the highest of the proper edge isn’t splendid, because it’s extra of a attain, but it surely’s higher than having to tug out the iPhone, faucet its display and lengthy press or swipe the digicam shortcut.
The Motion Button as a gateway to Apple Intelligence
You too can set the Motion button to modify between audio profiles or focus modes, activate the Flashlight and even begin any app or collection of actions you may customise by way of Apple’s Shortcuts. Crucially, you may set the button to launch Visual Intelligence, as effectively. This represents the primary time Visible Intelligence has been accessible by way of one thing aside from Digicam Management since its introduction with the iPhone 16 collection final 12 months. The potential can also be coming to iPhone 15 Pro models by way of an iOS 18.4 replace. For the time being, with out long-pressing a bodily button, you may’t use your iPhone’s digicam to search for issues round you.
Once I set the iPhone 16e’s Motion button to launch Visible Intelligence, I obtained mainly the identical expertise as I did on the iPhone 16 Professional. I pointed it at close by vegetation and the very modern and hip sneakers I had on. Although Siri (with ChatGPT’s assist) didn’t accurately establish the model of my sneakers, it did counsel some comparable kinds. Google’s picture search, which is the opposite of the 2 built-in choices to get solutions out of your iPhone’s digicam, delivered barely extra useful outcomes for the picket desk I used to be taking a look at and the place I might purchase one thing comparable.
Apple Intelligence
Visible Intelligence is only one a part of the complete Apple Intelligence bundle, which permeates the iPhone 16 lineup. I received’t dwell too lengthy on the person options right here, since we’ve already coated them pretty extensively because the firm began rolling them out final 12 months. I’ll simply say that I used to be capable of pretty easily use Image Playground to create a background for an occasion I used to be coordinating in Apple Invitations, get my haphazardly written notes proofread and summarize a Wikipedia entry on Zero Day TV collection by way of Writing Instruments. The iPhone 16e is a succesful Apple Intelligence machine, if AI is your factor.
Efficiency, the Apple C1 modem and battery life
All of that’s powered by the A18 chip sitting contained in the iPhone 16e, and the truth that it’s in a cellphone that doesn’t value $700 to start out is stunning. It might have one much less GPU core than the iPhone 16, however that didn’t hinder my escape from the hordes of ghouls chasing me down in Vampire Survivor. That’s a reasonably easy sport to run, computationally talking, and I’ve but to essentially push the iPhone 16e with extra demanding choices. However when you’re in search of a cellphone that may deal with titles like Name of Responsibility: Warzone Cellular or League of Legends: Wild Rift with out hiccups, you’ll should spend a whole bunch extra.
In day by day use, the iPhone 16e was easy and zippy, and the one slowdowns I encountered had been in conditions that additionally challenged powerhouses just like the iPhone 16 Professional. That included ready for Apple Intelligence to make a Genmoji of a “video shoot,” for instance, or for Picture Playground to return outcomes based mostly on the identical immediate. Typically Cleanup within the Photographs app wouldn’t reply regardless of my repeated drawing on issues I needed to erase from a picture, however that feels extra like an Apple Intelligence situation than a gradual processor. I seen the slightest delay in comparison with the iPhone 16 when ready for Night time mode to finish capturing a photograph in low mild, with the iPhone 16e taking a second or so longer.
With its larger battery and new C1 modem, the iPhone 16e is meant to final a couple of hours longer than the iPhone 16 when enjoying video. Although I used to be unable to run a full-on battery check, generally the iPhone 16e had no drawback lasting effectively longer than 24 hours. I pulled it off the charger on Sunday at about 10am and on Tuesday morning I nonetheless had 60 % left after a day of digicam testing. Granted, that is nonetheless a really new system that I’ve been utilizing as a secondary cellphone, so runtimes will possible drop a bit with better use. However in comparison with my expertise with a model new overview unit of the iPhone 16 Professional, the iPhone 16e actually gave me far much less battery nervousness.
As for that customized modem, it is arduous to inform after only one week of use whether or not folks will run into any vital points or interference. However throughout my time with the iPhone 16e on an AT&T eSIM, I’ve discovered little issues with the community. I am a T-Cellular person, and sometimes lose sign after I’m at locations like underground prepare stations or Moynihan Practice Corridor in Penn Station. Once I could not ship a message on my iPhone 16 Professional with T-Cellular, I used to be capable of join over AT&T with the iPhone 16e. This has much less to do with Apple’s {hardware} and extra to do with every service’s protection, after all.
The identical goes for the modem’s common efficiency — I persistently noticed the iPhone 16e (with C1) considerably outperform my iPhone 16 Professional on Speedtest and Quick.com checks, however a lot of that has to do with particular person community speeds. It additionally depends upon whether or not you are utilizing a cellphone that helps ultrawideband 5G, which might see enormous boosts to efficiency. The C1 modem would not assist that, so when you’ve been counting on mmWave 5G (largely by way of Verizon within the US), you may should sacrifice it when you purchase the iPhone 16e.
How does the iPhone 16e evaluate to the iPhone 16 and the iPhone SE?
There are quite a few different little variations between the iPhone 16e and the iPhone 16, and I’ll checklist a few of the extra vital ones right here. Most likely probably the most noteworthy is that it doesn’t assist Apple’s MagSafe, which might let it magnetically connect to stands, grips and different equipment. As somebody who plops her iPhone on a MagSafe charging stand solely when there is no such thing as a different USB cable out there, the shortage of MagSafe didn’t really meaningfully influence my expertise. However when you depend on such an adjunct, the iPhone 16e isn’t for you.
When you might add MagSafe compatibility to the 16e with circumstances or adapters, you’ll nonetheless be caught with pokey, last-generation 7.5W wi-fi charging speeds (per the Qi customary). Different iPhones assist sooner speeds — the iPhone 15 goes as much as 15W whereas the iPhone 16 can hit 25W.
If we’re going to get all the way down to the nitty gritty, I also needs to level out that the iPhone 16e helps Wi-Fi 6, not Wi-Fi 7 just like the iPhone 16. The iPhone 16e can also be missing compatibility with the Thread sensible house networking customary and whereas its digicam does provide optical picture stabilization, it’s not the “Sensor-shift” OIS that the iPhone 16 (and the iPhone 15) present. Lastly, and that is removed from the final omission from the iPhone 16e, the system would not assist ultra-wideband, that means when you’re finding your gadgets by way of Discover My, you’ll depend on Bluetooth and will not get the extra exact monitoring on AirTags and telephones which have UWB.
All this spec-sheet scrutiny is getting at is that as an funding, the iPhone 16e is more likely to get outdated once more ahead of the iPhone 16. Nonetheless, it’s a pleasant improve from the iPhone SE (2022), because of the addition of USB-C charging, a sharper digicam, an precise zoom possibility, a beefier processor, satellite tv for pc communications for emergencies and a much bigger, higher display. No matter the way you (or I) really feel about Apple Intelligence, there’s no denying that its inclusion makes for a cellphone that’s extra trendy, too. Additionally, Genmoji is simply enjoyable.
Contemplating how far behind the iPhone SE was in comparison with the iPhone 13, the truth that the iPhone 16e is so near the remainder of the iPhone 16 portfolio is spectacular. I assume I might have most popular a less expensive entry-level iPhone with a couple of different compromises, quite than one which’s so comparable (in each specs and worth) to the following model up.
And as a lot as I’d like to match the iPhone 16e to its friends on the Android facet of the smartphone market, I’ve to acknowledge that most individuals contemplating an iPhone are possible already fortunately caught within the Apple walled backyard. They most likely don’t need an Android cellphone, regardless of what number of cameras it has, how shortly its display refreshes or how briskly it may well cost. While you could be a blue bubble texter, who cares about how a lot smoother a sport performs or how quickly Instagram posts zoom previous my eyes, proper? (Sarcasm, in case it wasn’t apparent.) In the event you did wish to be taught extra although, take a look at our publish on how the iPhone 16e compares to the competition.
Wrap-up
It’s simple for me to get caught up in outrage, ranting at Apple’s choices to exclude MagSafe or increase costs. However for individuals who don’t use magnetic equipment or who finance their smartphones over a two-year interval, these may be non-issues. What bothered me most as I used to be reviewing the iPhone 16e wasn’t its gradual wi-fi charging velocity or the notch atop the show — it was in the end the solo digicam sensor. Anybody coming from the iPhone 11 and up will possible miss the ultrawide possibility, even when the iPhone 16e’s 48MP sensor is a real enchancment.
Whether or not the iPhone 16e is an efficient buy for you in the end depends upon how a lot these limitations hassle you. In the event you don’t care about MagSafe, taking images or the precept that you would save a whole bunch of {dollars} on a greater Android cellphone, the iPhone 16e is smart.
In actual fact, for individuals who wish to purchase their first iPhone or somebody who’s much less tech-enthusiastic, the iPhone 16e is a succesful, handsome handset. Those that, like me, can’t do with no second digicam, can think about the iPhone 15, which prices simply $100 extra. You received’t get Apple Intelligence or the Motion button, however I doubt many will miss these options.
Finally, although, until you actually can’t fork over the $200 distinction (which works out to some {dollars} a month over two years), the iPhone 16 is a greater purchase for most individuals.
This text initially appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cell/smartphones/iphone-16e-review-whats-your-acceptable-compromise-020016288.html?src=rss
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