Apple iPhone 16e reviewed: everything you might need

Saving money is always a good thing, especially these days more than ever. With the iPhone 16e, Apple is making the case for that, offering an iPhone that gives iPhone buyers most of what they would want.

There’s no such thing as a “cheap” iPhone, but that won’t stop people from asking about them, or even searching for them.

A cheap iPhone isn’t the same as any other Android, though you can certainly get a good assortment of great Android models for below the price of an inexpensive iPhone. In fact, the idea of an inexpensive iPhone has varied wildly over the past few years.

An area Apple hasn’t really made a lot for, the iPhone is predominantly a flagship phone, and so doesn’t usually veer into the mid-range. The iPhone SE was an example of that, though, and before that, the iPhone 5C.

Apple had tried lower cost phones before, and while they don’t usually get the yearly upgrade cycles of the rest of the range, they usually stand the test of time.

With the iPhone 16e, Apple is giving the category another go, offering most of what makes an iPhone an “iPhone”, and potentially saving you money in the process, as well.

Design

Another generation of the iPhone, the 16e looks a lot like other iPhones because, well, it’s a lot like other iPhones.

The iPhone 16e is basically the body of a 6.1 inch iPhone 14, meaning it’s Ceramic Glass and aluminium build, complete with a flat-edged frame the way we reviewed the 14 back in 2022. It’s still 7.8mm thin and 167 grams, so not overly thick or heavy.

Little about it has changed, though Apple has made some tweaks here and there. For instance, there’s just one camera on the back, and there’s a USB-C port at the bottom instead of Lightning.

The other design tweak comes from the buttons, because Apple has ditched the ringer mute switch and replaced it with the action button on the iPhone 16 range.

Other than that, the design of the 16e is fairly premium, because it’s basically an iPhone 14 in design. That means it’s also waterproof, sporting an IP68 water resistance rating.

Display

The display is basically an iPhone 14 display, as well, sporting the same AMOLED screen with the shelf, not the Dynamic Island found on all recent models. It has a shelf and notch, Apple’s True Tone room-based white balancing tech, and runs at 2532×1170, but is otherwise a lovely screen.

There are better screens now, absolutely, and you won’t get a fast refresh rate like the 120Hz displays found on even mid-range Android phones, but most people won’t care.

We loved the display on the iPhone 14, and so we love the display on the iPhone 16e. It’s the same deal.

Features

Inside, it’s not quite the same. This isn’t an iPhone 14 rehashed for today, even if Apple has had to remove the 14 from shelves because of the Lightning port. It probably could have just made the iPhone 14 with a USB-C port, but Apple has changed things.

For instance, there’s a different chip, as Apple offers a version of the A18 used in the iPhone 16 made to be a fraction less powerful, offering 4 GPU cores instead of 5. It is otherwise the same, and may not even show major performance differences in general.

That’ll grant it support for Apple Intelligence, something the standard iPhone 15 doesn’t offer and yet is still in market.

There’s also a new mobile chip, the Apple-made C1, and there are changes to the camera, as well. In fact, it’s the camera that shows the most obvious change.

While every iPhone includes a minimum of two cameras, the 16e offers one, and it’s not even the same camera from the iPhone 16. It’s similar, but not the same.

You’ll get a 48 megapixel camera on the back — just the one — able to jump between 12, 24, and 48 megapixels, but usually capturing at the former, particularly when it jumps between 1X and 2X, using the sensor to crop down to 2X like the other phones in the iPhone 16 range, do.

There’s also support for 4K Dolby Vision video and 240fps slow motion Full HD video, though there’s no cinematic video here. Meanwhile, the front sees a 12 megapixel camera just like the other models, as well.

You can also expect 5G, WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.3, GPS, and Apple Pay on the side of wireless connectivity, while wired is covered with the USB-C port at the bottom.

And there are also some modern iPhone features you might not expect on the 16e that are surprisingly here. Crash detection is one of them, which hopefully you don’t ever have to use, and it’s much the same with emergency satellite connectivity. Both are safety features that you probably hopefully will never need, but interestingly, they’re available on the least expensive modern iPhone right now.

In-use

Another generation of iPhone, if you’ve previously used an iPhone, you won’t struggle to use this model for sure.

Armed with iOS 18, you’ll find a version of Apple’s mobile operating system that can have its icons not adhere to a specific grid, can have the icons colours and accents changed, and you’ll also get Apple Intelligence if you want that, too.

Face ID gets you in the phone as its biometric security, so say goodbye to the Touch ID home button from the SE. Instead, say a nice big hello to the action button on the left edge like the other iPhone 16 models. You can leave this to control the ringer as default, just like the old silent switch, or you can make it do something else.

Other than that, iOS is the same on the 16e as it is anywhere. Easy to use, easy to customise, and fairly easy to get into, complete with apps and games aplenty made to take advantage of everything the phone has to offer.

Performance

That new chip definitely delivers the performance. While you probably won’t care that it’s missing one graphics core versus the iPhone 16, the hardware really handles well.

Tested against the iPhone 16 range, the 16e is that little bit slower, but still manages to outpace other iPhones.

The iPhone 16e is technically faster than every standard iPhone from the past five years. It really just shows that the A18 chip can handle its own rather well.

But the moment you start comparing the 16e to the models it’s meant to replace, you see the new hardware really shine.

In fact, if you have an iPhone SE — either from 2020 or 2022 — or even anything earlier, you’ll find the new hardware really delivers. There’s just enough grunt here for a few generations. Even the latest games should have no problems.

Mobile performance was also at times a little better than we expected. While the iPhone range has always offered great cellular modem chips, the 16e manages to feel different.

In areas where the reception was low, offering only a bar or two of 4G or 5G activity, the mobile speeds managed to hit around 100Mbps, something we’ve not seen with other phones, even other iPhones.

That could be the difference with the Apple-made C1 — it’s just that little bit better.

In areas where 4G and 5G had stronger reception, speeds were closer to the 300 to 400Mbps mark in our speed tests on the Telstra 5G network. As usual, your speeds will vary, but provided you have reach, you can expect some decent speeds on offer.

Camera

You can also expect some decent photos, though clearly not at the same level as the iPhone-for-everyone that is the standard iPhone 16. The two cameras on that model are replaced with one on this, but it’s a surprising camera, all the same.

While technically also a 48 megapixel camera, Apple is using a different camera than what’s on its other iPhone models, and that is interesting.

Similar but not the same, though that may actually be enough.

For instance, in daylight, the images are sharp and clear, with that same lovely Apple attention to clarity and crisp colours you’ve come to expect. There’s even some of the photographic style control, should you want to flex that muscle.

Portrait mode is also here, but it’s not quite at the level Apple has offered for in recent models.

Owners will have to miss out on the automatic portrait mode found in the regular camera, and specifically choose to take portraits should you want them. And even if you do, the control you get isn’t quite as sharp or solid.

You can tweak the settings, sure, but the clarity isn’t as great inside the 16e’s portrait mode. It’s certainly not as quick, that’s for sure.

It’s a similar experience for the low light: you get some of the night mode, but the 16e camera isn’t quite on the same level as the other iPhone 16 cameras out there.

At night, there’s some low light on offer, but it’s not as spectacular as the current generation. It’ll definitely do the job, though, and overall, the camera isn’t bad for a single camera solution in what is basically a mid-range iPhone, if there ever was such a thing.

Battery

The battery isn’t bad, either, achieving a good 5 to 7 hours of battery life over the course of a regular day depending on what you do. That’s likely thanks to the combination of the processor, AMOLED screen, and even that new mobile chip inside, and it’s actually better than what we expected.

Depending on how you use the iPhone 16e, you could easily see a full day of regular use — we hit 24 hours rather comfortably — though you’ll likely want to charge nightly.

What you won’t get is the MagSafe magnetic wireless charging found on the other iPhone models, but for many, that might not matter. The fact that you can simply plug the iPhone 16e in using the USB-C standard makes it an easy charge for everyone.

And keep in mind: the EU’s switch to Type C is partly why the 16e exists in the first place, so not only is it a great inclusion, but an important one for Apple.

Value

The other reason the iPhone 16e is even a thing is the price.

Apple doesn’t say the “e” means “economical”, but given that it’s meant to replace the now-retired iPhone SE, it probably does.

An “e” for economics, and maybe an “e” for everyone else who doesn’t want to spend in excess of a thousand on their next iPhone. Because with a starting price of $999 in Australia, the iPhone 16e is the least expensive current iPhone around.

The difference between the 16e and the 16 standard is $400, with that price change largely seeing the more expensive model get a better stills camera system, improved video with Cinematic Mode, MagSafe, improvements to the Ceramic Shield front-glass, a slightly better screen, WiFi 7… and that’s it.

The $400 difference does make the 16e compelling enough, particularly for folks who want a new iPhone for less and may not need all of that extra.

But it’s even more compelling when you consider the monthly price of the 16e can be paired with a $49 per month plan over three years and only end up paying a little over $15 more to get the phone and a plan.

Getting below $69 monthly for a current-generation model is not something the iPhone is known for, and you typically only see the previous model pop up there. That’s pretty impressive, even if the features are a little different.

What needs work?

Out of those missing features, the only one that has us a little stumped is the absence of MagSafe. Apple probably saved where it could, and the magnets for MagSafe and Qi2 probably weren’t needed. Sufficed to say, you won’t be attaching any special wallets here, that’s for sure.

If anything, our only major issue is that the 16e still feels a little too expensive.

The $400 difference between the 16e and iPhone 16 is no small change, clearly, but the iPhone SE was also much lower in price, starting at $719 for 64GB or $799 for 128GB.

Given the 16e starts at 128GB for $999, that makes the new phone a good $200 more than its predecessor. While it’s a lot better in design and features than the SE, it does still feel a little exy for the category.

Even accounting for inflation, it feels that little more expensive overall. If Apple had managed a hundred less — if the iPhone 16e sold for $899 — it would be absolutely stellar value. Right now, it’s not bad, but it could be better value altogether.

What we love

Despite the price argument, I came away from this phone liking it a lot more than I expected.

Some $400 less than the iPhone 16 standard, I expected the 16e to be the poorer cousin that was still more expensive than the iPhone SE ever was.

But it has some reasons to consider it that we love: the battery life is much better than it should be and delivers over even the more expensive model, while the C1 mobile chip is a real champion. In some way, it’s better than the premium iPhone modems.

Mostly, though, the iPhone 16e is most of what people love about the iPhone for a better price. That’s really difficult to argue with.

Final thoughts (TLDR)

As a reviewer, I use most if not all of the features on the iPhone 16 Pro Max, easily one of this reviewer’s favourite phones right now. Day in and day out, the feature set is in regular use, from the three camera system to the ProRes and RAW capabilities to the action button, and special screen with its lower refresh rate, and oh yes, MagSafe with Qi2.

But I am not most people, and most people aren’t going to use a phone like me.

For most people, the iPhone 16e is what they want from an iPhone: that great iPhone and camera experience without any extra bits you won’t think about.

The iPhone 16 standard is easily worth the extra $400 from where I sit, but if $400 is a lot of money to you — and it is for most people — saving money on a more capable camera and charging system makes a compelling argument all the same.

Even though the iPhone 16e is more expensive than the iPhone SE, Apple makes a solid argument for why that shouldn’t matter, and why the iPhone 16e is every bit the best mid-range phone you can find.

It’s not a cheap iPhone per se, but rather a well-rounded iPhone made for a more compelling price point. The iPhone 16e is everything you might need and nothing you don’t. Surprisingly recommended.