iPhone 16e review: What's your acceptable compromise?

I’ve been touring by means of time this week. Reviewing the iPhone 16e feels without delay like I’m visiting my youthful self and in addition compelled to dwell in olden instances, particularly since I’ve been utilizing an iPhone 16 Professional for months. Regardless of the machine you’re at present utilizing, getting the iPhone 16e necessitates embracing change. Positive, that’s half and parcel of getting any new telephone (and any transition in life), however in terms of the iPhone 16e, not all change is nice. And when you think about the $599 beginning value, most of the omissions, ostensibly made in an effort to squeeze Apple Intelligence into probably the most inexpensive iPhone, turn into tougher to swallow.

It isn’t stunning that Apple needed to make compromises with the iPhone 16e to supply a extra inexpensive entry-level machine; 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 individuals 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 listing of similarities and variations between all of the at present out there iPhones, since there are various tiny elements to think about. What wi-fi charging velocity or normal of Wi-Fi would you want? Do you care about cameras?

Positive, you’ll be able to evaluate these specs your self, however I’m right here to let you know 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 supply 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 help. 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 screen on. As soon as you’ll be able to see the bezels and the notch up high, the machine has a stronger resemblance to an iPhone 14. I used to be solely briefly 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 identical 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 related they’re. In truth, their dimensions are nearly equivalent, with lower than a millimeter and three grams separating the iPhone 16e and the iPhone 16.

In actual life, the one factor I actually observed was the load. All these telephones slot in my pockets and purses, and for as soon as Apple’s least expensive telephone 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 speak extra about later.

Even probably the most discerning reviewer may have a tough time complaining in regards to 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 dimension (in comparison with the 4.7-inch anachronism that’s the iPhone SE’s display screen), 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 price 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 right down to 1 nit of brightness. I will additionally level out that many Android telephones at this value supply sooner refresh charges, which might make doomscrolling so much smoother. The iPhone 16e is caught on the identical 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 help Apple’s At all times On Show, both.

One last 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 practical advantages in addition to trying higher. It allows you to control dwell actions, like a timer, sports activities occasion ticker, ongoing media playback and extra. It’s humorous how dependent I’ve turn into on this characteristic within the years because it was launched. On the iPhone 16e, I used to be barely confused and aggravated 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, individuals contemplating the iPhone 16e usually tend to have by no means encountered Dynamic Island of their each day lives, so it received’t be a jarring change. It’s unlikely to issue into your consideration when shopping for a brand new telephone, however this expertise definitely make clear my emotions for a current characteristic I’d grown to take without any consideration.

Digital camera 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 degree of element, saturation and vibrancy. It was even arduous to inform which of the 2 gadgets did higher with my low-light photographs of a fantastic chandelier suspended above a room from an 18th-century Parisian lodge. Though they’ve related 48MP sensors, the iPhone 16’s is bigger, which makes the closeness in efficiency right here barely stunning.

Cherlynn Low for Engadget

The identical goes for selfies, which largely regarded nearly 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 principally 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 just a few 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 the whole thing of a pair of tall show instances containing dozens of ornate plates. With the iPhone 16e, I needed to again up a lot that I nearly needed to go away the area to get the 2 instances to slot in the body. On the iPhone 16 and 16 Professional, switching over to the 0.5x zoom choice 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 the vast majority of my grievances with the digicam lie. If you happen to don’t care about photos with blurred backgrounds and a pretend depth of subject impact, you’ll be so much much less bothered. However for these like me, it could be irritating to study 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 primarily based on that.

Setting apart the annoyance I felt at not with 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 Court docket. With the pricier telephone and its two cameras, Apple delivered extra correct blur, maintaining the visage, hair and neck trying crisp. On the iPhone 16e, the sculpture’s neck and chest had been blurry upon nearer inspection.

Cherlynn Low for Engadget

I ended up taking part in a recreation of “Will it Portrait or Will it Not Portrait” within the museum, pointing the iPhone 16e at random faces in light tapestries, softly outlined sculptures and oh so many busts. Ceaselessly, even when a face was clearly seen to me, the iPhone 16e wouldn’t acknowledge that one was in body and didn’t permit me to snap a Portrait.

Once more, that is irritating provided that you are taking quite a lot of photos in that mode. You would possibly be capable of dwell with a single digicam should 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 Kinds, the corporate’s subtle colour and tone filters which I raved about after I first examined it for my iPhone 16 Professional evaluate. Whereas that’s a newer characteristic, it’s arduous to disregard that anybody coming from an iPhone 11 or later already has a dual-camera setup and should quit an ultrawide digicam and a faceless Portrait mode.

The iPhone 16e can be lacking digicam options like Spatial, Motion and Cinematic modes, that are omissions that really matter much less at this value. Although I believe having Macro help can be good, I can perceive its absence because it’s for extra area of interest use instances than portraits.

It’s additionally affordable that the iPhone 16e doesn’t have Digital camera Management, which is the devoted facet button that debuted on the remainder of the iPhone 16 household final yr. I’ve grown to understand it as a fast, tactile method 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 best edge isn’t perfect, because it’s extra of a attain, but it surely’s higher than having to drag out the iPhone, faucet its display screen and lengthy press or swipe the digicam shortcut.

Brian Oh for Engadget

The Motion Button as a gateway to Apple Intelligence

It’s also possible to set the Motion button to change between audio profiles or focus modes, activate the Flashlight and even begin any app or collection of actions you’ll be able to customise by way of Apple’s Shortcuts. Crucially, you’ll be able to set the button to launch Visual Intelligence, as effectively. This represents the primary time Visible Intelligence has been accessible by way of one thing apart from Digital camera Management since its introduction with the iPhone 16 collection final yr. The aptitude can be coming to iPhone 15 Pro models by way of an iOS 18.4 replace. In the mean time, with out long-pressing a bodily button, you’ll be able to’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 received principally the identical expertise as I did on the iPhone 16 Professional. I pointed it at close by vegetation and the very trendy and hip sneakers I had on. Although Siri (with ChatGPT’s assist) didn’t appropriately determine the model of my footwear, it did recommend some related 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 and the place I might purchase one thing related.

Apple Intelligence

Visible Intelligence is only one a part of your complete Apple Intelligence package deal, 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 yr. 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 telephone that doesn’t price $700 to begin 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 recreation to run, computationally talking, and I’ve but to essentially push the iPhone 16e with extra demanding choices. However should you’re searching for a telephone that may deal with titles like Name of Responsibility: Warzone Cell or League of Legends: Wild Rift with out hiccups, you’ll need to spend a whole bunch extra.

In each day use, the iPhone 16e was clean 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 primarily based on the identical immediate. Typically Cleanup within the Pictures 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 observed 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 greater battery and new C1 modem, the iPhone 16e is meant to final just a few hours longer than the iPhone 16 when taking part in video. Although I used to be unable to run a full-on battery take a look at, normally the iPhone 16e had no downside 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 machine that I’ve been utilizing as a secondary telephone, so runtimes will doubtless drop a bit with better use. However in comparison with my expertise with a model new evaluate unit of the iPhone 16 Professional, the iPhone 16e definitely gave me far much less battery anxiousness.

As for that customized modem, it is arduous to inform after only one week of use whether or not individuals will run into any important 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-Cell consumer, 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-Cell, 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 provider’s protection, after all. 

The identical goes for the modem’s basic 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 relies on whether or not you are utilizing a telephone that helps ultrawideband 5G, which might see large boosts to efficiency. The C1 modem does not help that, so should you’ve been counting on mmWave 5G (largely by way of Verizon within the US), you may need to sacrifice it should you purchase the iPhone 16e.

Brian Oh for Engadget

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 listing a number of the extra important ones right here. In all probability probably the most noteworthy is that it doesn’t help 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 isn’t any different USB cable out there, the shortage of MagSafe didn’t truly meaningfully influence my expertise. However should you depend on such an adjunct, the iPhone 16e isn’t for you.

Whilst you might add MagSafe compatibility to the 16e with instances or adapters, you’ll nonetheless be caught with pokey, last-generation 7.5W wi-fi charging speeds (per the Qi normal). Different iPhones help sooner speeds — the iPhone 15 goes as much as 15W whereas the iPhone 16 can hit 25W.

If we’re going to get right down to the nitty gritty, I must also level out that the iPhone 16e helps Wi-Fi 6, not Wi-Fi 7 just like the iPhone 16. The iPhone 16e can be missing compatibility with the Thread sensible house networking normal and whereas its digicam does supply 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 machine does not help ultra-wideband, which means should 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 prone 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 choice, a beefier processor, satellite tv for pc communications for emergencies and a much bigger, higher display screen. No matter the way you (or I) really feel about Apple Intelligence, there’s no denying that its inclusion makes for a telephone that’s extra fashionable, 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 well-liked a less expensive entry-level iPhone with just a few different compromises, relatively than one which’s so related (in each specs and value) to the following model up.

And as a lot as I’d like to check 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 doubtless already fortunately caught within the Apple walled backyard. They most likely don’t need an Android telephone, irrespective of what number of cameras it has, how shortly its display screen refreshes or how briskly it could actually cost. Whenever you could be a blue bubble texter, who cares about how a lot smoother a recreation performs or how quickly Instagram posts zoom previous my eyes, proper? (Sarcasm, in case it wasn’t apparent.) If you happen to did need to study extra although, try 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 selections 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 could 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 doubtless miss the ultrawide choice, even when the iPhone 16e’s 48MP sensor is a real enchancment.

Whether or not the iPhone 16e is an effective buy for you in the end relies on how a lot these limitations hassle you. If you happen to don’t care about MagSafe, taking images or the precept that you could possibly save a whole bunch of {dollars} on a greater Android telephone, the iPhone 16e is smart.

In truth, for individuals who need 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 and not using a 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.

In the end, 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/cellular/smartphones/iphone-16e-review-whats-your-acceptable-compromise-020016288.html?src=rss

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