The iPhone 16e is a nicely built phone with good processing power – but it’s not the iPhone you should buy.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| A18 CPU is very powerful | Not that much cheaper than iPhone 16, more expensive than iPhone SE was |
| Single camera gives good photographic results | A single camera at this price point is almost insulting |
| Good to go for Apple Intelligence | Disappointing battery life |
Score: 2.5/5
 |
Buy The Apple iPhone 16e! | Buy On Amazon |
Ethical disclaimer: The Apple iPhone 16e used in this review was loaned to me for a short period by Apple Australia and will be going back to them. Yes, ethical disclosure isn’t exciting, but it’s necessary and overlooked by too many sites, so I throw it into the front of my reviews. You may already be aware of that.
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In this review
Apple iPhone 16e Specifications
Apple iPhone 16e Design
Apple iPhone 16e Camera
Apple iPhone 16e Performance
Apple iPhone 16e Battery
Apple iPhone 16e Conclusion
Apple announced the iPhone 16e back in February (it’s taken some time to get a review unit in, long and dull story) with the promise of it being Apple’s “most affordable” iPhone.
Which was a big flex in itself, given it was effectively replacing the $719 iPhone SE with a $999 and upwards iPhone 16e model.
Having spent some time testing out the iPhone 16e, it’s a nicely built device, but it doesn’t really live up to the idea of being “affordable”, while the more powerful and frankly better iPhone 16 really isn’t that much more expensive.
If you’re not fussed about operating systems, you can get a lot more out of an Android phone at this price point too, making the iPhone 16e a very awkwardly priced and positioned smartphone.
Design
Apple’s more affordable iPhones – and I’m thinking here of units such as the Mini phones but also the more regular numeric models too – have often had a variety of colour schemes to make them more “fun” devices.
Apparently when you’re building a “more affordable” iPhone, fun somewhat goes out the window, because the iPhone 16e comes in just two colours, black or white. It’s not even “Space Black” or “Stellar White”. It’s just Black or White.
Hello Black. Just Black, in this case, no prefixes to apply. They must cost extra or something.
Cases are of course available, because iPhone models always get a wide variety of easily purchasable cases, and I’d advise picking one up if you are keen on the iPhone 16e.
The iPhone 16e is built around a 6.1 inch OLED display with a resolution of 2532x1172, giving it the same essential front facing look as the iPhone 16, though it’s slightly lower resolution given that the iPhone 16 packs in 2556x1179 pixels into the same sized frame. Will you notice that side by side? Only if your name is Clark Kent and you have super vision as a result.
What you're more likely to notice in direct sunlight is that the iPhone 16e's display is also less bright than the iPhone 16, at a maximum of 1200 nits to the 1600 nits of the pricier model.
6.1 inches is a nice size for a phone, and like its pricier sibling, this does make it an easier phone to slip into a pocket without it being uncomfortably large.
Where the iPhone SE’s design definitely was showing its age, Apple has mostly brought the iPhone 16e up to modern speed, which means you get features like the configurable Action Button on the side, USB-C charging and FaceID for biometric authentication, meaning that TouchID is now entirely defunct on modern iPhones.
You don't get the camera control button found in the rest of the iPhone 16 range, though honestly that's not a feature that I rate all that highly anyway.
The iPhone 16e is also water resistant at IP68, tested (as per Apple) to the same standards as the other modern iPhone units; if you’re not up to speed with water resistance and how it relates to water proofing, read this guide (or watch the video below)
Camera
At the iPhone 16e’s $999 starting price, you can get some really decent camera phones with multiple lenses and smart AI-led features, but of course, Apple already has a range of phones designed to entice in the camera-centric smartphone crowd, and all of those models bear “Pro” suffixes and significantly higher price points.
Apple has no interest in taking away from its iPhone 16 Pro sales, or even its iPhone 16 sales, which means that the camera options on the iPhone 16e are significantly more limited.
More limited in the sense that there’s just one lens on the rear of the iPhone 16e, and one on the front, at 48MP and 12MP respectively. You do get a default 2x “telephoto” mode within the Apple Camera app, but that’s just a digital crop, and full zooming is limited to a maximum of 10x.
All of which is quite limiting, though I do have to give Apple its due.
Only the one camera, but it can produce some very nice results, even in low light (and rain)
The iPhone 16e may only have a single camera lens at the rear, but it is a nicely capable one, with good visual representation of scenes thanks to Apple’s smart behind the scenes optimisation of photos. You do get all the consumer-friendly features of an iPhone, just with one lens.
Portrait mode? Yes. Cinematic video mode? No.
The comparison point here again has to be the iPhone 16; while that only ups the ante to a two-lens solution, it at least gives you a wide lens that can do more creatively with your shots over time, as well as enabling cinematic modes for video shooting. The single lens on the iPhone 16e simply can’t handle that, so it’s absent outside it being an audio option in the audio mix post processing of your regularly shot videos.
When I reviewed the iPhone 16, I noted that the cameras felt limited given its $1399 starting price; while $999 (and up) might make dual cameras feel more acceptable, it’s ultimately far more limiting than I’d expect to see at this price.
If you’re particularly keen on photography but you’re limited to this kind of budget, I’d strongly suggest you look at what you can get for this kind of money across the Android side of the operating system fence.
Apple iPhone 16e Sample Photos
Nyssa is quite used to me taking photos of her by now.
It's not quite as capable a low-light shooter as the iPhone 16 Pro Max... but it's decent.
Apple's image processing can make the most out of that single lens... but it's never going to make it into multiple lenses!
It was a dark and stormy night...
My retro gaming collection needs some organising, clearly.
Hedorah does not wish to have his portrait taken.
Rocky looks sad. Maybe it's the lack of detail above his head in the darkness?
Performance
Up until recently, and for quite some time, the most powerful processors you could find in any smartphones resided in Apple iPhones. That’s shifted this year with Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Ultra currently sitting atop the power charts, but Apple’s still highly competitive here.
The promise with the Apple iPhone 16e is that you’re getting an Apple A18 processor on board, similar (but not quite identical) to that found in the iPhone 16 lineup.
Specifically it drops to a 6 core CPU/4 core GPU arrangement, dropping a GPU core relative to the iPhone 16. Apple sells the iPhone 16e in 128GB/256GB/512GB variants, but like all iPhones ever, there’s no onboard microSD expansion. You can at least use the USB-C port to plug in most external storage drives if you need to, though iOS is considerably more fussy about how and where it will let you move or use certain file types that way.
In performance terms then, the iPhone 16e needs to be compared against the iPhone 16 but also against your other options at its price point. The model loaned to me by Apple was the full-fat 512GB version which would set you back $1,549, but I’m going to assume most buyers of iPhone 16e are looking at that entry level $999 price point, so I’ve included more phones that sit closer to that price.
Using Geekbench 6’s CPU test, the iPhone 16e fares well:
It’s not surprising that it’s outpaced by the iPhone 16, and I should note for Australian readers that the Xiaomi Poco F7 Ultra still (at the time of writing) doesn’t have an official Australian release, though it sits in much the same price space and should cost similar amounts as the mid-tier storage version of the iPhone 16e through importers.
In terms of GPU performance, the iPhone 16e sits in a similar space. Here’s how it compares using 3DMark’s Wild Life Extreme test:
That there’s a gap between the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16e in performance terms here isn’t surprising given the drop in GPU cores. At a straight power level then the iPhone 16e impresses – but the iPhone 16 is still a better bet.
It’s pretty clear that Apple didn’t stuff the A18 processor into the iPhone 16e for it to be a gaming machine per se, but instead so that it met the minimum requirements for Apple’s own AI efforts, AKA “Apple Intelligence”.
This uses a mix of on and off-device AI to allow for optimisation and creative features, though so far I’m still very much left waiting and wanting for that killer AI feature that makes me feel like it’s an unmissable feature. I can write my own documents, thankyou, and I’d rather get artists paid than use generative AI for those features.
Even simpler details like summaries of my inbox often either skip details or make mistakes about the intent of a message. I can accept that others may find Apple Intelligence an essential part of their everyday workflow, and if you did want the lowest cost mobile entry point into its feature set, the iPhone 16e is it.
While much of the iPhone 16e’s makeup can be described as “like the iPhone 16, but a little less”, there is one genuinely new part of the phone’s design not found in any iPhone to date.
That’s Apple’s first in-house 5G capable modem, the Apple C1. Up until now, if you bought an iPhone, it had a Qualcomm 5G modem in it, despite Apple buying out Intel’s modem business some years back.
The Apple C1 is Apple’s first in-house mobile modem, and it operates (rather predictably) as a sub-6Ghz model, because it’s not like Apple’s going to break into mmWave with its cheapest iPhone first. What’s slightly interesting here is that where Apple does have mmWave iPhone 16 models in other markets outside of Australia, the iPhone 16e is sub-6Ghz everywhere across the planet.
Which is interesting if you’re technically minded, but you probably want to know how well the iPhone 16e works for mobile data, right? The answer isn’t surprising; while mobile networks are variable creatures, my own testing with the iPhone 16e on Telstra’s network in Sydney hit the typical ranges of between 200-400Mbps down during my review period, which is the same as I see on just about any other phone.
Battery
Apple’s claim for the iPhone 16e is that its battery life has been “supersized”, which is certainly emphatic, but also a term that needs proper context. Apple’s first choice of context here is anyone shifting from a much older iPhone model including the iPhone SE models, with the claim of (for example), up to 13 hours more video playback than on the 2nd Gen iPhone SE.
Which is a good thing, because the battery life on the iPhone SE was always an utter disaster area. To quote from the book of Yazz, the only way is up, or at least that should be the situation for the iPhone 16e, especially given the claimed battery life improvements of the Apple C1 modem.
Dive into the specifications a little deeper, and it claims up to 26 hours of video playback, while the iPhone 16 only claims up to 22 hours, so this must be a battery beast, right?
I’m honestly not seeing it.
As I have long noted, battery life and usage varies by user and by day, and there’s no one pure golden battery life test to rely on.
Still, I expected a lot out of the iPhone 16e purely based on Apple’s own hype for how battery efficient it was going to be, so I set it the relatively simple (but highly repeatable) task of running through my standard YouTube 3 hour battery test. Here’s how it compared:
93% for that first hour does still point to a phone that should last a day’s moderate usage, which it has in my more day to day anecdotal use. It also absolutely wipes the floor with the older iPhone SE if you’ve been living with that model’s terrible battery limitations.
However, there’s just no getting past the fact that the iPhone 16, despite being rated by Apple as a worse battery performer, ran better in a real life test. Once again, I’m struck by the fact that for those who are keen on a new iPhone specifically, the iPhone 16 looks like a better buy.
That comparison doesn’t end there, however, because while the iPhone 16e supports both wired and wireless charging, it’s now the only model in Apple’s iPhone lineup not to support Magsafe charging.
This means you’re stuck at just 7.5W charging – very old-school iPhone – compared to the iPhone 16, and you don’t get the benefits of magnetic connection or easy access to Standby mode unless you’re willing to use a stand and a cable, or a very particularly positioned wireless charger either.
Apple iPhone 16e: Alex’s Verdict
It’s not hard to see why Apple made the design choices it did for the iPhone 16e. If you’re going to make your “most affordable” iPhone, you’re going to cut out features found in the pricier models to keep them as attractive propositions.
For the iPhone SE generation, I could see the value because the price gulf was really profound, making that generation of iPhones a better fit for that “affordable” label.
At $999, I struggle to see the iPhone 16e the same way. If you’re up for a grand for a smartphone, the jump up to $1399, while not small, isn’t likely to be some huge barrier to adoption, but what you’re getting out of the iPhone 16 is a better looking unit with better cameras, better performance and, surprisingly given Apple’s general claims here, even better battery life!
I would never call the iPhone 16 affordable of course, but the comparison isn’t one that’s flattering in any real way towards the iPhone 16e.
If you’re not tied to the iOS ecosystem there’s a whole host of better Android options at its price point, but even if you are, buy the iPhone 16 instead.
Apple iPhone 16e: Pricing and availability
The Apple iPhone 16e retails in Australia at $999 for the 128GB model, $1,199 for a 256GB model or $1,549 for a 512GB model.
|
Buy The Apple iPhone 16e! | Buy On Amazon |
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You’ll probably buy a case, so buy an inexpensive MagSafe case and then you can use MagSafe charging (if you must, but plugging in a cable is more efficient) rather than relying on physical alignment with a wireless charger, and it also takes care of attaching to a stand or bracket for StandBy or Continuity Camera (etc) purposes.
I think the difference between $999 and $1399 is more significant than Alex does. Sure, if you’re happy to spend $1400 on a phone, then yes, go ahead and buy a 16. But if you’re feeling financially constrained and a four-figure price tag is a hard no, the 16e gives you access to the latest software features plus the great integration between iOS, iPadOS and macOS.
Sure, the 16e would be better value at $799 or $899 – but everything would be better value at 80 or 90 percent of its actual price.
What is going to be interesting is whether all/most future iPhone generations include an e variant, or will the e models follow the SE cadence? I bought a 16e assuming the latter, but time will tell.
You could buy a case with magnetic alignment and get that benefit — but it’d still only be at 7.5W, not the 15W that MagSafe/Qi2 supports on the iPhone 16.
You’re not wrong that anything cheaper is going to be better value, that’s mathematically consistent — but I still stand by the thought that anyone spending $999 on a phone isn’t making as big a leap to the higher price as it is getting to that one grand in the first place. It’s only $1 off a four figure price tag, where the SE phones were a fair distance from it.
Also going to be interesting in about six months when the iPhone 17 phones arrive, because if the iPhone 16 hangs around in Apple’s lineup (or if there’s just older stock at other retailers) that gap between the 16e and 16 will become much smaller as retailers sell off iPhone 16 models at a discount.