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

 

Ive been traveling through time this week. Reviewing the iPhone 16e feels at once like I’m visiting my younger self and also forced to live in olden times, especially since I’ve been using an iPhone 16 Pro for months. No matter the device you’re currently using, getting the iPhone 16e necessitates embracing change. Sure, that’s part and parcel of getting any new phone (and any transition in life), but when it comes to the iPhone 16e, not all change is good. And when you consider the $599 starting price, many of the omissions, ostensibly made in an effort to squeeze Apple Intelligence into the most affordable iPhone, become harder to swallow.

It isn’t surprising that Apple had to make compromises with the iPhone 16e to offer a more affordable entry-level device; what’s unexpected is the decision to not add a second camera or MagSafe. Just the fact that it insists on calling the iPhone 16e’s 48-megapixel camera a “2-in-1 camera system,” makes it clear the company knows two sensors is something people want.Instead, the iPhone 16e comes with an A18 chip that powers Apple Intelligence, as well as the C1 modem, which is the first designed by the company. You’ll need to be extremely meticulous when poring over the list of similarities and differences between all the currently available iPhones, since there are many tiny factors to consider. What wireless charging speed or standard of Wi-Fi would you need? Do you care about cameras?

 

Sure, you can compare these specs yourself, but I’m here to tell you exactly what these differences mean in the real world. In my week or so with the iPhone 16e, I felt the drawbacks of the camera the most — I can live without MagSafe and the Dynamic Island. But what the iPhone 16e does offer is fast performance, a clean design, long battery life and, most crucially, cheaper access to Apple’s ecosystem.

Apple / Engadget

The iPhone 16e is the most affordable entry into Apple Intelligence and the rest of the company’s ecosystem, and is a solid option for anyone who doesn’t care very much about smartphone photography.

Pros

• Solid performance
• Long battery life
• Clean, durable design
• Bright, vibrant screen

Cons

• Only one rear camera, leading to many limitations
• Expensive compared to previous iPhone SE
• No MagSafe

Design and display

Let’s be real: Apple was never going to launch another iPhone SE in 2025 with a dated design and no AI support. The iPhone 16e, like its name suggests, is visually very similar to the rest of the iPhone 16 lineup. That is, until you turn the screen on. Once you can see the bezels and the notch up top, the device has a stronger resemblance to an iPhone 14. I was only temporarily distracted by the relatively thick borders, though. Anyone coming to the iPhone 16e from an older iPhone is unlikely to be bothered by this. More importantly, the display is protected by the Ceramic Shield material that was introduced on the iPhone 12. The previous iPhone SE did not have this same protection.

On its back, the iPhone 16e has a plain white (or black) matte surface with a single camera at the top left corner. It was hard to differentiate between the three iPhone 16 models I carried around for testing unless I looked at their rears — that’s how similar they are. In fact, their dimensions are almost identical, with less than a millimeter and 3 grams separating the iPhone 16e and the iPhone 16.

iPhone 16e	iPhone 16	iPhone 16 Pro
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