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Summary
With the iPhone 16e, Apple has forever changed the meaning of an affordable iPhone. If you’re considering upgrading from a two- or three-year-old handset, here are several reasons why the iPhone 16e should be on your list.
iPhone 16e Has a Compact Form Factor
If you’re in the market for acompact flagship with a premium build, the iPhone 16e shouldn’t disappoint you. The handset is about the same size as the vanillaiPhone 16, which makes for comfortable one-handed usage.
With an aluminum frame,Ceramic Shield front, and a glass back panel, the affordable iPhone has a relatively modern design. While thebudget iPhone has a notch up top(borrowed from the iPhone 14), there’s one camera and the company’s mascot on the back panel.
Apple also took a page off theiPhone 15 Pro’s recipeand addedthe Action Buttonon the entry-level iPhone. Everything else, like the side button and volume rockers,IP68 dust and water resistance rating(up to 6m for 30 minutes), and the USB-C port on the bottom, is the same as the vanilla iPhone 16.
A Sharp, Bright, and Reliable Display
Even though there are several handsets in the segment thatoffer a 120Hz refresh rate screen, the iPhone 16e’s 6.1-inchSuper Retina XDR OLEDscreen is stuck at 60Hz in 2025 (but so is the iPhone 16). Beyond that, though, the budget iPhone’s screen is decently bright (up to 1,200 nits) and crisp.
I’ll admit that these specifications aren’t exceptional; they won’t appeal to enthusiasts. However, iPhone displays are known to produce accurate colors,have excellent viewing angles, and respond well to touch inputs. Together, these qualities make up for a reliable visual experience.
The notch at the top reminds me of the time when theiPhone 13andiPhone 14were in fashion. It houses therequired Face ID sensors, allowing you to access your phone securely and the front camera.
iPhone 16e Supports Apple Intelligence
The cheapest iPhone gets one of the mostpowerful mobile processors of all time: A18 (3nm) chip. It comprises a six-core CPU, a four-core GPU, and a 16-core Neural Engine. Together with 8GB of memory, the chipset provides unmatched performance for its price.
Whether you want to playAAA video gamesat the highest graphics settings (except higher frame rates),edit 4K videos, or handleintricate Lightroom workflows, the iPhone 16e can take it all. It is, without a doubt, one of the mostbenchmark-friendly handsetsat the price.
All the raw processing power makes room forApple Intelligence. That’s right. The $699iPhone 15doesn’t get a piece of Apple’s GenAI features, but the $599 iPhone 16e gets all of them.Writing Tools,Notification Summaries, Image Playground,Visual Intelligence; you name it, and the cheapest iPhone can do it.
All theGenAI features currently available on iOS 18.3, and the ones coming in the future will be available on the iPhone 16e.
12MP to 48MP: The Camera Gets a Major Upgrade
The latest entrant into the iPhone 16 lineup borrows its camera from the flagships. Instead of a 12MP (f/1.8) camera on theiPhone SE 3, you get a 48MP (f/1.6, OIS) sensor on the iPhone 16e.
The increase in megapixels not only improves the overall sharpness and picture quality but also enables 2x in-sensor zoom. If you’re into creating videos, the handset can record 4KDolby Vision footageat up to 60 fps.
You also get features like Smart HDR 5,portrait mode, night mode,Photographic Styles, spatial audio recording, wind noise reduction, andAudio Mix. On the front, the iPhone features a 12MP (f/1.9) shooter with autofocus.
If you’re not hardcore intosmartphone photographyand can’t see yourself using the secondary ultra wide camera the flagship iPhones offer, the iPhone 16e allows you to capture excellent pictures and videos in almost every scenario.
Battery Life Shines
When it comes tobattery life, the cheapest iPhone outperforms its flagship sibling by a significant margin. The iPhone 16e offers up to 26 hours of video playback, which is four hours more than the iPhone 16 and only one hour shorter than the iPhone 16 Pro.
It doesn’t get fasterMagSafe charging, but the budget iPhone still supportsQi wireless charging. You can charge it up to 50% in 30 minutes via the USB-C port using a 20W adapter or higher.
Reliable 5G Connectivity
The iPhone 16e features Apple’s first in-house modem, the C1 subsystem. It doesn’t support mmWave connectivity but provides up to 4Gbps of download speed onsub-6 GHz 5G networks. You also getWi-Fi 6, Bluetooth v5.3, GPS, NFC with reader mode, and a USB-C port.
A Huge Upgrade for iPhone SE or iPhone 13 Owners
All things considered, the $599iPhone 16e (128GB)is like an affordable version of the iPhone 16. It lacks some nice-to-have features, likethe Camera Control button, aDynamic Island on the front, a secondary ultra wide camera, and faster MagSafe charging.
However, if you’re okay with not having those features (I know a bunch of people who have already placed their pre-orders), you’re able to’t go wrong with the design, performance, battery life, and camera quality of the iPhone 16e.
iPhone 16e
Check out thebest iPhone 16e MagSafe cases of 2025to protect your investment. Thinking about buying a used iPhone? Here’s11 things you should check before getting a used iPhone.
