Apple iPhone 16e review

Competition

The Apple iPhone 16e is supposed to be the most affordable model in the lineup, and, in a way, it is. It starts at $700/€700 for the 128GB version and $799/€829 for the 256GB version. This puts it in an unfavorable position compared to some of the most popular Android flagships out there but Apple has never really played this game. Within Apple's phone portfolio (excluding any unrefurbished deals), the iPhone 16e is the cheapest iPhone indeed.

Last year's iPhone 15 is still on sale via official channels and costs about €150/$100 more at each corresponding storage tier, and if you go to third-party retailers, the difference shrinks down to about €50. This makes it the closest-priced iPhone alternative to the iPhone 16e, and the 15 has got a better screen, an extra camera, and MagSafe charging to show for it. Still, it comes with a chipset that's two generations older and will never support Apple Intelligence, for what that's worth.

The iPhone 16, on the other hand, is about €250 more expensive when you buy direct from Apple, and the difference is about €100-125 if you go to third-party retailers. The vanilla iPhone 16 is a nicer phone regardless how you look at it - it has a better OLED display (brighter, more efficient and with the Dynamic Island), faster GPU, an ultrawide camera, a slightly better main unit, MagSafe charging, and Wi-Fi 7 and UWB support. Those are value-adding features that the right buyers may appreciate, making the price premium well worth it.

If you're willing to look outside the iOS camp, the Pixel 9 will get you more cameras at a lower price. The Galaxy S25 is also a superior cameraphone, though still too new and too expensive. The Xiaomi 14, on the other hand, is a bit more of an exotic alternative, but a plenty capable one, too.

Again, though - none of these has iOS, and iOS can be an important consideration for many potential buyers.

Apple iPhone 16 • Apple iPhone 15 • Google Pixel 9 • Samsung Galaxy S25 • Xiaomi 14

Verdict

The iPhone 16e is a solid smartphone - it offers Apple's iconic design, now made cleaner than ever, durable as always, and, well, just beautiful. The 16e is also one of the most compact and lightweight modern smartphones on the market. And it costs under $799/€800, which translates to affordable in Apple's world.

But it is not the next iPhone SE or an iPhone mini successor. This alone would be a big turn-off for many customers (some of our team members included) who were expecting a new mini iPhone even if it wasn't meant to be as affordable as before.

The iPhone 16e being a recycled iPhone 13 with scrapped iPhone 16 chips is surely not helping its case, especially at that price. It is just not an attractive offer as is.

Of course, the iPhone 16e delivers on its promises - it offers a great design, lovely video streaming experience, fast Face ID, superb performance, loud stereo speakers, a decent camera, and the full-featured iOS experience minus the MagSafe support.

We can't see the iPhone 16e as a worthwhile purchase regardless of the region unless you are shopping for an older person or a kid who won't see any value in the second camera or the more advanced features and would rather have an iPhone with recent silicon to last them as many years into the future as possible.

For anyone else, the iPhone 16e is an overpriced midrange phone that will evoke raised eyebrows and chuckles, but sales - doubtful. Not at that price, at least. We do suspect some carriers will offer good deals, though, so if you liked what you saw here, check with your local carriers first.

Pros

• Likable design, durable and lightweight.
• Nice quality OLED with plenty of pixels.
• Top-notch speakers.
• Modern, up-to-date chipset, good sustained performance.
• Solid camera performance with either camera.
• Every iPhone gets at least five years of iOS updates.

Cons

• It's not more compact than a regular iPhone 16.
• No ultra wide camera.
• The display is 60Hz; there is no Always On option, and the bezels are quite thick.
• No MagSafe accessories support.
• No charger in the box, and charging isn't particularly fast.
• A lot more expensive than corresponding Android alternatives.
• Apple Intelligence features are region-limited.