It has been every week since Apple launched the iPhone 16e, its new low-cost (however not as low-cost as earlier than) smartphone. The iPhone 16e has most of the similar capabilities as Apple’s flagship iPhones, however it’s missing in some key areas to economize. So, is it definitely worth the financial savings? MacRumors videographer Dan Barbera spent every week with the iPhone 16e as his principal iPhone to see what he might reside with out.
At $599, the iPhone 16e is sort of a bit dearer than the iPhone SE 3 that it replaces, but it surely presents a current-generation A18 chip, an all-display design with Face ID as an alternative of Contact ID and OLED expertise, a 48-megapixel single-lens rear digital camera, lengthy battery life, USB-C, and security options like Emergency SOS through Satellite tv for pc and Crash Detection, all of which weren’t within the iPhone SE.
Most iPhones have had two or extra cameras for a number of years now, so the single-lens digital camera on the iPhone 16e is surprisingly delicate and makes for a clear, minimal design the place the digital camera is not the dominant characteristic drawing the attention. There’s additionally much less weight with the slimmed down digital camera setup, so it does not really feel heavy within the hand. You may solely get the iPhone 16e in black or white, however they’re traditional colours.
Since Apple slimmed down the bezels with the flagship iPhone 16 lineup, the bezels on the iPhone 16e are extra noticeable, however that is one thing that may principally solely come up when it is proper subsequent to an iPhone 16. Apple modeled the iPhone 16e after the iPhone 14, so it is also bought a notch as an alternative of a Dynamic Island. The OLED show does not assist 120Hz, and it is not fairly as vibrant as what you get with the iPhone 16. You are additionally not going to get the always-on show, and if that is one thing you are used to, you would possibly miss it. However in case you’ve by no means had that performance, you will not know the distinction.
There is not any Digital camera Management button, however you do get an Motion Button and assist for the entire Apple Intelligence options, together with Visible Intelligence. It is simply activated from the Management Middle or Motion Button as an alternative of Digital camera Management. The Digital camera Management button is not one thing most individuals will seemingly care about. The A18 chip is mainly the identical chip you get within the iPhone 16, however with one much less GPU core, a change that is not tremendous noticeable.
Apple added a USB-C port for charging, however one main absence is assist for MagSafe and Qi2. There isn’t any magnetic ring within the iPhone 16e, so it doesn’t work with the entire magnetic equipment which have come out for iPhones during the last a number of years. It is also restricted to 7.5W charging speeds as an alternative of the 15W you may get with MagSafe or Qi2, and that is an enormous draw back.
If you happen to’ve by no means had MagSafe, you will not thoughts charging primarily with a cable, however in case you have MagSafe equipment already, it should be a downgrade.
The 48-megapixel digital camera is about the identical because the digital camera within the iPhone 16, and it could actually take 1x and 2x pictures. You aren’t getting a Telephoto lens with 5x zoom or an Extremely Vast lens with 0.5x zoom and macro picture capabilities, however these are extra area of interest digital camera options which might be extra good to have than important.
The iPhone 16e has one distinctive element, and that is Apple’s C1 modem. To this point, it appears to be performing about the identical as Qualcomm’s modem chip, although there is no such thing as a assist for the sooner mmWave 5G networks. We did not see any notable velocity distinction between the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16e when testing the units on Verizon’s community, however the C1 modem truly gave the impression to be extra dependable in some cases the place sign was low.
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