Apple just launched what should have been its most exciting budget iPhone yet. At first glance, the iPhone 16e seemed like a straightforward, entry-level alternative to the iPhone 16—just as good at a base level, but more affordable.
But the more I learned about this phone, the weirder it got. At its core, it’s basically an iPhone 14 display housing an A18 chip with a 6-core CPU featuring a single 48-megapixel camera, all packed into a hybrid chassis.
The first thing that stands out is that this is by no means an iPhone SE.
Instead, it’s a $600 phone that borrows some ideas from the SE while introducing puzzling component choices of its own.
The C1 modem
This phone marks Apple’s first integration of the Apple C1, a custom in-house 5G modem. I think this is the most intriguing piece of tech in this phone.
For years, Apple has been using Qualcomm's modems, but after years of speculation, we finally see Apple’s own modem in action.
The main benefits of this shift include greater vertical control over the supply chain and the potential for improved battery efficiency, using Apple’s silicon expertise.
However, there is a catch. While reviewing the comparison page, I noticed that the iPhone 16e lacks Ultra-Wideband (UWB) support, which is the component of the iPhone that allows for things like precision tracking with Apple's AirTags or the ability to more easily find your iPhone when it's lost.
This might not sound like a big deal, but Apple has been putting an ultra-wideband chip in every iPhone since the iPhone 11 in 2019. It is really weird to see that a six-year-newer model lacks a feature that was standard back then.
A similar story plays out with the new C1 5G cellular modem, as it doesn't support all of the kinds of 5G that you would want to see out of iPhones.
While it supports the standard sub-6 GHz spectrum of 5G, it lacks support for ultra-fast mmWave connectivity, which enables download speeds of 2–4 Gbps. The same vibe also carries through Apple's other wireless technology on this phone.
A different version of A18
The iPhone 16e is powered by the A18 chip, but it’s not the same version found in other iPhone 16 models. A closer look at the specifications reveals that Apple is using a binned version of the processor.
Unlike the standard iPhone 16, which features a 5-core GPU, the 16e is equipped with only 4 cores, while the 16 Pro boasts 6 cores. So, not even the chip is the same as all the other phones.
Amazing battery life
While the modem and chip changes bring some compromises, one area where Apple did make a surprising improvement is battery life, which is remarkable even though the 16e is $200 cheaper than the standard iPhone 16.
When Apple highlighted the extended battery life enabled by its new modem, they weren’t just referring to modem efficiency alone. Apple also redesigned the internal structure of the iPhone 16e to accommodate a larger battery.
This is really weird because the iPhone SE was always about reusing as many parts as possible rather than introducing new ones. Yet, the 16e not only features a cutting-edge modem but also a redesigned internal layout—something even the standard iPhone 16 lacks.
Apple claims 26 hours of video playback (up from 22), 21 hours of streamed video playback (up from 18), and an additional 10 hours of audio playback compared to the regular iPhone 16. Despite being a stripped-down version of the iPhone 16, the 16e offers superior battery life and a more efficient modem, arguably making it the best iPhone in terms of price-to-battery-life ratio.
But this also comes with a cost. There is no MagSafe on 16e. Unlike previous models where the feature was simply disabled, the iPhone 16e lacks MagSafe hardware entirely. The only wireless charging option is limited to 7.5W Qi charging, which I think is a huge mistake.
Because MagSafe has become a core feature of the iPhone since 2020, almost 5 years at this point, and it's a feature that people have really enjoyed, I don't understand how a new iPhone in 2025 doesn't have MagSafe.
Camera caveats
I believe the single camera on the back is pretty good now, upgraded to 48 megapixels. Although it's just a single physical lens, you can do a 2X telephoto zoom using a crop in the software, which is a cool trick Apple's done on a few iPhones now.
The new 48-megapixel fusion camera system appears nearly identical to the one on the iPhone 16. However, in the software, you won’t get the new photographic styles on the 16e that Apple made a huge deal about on other iPhone 16 models.
No Wi-Fi 7, no thread networking
Unlike the other iPhone 16 models, which feature Apple’s latest Wi-Fi 7 standard, the iPhone 16e is limited to the older Wi-Fi 6. Is it a huge deal for most people? Probably not, but it's still not the same as other iPhone 16 models.
The same is true for Apple's home networking thread technology baked into every iPhone, which has been standard for the past couple of years, and also on the 16e, it is just absent.
New action button
Apple’s decision to replace the traditional Ring/Silent switch with the new Action Button is a welcome change. The Action Button now supports Visual Intelligence, which was initially one of the key selling points of the dedicated camera control button.
The iPhone lineup is a mess
With the introduction of the iPhone 16e, Apple has reshuffled its lineup in a way that raises more questions than answers. Previously, Apple offered a $429 iPhone SE and a $599 iPhone 14, but both models have been discontinued in favor of the 16e.
This is significant for two reasons.
First, Apple no longer offers a true budget iPhone—the most affordable new model now costs $200 more than yesterday’s cheapest option.
Second, given that the 16e replaces the iPhone 14 at the same price, one would assume it is superior in every way after several years of progress.
However, the reality is far less straightforward. Consider the differences: the iPhone 15 has a mute switch, whereas the 16e and 16 have an action button—but only the 16 gets an additional camera control button.
The iPhone 15 runs on the A16 chip, the 16e has a binned version of the A18 with one less GPU core, and the standard iPhone 16 has the same A18 but with an additional core.
The iPhone 15 has a Dynamic Island, and the 16 does as well, but the 16e does not—yet, paradoxically, the 16e has the best battery life of the three.
There are certainly some unexpected technological advancements in the 16e, but Apple appears to be playing both sides—raising the price while simultaneously cutting features where it sees fit.
At $600, this is no longer a budget phone in the way the iPhone SE was. That $429 price point placed the SE in a distinct category, whereas the 16e sits awkwardly in the mid-range.
This just feels confusing: should I buy the iPhone 16e, or should I spend an extra $200 for the standard iPhone 16? The problem is that there are too many phones with too few differences in this narrow price band, and realistically, none of these phones is targeted at high-awareness technology enthusiasts.
For the average consumer, this is confusing. Why is the cheapest iPhone simultaneously better and worse than both the newer and older, more expensive options?
The beauty of the iPhone SE was its simplicity—it was the budget-friendly iPhone, purchased not for its features but for its longevity and software support at the lowest possible price.
The iPhone 16e, however, is not that. Rather than a simple, budget-friendly iPhone, the 16e is just another mid-range model with an arbitrary suffix and an inconsistent feature set. The SE had a clear purpose—this doesn’t.
What I think
In my Mac Mini review, I said that the M4 Mac Mini represents the best value-for-money tech product in the tech universe, but with this 16e, however, I can’t say the same.
As many things as it gets right, there are an equal number of things that don't make sense at all. As a part of Apple's iPhone lineup, I think it just adds confusion.
The bottom line? At $600, the iPhone 16e isn’t the great deal Apple wants us to believe it is.
Once again, Apple was so close to making an incredible budget iPhone—but then they slapped a $600 price tag on it and called it a day.
The 16e isn’t a complete disaster, but it’s also not exciting. I honestly don’t know what Apple was thinking.
The author is a contributor and tech enthusiast.