Review: The iPhone 16e is an iPhone for Apple shareholders

Nearly a decade ago, Apple burst into the mid-range market in a big way. The first-gen iPhone SE went for a different strategy after a failed — albeit semi-beloved — attempt with the iPhone 5c. By effectively creating a smartphone out of a parts bin, Apple was able to develop a low-cost iPhone that shoppers might be lured in by. An iPhone 5s chassis here, an at-the-time new A9 chip there — it wasn’t pretty, but at $400, it was successful at tempting people into Apple’s walled garden.

For two additional generations, the company followed the same strategy, utilizing older designs with newer specs to create a smartphone for well under $500 that people might actually want. The iPhone 16e, however, does not. With a modernized design and (nearly) the same processor available across the entire iPhone 16 series, it’s clear Apple wants you to think of this as every bit as impressive as the rest of its current-day lineup. However, unlike the iPhone SE, this device has some mixed-up priorities, and its $600 price tag just makes Apple’s compromised experience stick out that much more.

Price, availability, and specs

The iPhone 16e starts at $600 for the 128GB version, but you can drop $700 or $900 on the 256GB or 512GB models, respectively. It’s available through Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Boost Mobile, though you’ll need to be a new customer when buying the device through Apple on Boost’s new network. It’s also available as an unlocked device, and unlike other iPhones, there is no $30 surcharge for buying one without selecting a carrier. You can have any color you’d like, as long as it’s either black or white.

What’s good about the iPhone 16e?

Believe it or not, there are a few things to like about Apple’s new “low-cost” iPhone, and it all starts with the design. Putting the notched display aside for a moment, the 16e — specifically in the white colorway I’m reviewing here — feels like a throwback to the iPhone 5 and 5s, two of my favorite designs ever introduced by the brand. The silver frame paired with the matte white glass looks so clean, and some of Apple’s removed features, like Camera Control and the single lens, help in this regard.

I know we’ve all gotten used to two, three, or four lenses protruding from the back of our smartphones, but there is something so simple and elegant about the iPhone 16e’s single lens. It’s a look I didn’t realize I missed until unboxing this phone, and I wouldn’t mind seeing other companies dial back their lens selection on more affordable smartphones. Quality over quantity, in other words.

Despite the relatively affordable price, the iPhone 16e feels as premium as the standard iPhone 16. While I’m a fan of the Pixel 8a’s plastic back, it looks, feels, and sounds like plastic, and that’s not the case with this phone. Apple’s decision to keep the Action button here, rather than revert to the traditional slider like on the iPhone 14 this replaces, is also commendable. While I still think iOS is far too limited in what this tool could do, I’m all in on shortcut buttons like this.

Beyond the design, the iPhone 16e nails all the basics you’d want in a daily driver. The screen, while 60Hz, looks excellent indoors and out. Battery life is rock solid; even on days I utilized wireless CarPlay, I don’t think I ended a day below 30 percent. I’m not sure if that’s any better than the regular iPhone 16, but it’s good nonetheless. Speakers, haptics, the clickiness of its buttons — Apple has, perhaps unsurprisingly, nailed the basics to make a good piece of hardware, and that’s not always true in $600 Android phones.

All of this extends to the internals as well. I’ve seen some reviewers applaud Apple’s move to 128GB of storage here, but in my eyes, that’s the absolute bare minimum any device should ship with in 2025. The more impressive spec is its A18 SoC, the same chipset that ships in the iPhone 16 and 16 Pro. Well, almost the same — while all three phones have 6-core CPUs, the GPU here has been sliced to just four cores, compared to five cores in the iPhone 16 and six in the Pro series.

If it matters, I haven’t noticed. That might say more about my own gaming habits, which are fairly non-existent on mobile outside of Balatro these days, but if you’re a die-hard mobile gamer, you’ll probably want the power promised by the Pro series anyway. For the vast majority of mobile games — and, truly, of any application on the App Store — the iPhone 16e delivers.

It’ll likely last for years, too. Apple doesn’t specifically promise software updates to my knowledge, but its track record speaks for itself. Expect six or seven years of iOS updates at least. Of course, the features that ship in those later upgrades will always remain up in the air.

What’s bad about the iPhone 16e?

Once again, let’s start with hardware. While I actually do quite like this white-and-silver look, it’s pretty disappointing that the only true color options Apple offers for the iPhone 16 lineup are found on, well, the iPhone 16. Whether you’re looking to save some cash with this model or go all out with the iPhone 16 Pro or Pro Max, you’ll be stuck with some selection of neutral tones. Apparently, colorful smartphones are only for those who want to spend a lot of money, but not too much money.

I’m willing to let the 60Hz display here slide — I know, roast me in the comments if you must, but I think most people considering this phone will not notice a difference — but I can’t stand the notch. It has its pros, of course. Unlike the Dynamic Island, its higher placement on your screen pretty much guarantees that YouTube videos and plenty of movies and TV shows won’t be interrupted. It also fades into the background of your eyeline in a way the Dynamic Island never will.

But Apple’s notch replacement really does add a ton of usefulness to iOS that I’ve genuinely missed here. There’s a reason Google, Samsung, and others are all taking on ideas like Live Activities: They’re good ideas. Whether it’s sports scores, workout rest timers, navigation directions, or Uber pickup times, Apple has done a great job in getting developers to adopt this toolset. While you can still access Live Activities from the lock screen or notification tray, it’s just not the same.

While I’m talking about things that are bad-but-also-good, I missed Camera Control. I still find Apple’s shutter button way too finicky to use for the vast majority of photos, but it’s a decent always-ready shortcut. Because the Action button is limited to just one utility at a time, I have to pick between assigning it to the camera or the flashlight, and I ultimately decided on the flashlight. All of this would be solved if iOS 19 would add Action button options for long or double-presses, but Apple’s got other software problems to worry about.

The lack of MagSafe sucks too, and frankly, it’s the biggest omission here. MagSafe is good; there’s a reason the entire industry has adopted the Qi-branded version of it. It was available on the iPhone 14 this phone replaces, and it made its grand debut all the way back on the iPhone 12. I don’t care if it was cost-cutting, concerns about Apple’s modem, or what — for $600, it should be here.

Speaking of, the iPhone 16e contains Apple’s first in-house modem, the C1. It’s… fine? Using a Verizon eSIM, I mostly forgot it was even built into this phone. That said, I don’t get great reception inside my house, and there were a few times I dropped to zero bars and struggled to load anything online, something that hasn’t happened on Qualcomm or Samsung-manufactured modems. Fluke? Maybe, but it’s something to watch out for if you live in an area with poor reception. As always, your mileage may vary.

Similarly, by and large, the camera is fine. Don’t mistake its absence from my more positive thoughts above as any indictment on its performance; I just wasn’t particularly wowed. I will say, though, I missed the ultra-wide lens more than I thought I would. Macro photography just isn’t possible here, nor is taking very silly shots of your pets in close-up (I can’t be the only one who does this, right?). Otherwise, this seems to be the same sensor on the regular iPhone 16. It’s perfectly fine at 1x or 2x; anything more and you’re going to see some serious artifacts.

iOS 18 — paired with Apple Intelligence, more specifically — is absolutely my least favorite element of this phone. Apple’s mobile OS has morphed into a bug-ridden mess over the past few years. Search in settings is fundamentally broken, rearranging apps or shortcuts without accidentally shuffling other icons takes years off my life, a generations-old autocorrect bug continues to make many of my texts look like gibberish — truly, I could go on and on.

Despite my preference for Android, I’m not an iOS hater by any means, but the state of this operating system is, to be blunt, embarrassing. I’m surprised more people, and Apple bloggers specifically, don’t complain about it. But rather than mop up the mess it made, Apple is pushing forward into the age of AI, and, quelle surprise, it’s managed to mess that up too.

My iPhone 16 Pro Max review was published in the earliest days of Apple Intelligence features going live for non-beta testers, but in the months since, it’s launched a few additional features. Notification summaries remain as useless as ever; they’ve learned to build silly group chat names into their context, which somehow makes them even worse than before. Genmoji is one of the most insipid features I’ve ever seen on an iPhone. It’s borderline useless, and if Google tries to ruin Emoji Kitchen with AI at I/O this year, you’ll never be able to shut me up.

The things that work fine are the same writing tools Google and every other AI-focused company have developed. Being able to rewrite emails in different tones or better predict a response to a text is fine, I guess. Still, it’s not impressive and certainly not a reason to upgrade to an Apple Intelligence-equipped smartphone.

Should you buy the iPhone 16e?

Is the iPhone 16e a fine-enough phone? Yeah, sure. Buy it for yourself, your teenage kid, your parents or grandparents, and I’m sure they’ll be more than satisfied. But at $600, I think it’s fair to expect a little more from Apple. Any “budget” device — even one as expensive as this — is going to have to make concessions to hit its price point. It’s true on Android, and it’s true here as well.

With the iPhone 16e, Apple prioritized build quality and processor performance over a more robust camera system or power user favorites like MagSafe, Camera Control, and the Dynamic Island. That might fit your lifestyle — or, considering this is Android Police, the lifestyle of the person you’re buying this phone for. However, Apple’s decision to stuff an A18 in here, rather than opting for something like the A16 now found in the 11th-gen iPad, comes down to an internal focus on Apple Intelligence.

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There is, of course, a chance that Apple’s AI suite will eventually turn into something worthwhile. As it stands, though, it’s a handful of fairly bad features paired with a semi-indefinite delay (“coming year” means nothing to me, sorry) of what I’d consider its flagship feature in Siri’s relaunch. Every iPhone user is better off disabling Apple Intelligence on their device and taking back the required 7GB (!) of data, and that’s a damning indictment of Apple’s latest smartphones.

The iPhone 16e isn’t a bad device, but its priorities are clearly shaped around what matters to Apple and its bottom line, and not in creating the very best entry-level smartphone money can buy. If you’re looking for the cheapest brand-new iPhone available right now, this is the only option you’ll find in Apple stores. But if you’re after the best bang-for-your-buck, I’d recommend looking elsewhere.