The iPhone 16e is the perfect phone for your parents

Summary

Apple’s iPhone 16e offers a premium feel with excellent camera capabilities and a snappy A18 chip.
The iPhone 16e lacks key features like a higher refresh rate display and an ultra-wide lens. It’s also priced roughly $100 too high.
The iPhone 16e caters to iPhone users seeking a budget option, making it ideal for those upgrading from the iPhone 13 or the iPhone 14.

That headline isn’t a slight at Apple.

With the iPhone 16e, Apple has pared down the iPhone 16’s key features in a smart way. It looks like a combination of the iPhone XR and the iPhone 14, only with a far more modern chip, a better display, and a solid camera. But it’s not a perfect phone package and still lacks key features offered by comparably priced Android devices like the Pixel 8a (and soon, the Pixel 9a), including a higher refresh rate display.

However, the iPhone 16e is more than good enough for iPhone users that don’t need the latest and greatest from Apple. This is the phone for people like my parents that walk into their local Apple Store or wireless carrier and ask for “the cheapest iPhone that’s still good.” Still, despite doing a lot of things right, the iPhone 16e is roughly $100 too expensive in the US at $599, and it’s even more pricey in other regions (in Canada, the iPhone 16e costs an astounding $999).

This makes the iPhone 16e feel far less of an entry device than its specs would suggest. Which is a shame, as it’s otherwise a solid addition to the iPhone family.

Recommended

Apple iPhone 16e

Apple’s new iPhone 16e is aimed at users on a budget, sporting many popular iPhone features while being priced much lower than its flagship counterpart, the iPhone 16.

Pros & Cons

Feels premium
Camera snaps great photos
A18 chip offers snappy performance

Roughly $100 too expensive
Sizable bezels
No ultra-wide lens

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Price, availability, and specs

Apple’s iPhone 16e starts at $599 from Apple’s website and other retailers. First off, it’s important to note that the iPhone 16e features nearly the same A18 chip as the iPhone 16 (it features one less GPU core). The device’s Super Retina XDR OLED display measures in at 6.1-inches, with a resolution of 2532 x 1170 pixels at 460ppi. The iPhone 16e’s screen supports HDR, True Tone, Wide color (P3), and features 800 nits of brightness and 1200 nits at peak brightness (HDR).

Regarding its camera, the iPhone 16e’s f/1.6 48-megapixel camera offers 2x telephoto zoom through sensor cropping down to 12-megapixels, alongside image stabilization. On the digital side, the phone can hit 10x digital zoom. On the front, the iPhone 16e features an f/1.9 12-megapixel TrueDepth camera system that’s Face ID compatible in its display notch (there’s no Dynamic Island, however). Video support maxes out at 4K Dolby Vision video recording at 60fps, though most people will probably opt for 1080p 30fps.

The iPhone 16e is offered with 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB of storage. Colors include white and black (which are kind of boring and make me miss the colorful iPhone XR). Other notable specs include IP68 water and dust resistance (a maximum depth of roughly 19ft for up to 30 minutes). And finally, it’s worth mentioning that the iPhone 16e is the first Apple phone to feature its own C1 modem. I haven’t done extensive testing, but I didn’t encounter any connection or speed issues tied to Apple’s first modem (we’ll likely see the C1 in the iPhone 17 series).

iPhone 16e

Brand: Apple
SoC: A18 (3nm)
Display: 6.1-inch 2352 x 1170 pixel resolution Super Retina XDR, 1,200 nits, 60Hz
RAM: 8GB
Storage: 128GB, 256GB, 512GB
Ports: USB-C
Operating System: iOS 18
Front camera: 12-megapixel (wide)
Rear camera: 48-megapixel (wide)
Others: Action Button
Dimensions: 2.81 x 5.78 x 0.31-inches (71.5 x 146.7 x 7.8mm)
Colors: Black, White
Display type: OLED
Weight: 5.88 oz (167g)
IP Rating: IP68
Price: $600
Release: February 28, 2025

Apple's iPhone 16 being held in front of flowers

The iPhone 16 offers nearly everything I want from a phone

Apple’s base iPhone is a solid, all-around device that really should feature a 120Hz refresh rate display.

What I liked about the iPhone 16e

A solid-feeling device with impressive camera performance

The iPhone 16e feels excellent when you’re holding it in your hand. Its matte rear has a premium look and feel to it (though it is a smudge magnet), and its aluminum sides feel sturdy and smooth. I’m also fond of the lone rear camera bump. The iPhone 16 series camera array is sizable and, especially when it comes to the iPhone 16 Pro, it’s a bit of an eyesore. In contrast, the iPhone 16’s lone lens is understated and sleek, which I appreciate. I hope we see something similar with the iPhone 17 series’ rear camera array.

Shifting to the display, it’s great that Apple opted for an OLED screen with the iPhone 16e’s 6.1-inch screen. When comparing the iPhone 16e’s and iPhone 16’s screens side-by-side, both phones feature great-looking displays, though the former device includes a notch, while the latter features a more modern-looking Dynamic Island. Content is vibrant, whether I’m doom-scrolling on Threads or watching YouTube videos, but I can’t help but miss the iPhone 16 Pro’s higher refresh rate display (more on this later).

On the camera front, I’ve been very impressed with the iPhone 16e’s 48-megapixel shooter. It’s a very similar lens to the iPhone 16, only with a slightly smaller sensor, and its performance has been nearly identical in my experience. Under decent lighting conditions, the iPhone 16e snaps great photos that rival the iPhone 16’s, offering excellent contrast, bright colors that are still true-to-life, and the ability to snap clear photos, even of moving objects and people. Low-light shooting is a little worse, but the difference isn’t notable, and the camera seems to handle white balance poorly under challenging lighting conditions. The 2x zoom sensor crop is impressive, too, and rivals the iPhone 16’s in my experience.

Thanks to the A18 chip, performance is solid across the board, and in my roughly one week with the iPhone 16e, I haven’t encountered a single instance of lag. For those that care about benchmarks, the iPhone 16e hits 1,927 for single-core and 4,974 for multi-core on Geekbench 6.

The iPhone 16 Pro is now my gold standard for phone photography

Apple Intelligence is still missing, but the Camera Control button and Photographic styles make for a worthy upgrade for photographers.

What I didn’t like about the iPhone 16e

Big bezels and a sizable notch could turn some people off

My two most significant issues with the iPhone 16e are its sizable bezels, which I noticed the first time I picked up the smartphone, and its display notch. Both iPhone XR/iPhone 14 era design features make the iPhone 16e look far older than it actually is, similar to how the iPhone SE’s physical Home Button made the 2022-released smartphone look like 2017’s iPhone 8.

It’s also disappointing that Apple opted for a 60Hz screen, just like it was with the iPhone 16. This is far more forgivable than it was with the iPhone 16, given the iPhone 16e aims to be Apple’s entry-level offering. Other downsides include the lack of the Phone 16 series’ Photographic Styles that happen earlier in the photography pipeline. There also isn’t an ultra-wide or zoom lens, either, which means you can’t shoot macro shots (though regardless, I found I’ve been able to get very close to subjects when shooting photos).

I also think anyone upgrading from the iPhone SE line might take issue with the iPhone 16e’s lack of a Home Button since, anecdotally, I know several older people who stuck with the positively ancient-looking smartphone solely for the physical button. At the same time, I’d say that those people need to give up the physical Home Button, because at this point, swipe navigation has been around for several years (it’s pretty intuitive, too). Speaking of buttons, while the iPhone 16e features an Action Button, there’s no Camera Control button. While I was initially very into the Camera Control button and its subtle adjustments on my iPhone 16 Pro, I find that I rarely use it now, so as far as I’m concerned, this isn’t a huge loss and makes sense in the context of a lower-end device.

Will the iPhone 16e’s target audience care about these missing features and issues, particularly the less capable camera specs? Probably not, but they’re still worth noting, especially if you’re deciding between buying the iPhone 16e and the iPhone 16. The one exception to this rule is MagSafe. I really don’t understand why Apple didn’t opt to include magnets in the iPhone 16e, especially given how popular MagSafe accessories are. You can buy a third-party MagSafe case to add compatibility to the iPhone 16e, but the magnets likely won’t be strong enough for accessories like my beloved MagSafe PopSocket.

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Should you buy the iPhone 16e?

This is an entry-level device for a very specific iPhone user

Would I buy the iPhone 16e? Definitely not. I don’t necessarily need the best of the best all the time, but I’d miss the Dynamic Island and I’m not fond of the sizable bezels. There are other factors, too, like the lack of a higher refresh rate display, and I’ve grown very fond of playing around with Photographic Styles.

I’m clearly not the iPhone 16e’s audience, though. This phone is for people that need a new iPhone and are currently on the iPhone 13, iPhone 14, or maybe the iPhone SE, who don’t want to shell out the money for the pricey iPhone 16. In fact, I’d argue that the iPhone 16e will actually cannibalize the iPhone 16’s sales. It offers all the features that matter to the average person, alongside a cheaper price tag. The iPhone 16e will likely make more sense when the iPhone 17 inevitably launches later this year with a subtle redesign and sought-after upgrades like a 120Hz ProMotion screen.

This device was provided to Pocket-lint by Apple.