If you’re still looking for the Everything iPhone, you’ll naturally find it in the $1,000 iPhone 16 Pro. The fresh, spanking new $600 iPhone 16e is the next entry-level Apple device to promote access to Apple Intelligence. If the device at first seems like a true SE upgrade—an iPhone with all the fixings for a lower price—you should first recognize all the caveats that come with the cheaper iPhone.
But, yes, Apple has packed more features into this sequel to the iPhone SE than ever before. It’s packing a full, 6.1-inch OLED (AKA, the Super Retina XDR) display. Gone is the old TouchID button; in its place is a notch with a camera that supports FaceID. The device has the company’s first in-house modem, the C1, which we expect will be right at home on the inevitable iPhone 17. More than that, it’s packing the A18 chip directly from the iPhone 16 and should include enough RAM to support Apple Intelligence (Apple has previously claimed any phone needs 8 GB of memory for AI).
It’s also $170 more expensive, with a floor of 128 GB of storage compared to the last iPhone SE from 2022, and its minimum storage is 64 GB. Few would consider $600 a “budget” phone, not when competitors like Google show up with its $500 Pixel 8a or Samsung with its Galaxy FE devices. The next iPhone feels like a cross between the iPhone 16, iPhone 14, and the 2022 iPhone SE. We, too, would love it if the iPhone 16e was just a cheaper reprise of the excellent iPhone 16, but Apple had to cut the fat somewhere, and that may include features you’re used to on fellow Apple devices.
The iPhone 16e specs page mentions that the device supports “Wireless charging” and works with Qi chargers, but that does not mean all your favorite MagSafe accessories will work on the $600 iPhone. That means Apple won’t sell all those colorful cases with any MagSafe attachment point. The last iPhone SE didn’t include MagSafe either, and it’s one of those features Apple likely assumed wouldn’t be a priority for some users. At the very least, it will use a USB-C port. Say goodbye to Lightning.
The iPhone 16e Doesn’t Include the Dynamic Island
The Dynamic Island on the iPhone 14 Pro finally allowed Apple to remove the glaring notch at the top of the smartphone display and maximize screen real estate. While the feature didn’t have much support at launch back in 2022, I’ve found it surprisingly helpful when playing music or navigating with Google Maps. I had hoped Apple would include it on the new not-” special edition,” but there’s no such luck. Instead, there’s the old notch, back again to eat a chunk out of the OLED display.
The iPhone 16e Won’t Have the Camera Control Button
The new iPhone is taking the Action Button that first debuted on the iPhone 15 Pro, and we’re happy to see it included on the cheaper iPhone. The programmable trigger acts as the Silent/Ring function by default, but you can set it to do voice recordings or open up other shortcuts on your device. There’s one extra physical button missing on the iPhone 16e: Camera Control. This trigger can open up the Camera app and let you take pictures. An additional capacitive function lets you swap through different camera settings without tapping the screen. iOS 18.2 also added the promised DSLR-like shutter function to lock exposure and focus on a subject. This is a real loss out of everything that isn’t coming with the iPhone 16e, especially for those who prefer physical switches to touch screens.
The Next, Cheaper iPhone Doesn’t Have an Ultrawide Lens
The iPhone 16e has a single rear sensor and a 26 mm, 48 MP “Fusion” lens with a ƒ/1.6 aperture. This lets you shoot at both 24 MP and 48 MP, which is a boost over the last iPhone FE’s 12 MP lens. Like the previous iPhone SE, the next, cheaper iPhone lacks an ultrawide or telephoto lens, which won’t do wonders for your attempts to shoot macro shots or wide vistas.
Apple advertises that this sensor allows for 12 MP and 2x telephoto shots. It’s an upgrade from the last, cheaper iPhone, but it may not be great for your regular Instagram meal shots. We should also mention here that the iPhone 16e won’t support Spatial photos or video as the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 lineup do. However, it can record Spatial Audio.
There’s No SIM Card Slot on the iPhone 16e
Along with Lightning cables, Apple has now completely eschewed physical SIM cards—at least in the U.S. If you want to use the iPhone 16e, get ready to connect with your carrier so they can finally offload your physical SIM into a digital format.
No Option For Colors Other Than Black or White
The bi-chromatic swatches on the iPhone 16e may be pretty glaring for those who fondly remember the colorway on the 2020 iPhone SE. There’s a black (more like a dark gray) and white color, and either device includes aluminum sides with a glass back. Apple could lead with more dynamic colors in the future, but for now, the 16e is maybe even more drab than Apple’s normally less vibrant Pro-level devices.
The Cheaper A18 Chip Has a 4-core GPU Compared to the iPhone 16’s 5-core GPU
It’s a small thing, and you likely won’t be using the iPhone 16e for any intensive gaming tasks, though the $600 iPhone’s CPU is pared back slightly from last year’s iPhone 16. The A18 chip on the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16e is a 6-core CPU with two performance cores and four efficiency cores. However, the documentation notes that the A18 on the 16e lacks one less GPU core than the 16. What does this mean in practice? We won’t know until we get our hands on it, but it’s a small thing that may impact performance on some tasks. The cheaper iPhone also has a stated 26 hours of video playback battery life compared to 27 hours on the iPhone 16 Plus (22 hours stated life on the iPhone 16). Again, this could be a negligible difference or even a benefit over the base iPhone 16, but it is something to consider when the new iPhone costs just $100 less than the base iPhone 16.
For years, Apple has prided itself on setting the industry standard. Yet with the iPhone 16e, it seems the company is taking yet another page straight out of Samsung’s playbook, and Apple is embracing the “almost premium, but not quite budget” approach of the FE series for its latest iPhone.
Looking at the iPhone 16e, it’s hard not to be confused by the phone’s entire existence. It’s almost a flagship device—offering the same chip as the newer iPhone 16, as well as the same AI capabilities you’d see from the 15 Pro Max and above. But there are a lot of places it's lacking, too, not to mention the price doesn’t really feel very budget-oriented.
For starters, it only has one camera (though Apple says it’s two cameras in one), it’s missing MagSafe (a strange omission by any account), and it has a refresh rate of 60Hz—the same as the base iPhone 15 from 2023. In fact, if I squint just a bit, it kind of starts to feel like I’m looking at Apple’s version of the Galaxy FE line.
The FE (which stands for Fan Edition) line is perhaps Samsung’s most interesting line. It’s a “budget-but-not-quite-budget” series of smartphones that blend the lower price you’d expect from mid-range and budget devices with more premium features. And it’s been immensely popular in recent years. Now, Apple’s iPhone 16e looks to be following the same formula.
The 16e looks a lot like a blend between the body of the iPhone 14 and the specs of the iPhone 16. It boasts a 6.1-inch OLED display, a newer A18 chip, and even an “upgraded” 48MP camera. But look closer, and the telltale signs of cost-cutting are there.
While the camera sounds solid on paper, you can expect fewer advanced features compared to the main iPhone 16 lineup. Even if that somehow isn’t the case, there are a few areas where the iPhone 16e falls short of the original 16 line—most notably, the lack of MagSafe and Wi-Fi 7 support.
Of course, this isn’t just another budget phone offering. This is Apple’s attempt to lure budget-conscious users without making their flagships obsolete. It’s a game Samsung has become very good at playing, as the FE models are essentially their flagship phones with a few corners cut.
Apple, however, has historically resisted this approach. The SE series was its way of offering a cheaper iPhone while still leaning on nostalgia. But the 16e feels different—it’s Apple openly playing the “good enough” game Samsung loves to play.
Even the price makes it clear the 16e is Apple’s attempt at pushing into the FE game, as it comes in at just $100 cheaper than the cheapest of its current flagship offerings. Together, this makes it clear: Apple has realized there’s a market for “almost-flagship” devices, and it wants in.
Is this a bad thing? Not necessarily. More choice is always welcome for consumers like you and me, and it's an attractive deal for those who don’t need the best displays or features. But it’s also a sign that Apple is no longer leading from the front. The 16e isn’t a revolution—it’s just another smart business move. An attempt to carve out another slice of the market Samsung already dominates.
So here we are. The iPhone 16e is Apple’s take on the Galaxy FE, a mid-tier offering dressed in premium branding. And that’s fine. But we don’t have to pretend it’s anything groundbreaking.
Do you remember when Apple made sure to include an affordable iPhone in its lineup? With the company ditching the iPhone SE and iPhone 14 from the official lineup today, the cheapest iPhone you can buy from Apple is now 40% more expensive than the iPhone 16e.
Of course, you can still buy older iPhone models from third-party resellers, but overall, getting an iPhone from now on will be much more expensive. In 2020, the cheapest iPhone available was the second-generation iPhone SE 2, which cost $399. In 2022, when Apple unveiled the third generation iPhone SE, the company made it $30 more expensive. However, the iPhone 16e is an entirely new phone, and it starts at $599. It’s also now the cheapest iPhone in Apple’s lineup that the iPhone SE and 14 have been discontinued.
That said, there are a few reasons why Apple is making it more expensive, including:
- Apple Intelligence support: With the A18 chip and 8GB of RAM, Apple is not only giving it one of the most recent processors available in the lineup, but it’s also adding an impressive jump in RAM;
- More storage: The new iPhone 16e follows the iPhone 16 with three storage options: 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB options;
- Face ID technology: After a lifetime of Touch ID, Apple is now ditching this technology over Face ID. The TrueDepth sensor is far more complex and secure than Apple’s previous technology;
- Improved main camera: Long were the days when Apple offered a 12MP sensor on its main camera, as the company moved to 48MP sensors. With that, iPhone users can virtually enjoy a 2x optical zoom without losing quality.
Finally, Apple has also added a new C1 chip for 5G connectivity as the company is trying to move away from Qualcomm reliance. Still, we have yet to see how Apple’s 5G technology compared to the one powered by its long-time partner.