iPhone 16E First Impressions

The iPhone 16E is here. The $599 phone joins the iPhone 16 line as Apple's most affordable phone. But it also marks the end of the iPhone SE era, the home button, the Lightning port and a truly small iPhone option.

[Preußen]

I think Apple released it so that people would think, "At this price, I should buy Regular 16."

[whitemailprivilege]

Visual Intelligence being launched from the Action Button proves Apple omitted this feature from the iPhone 15 Pro for no other reason than to differentiate it from the iPhone 16 for marketing purposes.

[DLG]

People, save your money for a better future.

[chris-sc]

Sad to see that Apple does not understand the value proposition of the previous iPhone SE models. A small (repeat:small) iPhone with enough functionality and speed to do what one needs to do with a mobile phone, simple user interface (finger print reader), and not too much more (actually quite a lot more these days), at an attractive price point. Oh, did I mention small? I would expect 16E will find many followers because of its attractive (but different) value proposition, but those who enjoyed the small and nimble iPhone SE have been orphaned.

[AC-ltro]

No MagSafe, and charging $599 pre-tax for a 128GB base model storage phone should be criminal in 2025. SMH!!!

[dragonknight]

Needed to start at $499. Fail, big time actually, at $599. Might as well just get a new 15 or an older 14 Pro phone used...Apple really needs to stop dropping the ball, they only had a single hit last year with the Mac Mini M4...it's been miss across the board otherwise.

[RemotHuman]

iphone se 2022 is still a great phone to consider buying, only $200 used and it runs the latest iOS and probably will for 3 more years

[craigcarlson]

Like so many others, i feel it is priced too high. If it were $100 less, it might tempt me to update from my iPhone 13 Mini. But it doesn’t. I really couldn’t care less about AI. Am now considering switching to other brands when i need to replace my current phone.

[Lruiz]

Once I heard someone say that the rebranding of the new phone will be 16e and not SE4 because with the "16" name in it Apple could increase the price and basically resell an iPhone 12 with the left processors from the previous 16 lineup

[dragonite]

Apple took those savings from Qualcomms modem and charged people more. Lesson to people when a company saves money rarely does the consumer benefit.

[HandheldAddict]

Price in Canada ($899) and 60hz screen are deal-breakers for me

[Adamtendo_player_]

$600 for 60 Hz display in 2025 is wild plus no MagSafe slow USBC charging. Why bother with wireless charging with this thing when it’s so damn slow, it’s official. Apple have lost their damn minds.

[beyondu]

Sadly, CNET made a mistake and left out several things that the iPhone 16e doesn't have, even compared to iPhones made years ago. Firstly, the iPhone 16e does have the A18 chip in it, but it's not the same one found in the 16 or 16 Pro. Apple is using a binned A18 chip, with one less GPU core. There is no Ultra-Wideband Chip in the 16e, which is used for precisely finding things like your iPhone when it's lost or air tags. The C1 chip in the iPhone 16e does not support Ultra-Fast 5G either. iPhone 16e comes with Wi-Fi 6 unlike its counterparts that have Wi-Fi 7. Apple's home networking Thread technology is not on the iPhone 16e either. I do think not incorporating MagSafe into the 16e is really odd too.

[WishIKnewMyName]

Apple’s AI may not be limited to their flagship phones, but it’s certainly limited.

[jaws]

Glad to see Patrick back doing a review

[k_thompson]

Basically a iPhone 12 shell with one cameras and new chip and features

[highdefnews]

Pretty disappointing IMHO. They should consider releasing a true SE model at a lower price point. Maybe one with a smaller screen like the discontinued Mini line to differentiate it.

[MisterRubbertoe]

I’ve been an Apple guy since the 5s, but my current 11 will be my last… don’t want or need “Apple Intelligence” and I’m not gonna pay extra just to be forced to buy the hardware that supports it. 🤷🏻‍♂️😔

[KervaMasterX]

Wait till y’all see the iPhone 17 Air price 😂😂 ridiculous

[eben]

They should have just kept the SE name and used the chassis of the iPhone 13 Mini, with a starting price of $500. I think most SE owners would have preferred the smaller form factor of the Mini, and $600 is just too expensive for what this is.