iPhone 16e- One Month Later Review

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60%

60%

The iPhone 16e is actaully a very good phone, despite what some people may say. But the problem is there are much better options, with superior displays and camera systems, for less coming from a wealth of Android competitors.

The Good

1. Great battery life for an iPhone
2. Perfectly sized with a premium look
3. A18 chip gives offers good future proofing

The Bad

1. Camera is fine but very limited beyond point-and-shoot
2. Black design shows scuffs easily
3. Overpriced compared to better Android competitors

• User Ratings (10 Votes)
  3.4

Need-to-knows

• Can’t recommend it above any other mid-range Android device
• Difficult to get creative with the single-lens camera system
• Form factor is a refreshing shift from the chunky 16 Pro Max
• Starting price is too high at £599/$599

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I’m writing this in the only place I feel remotely cool in Singapore – an air-conditioned coffee shop inside an air-conditioned shopping mall.

I’m in this incredible – and blisteringly hot – country for a smartphone launch, but that isn’t the device I want to talk about today.

I’ve been using the iPhone 16e as my main smartphone for the last month, and I’m really rather enjoying it.

You read that right – the current laughing stock of the mobile phone world – the one people are assuming is monikered ‘e’ for ‘e-waste’-  has been a very nice companion at home, at work, and while travelling. Particularly the latter, actually – which is why I thought now was an opportune time to update you with my thoughts about the iPhone 16e.

How I reviewed the iPhone 16e

I decided to switch fully to the iPhone 16e from the iPhone 16 Pro Max. This meant inserting my main SIM card and transferring all settings, apps, and third-party peripheral connections to the iPhone 16e.

My first week testing period also coincided with a trip to Barcelona for Mobile World Congress (MWC), which resulted in me relying on the iPhone 16e not just for getting around the city, but also for many work-based duties, communicating with my team and family back at home, and, of course, content creation. And then the rest of the month saw me integrate it into my every day life.

People don’t believe me

This still amuses me.

During my YouTube review of the iPhone 16e, I explained that, having switched from my iPhone 16 Pro Max to Apple’s latest ‘budget’ offering, I couldn’t be arsed to go back. It was a faff, I said. Transferring SIM cards, reconnecting Bluetooth devices, and undertaking the monumentally over-complicated process of moving a WhatsApp account to another phone just weren’t tasks I fancied.

That’s not enough for some people. To them, this sounds like an excuse. More worryingly for those people, it sounds like a tale devised to mask what really happened when I obtained the iPhone 16e.

It’s time to come clean.

The meeting was perilous. Boundaries had been crossed, secret papers signed, and all sorts of complicated and expensive legal proceedings were readied just in case I fucked up and told the world.

Which is what I’m doing now. Sorry, mum.

I met Tim in an underground car park in London. It was the sort of place in which you wouldn’t leave your car, let alone schedule a meeting with the world’s most recognisable and influential CEO. But therein lay the genius of Apple’s PR department – they knew no one would expect such a meeting to take place in that location, and they were right – the place was deserted, save for a rusting Vauxhall Astra, a loitering cat, and four-hundred discarded cigarette buts. I assumed the latter wasn’t a result of Tim having to wait for my late arrival.

As I entered the car park and our eyes locked, we nodded at one another. No words were exchanged. The cat brushed expectantly against Tim’s legs. He didn’t react. Instead, he reached into a Microsoft Store bag he was holding by his side (again – brilliant on behalf of the Apple PR team) and retrieved a nondescript brown box.

Tim winked and handed me the box. I turned to check that no one was looking, but when I turned back to face Tim, I saw nothing but my outstretched arm clutching the treasure. He’d disappeared, Batman-style.

You now know what was in that box – the iPhone 16e that sits next to my laptop today, the one Apple gave me with strict instructions to deliver a glowing review and fabricate a story of switching to it from the iPhone 16 Pro Max.

Only, none of that actually happened, did it, lads? No – I just quite like the iPhone 16e and can’t be bothered to switch back.

Give. Me. Strength.

I’m not alone

The most interesting thing about the reaction to my iPhone 16e review was the number of people who claim to have done the same as me. To this day, I still have comments arriving from iPhone users who have switched from a Pro Max of some description to the 16e.

They’re super happy. They’re loving the new-found freedom that comes from using an iPhone one-handed and which doesn’t remove their ability to bend down and tie up their shoelaces when it’s pocketed.

There are downsides; all of us iPhone 16e switchers know this. The camera system is severely limited in terms of zooming capabilities (both in and out). The display is comfortably the worst on the market. The notch looks more old-fashioned by the day. The black version obtains marks and scuffs quicker than a toddler’s pair of trainers.

It’s a bit rubbish.

But we’re really quite fond of it. And, regardless, the issues above aren’t the real problem with the iPhone 16e.

The REAL problem with the iPhone 16e

As you might guess, I spend quite a lot of time with fellow tech content creators. I spoke to a couple of my contemporaries yesterday, in fact, and we were chewing the fat over the disconnect we sometimes have from our audience.

This isn’t intentional – it’s simply the net result of having a job that gives us hands-on experience with so much new stuff. We get to see, touch, and experience more smartphones in a single year than most people own in a lifetime.

We also spend our lives reading spec sheets and reviewer’s guides. We are, therefore, acutely aware of the features that separate devices, and the minute differences that are inherent within competing smartphone camera systems.

No one else cares about this stuff apart from uber smartphone geeks. And there are far more regular smartphone users than there are uber smartphone geeks.

Those people do not care about optical focal lengths. They have no idea what ‘mAh’ means. They could not give two flying whatsnames about display refresh rates. And they definitely have no interest in the presence or absence of IP69 water resistance.

I’m also pretty convinced that they have zero requirements for the barrage of AI features that are pumped into modern smartphone operating systems. Hence the lack of mainstream news coverage of the farce that is Apple Intelligence.

What’s more, most of them never think about their next smartphone purchase in terms of the RRP of the device. They’ll obtain whatever it turns out to be via their favoured carrier, who has heavily subsidised the cost of that device. They’re still paying for it, obviously (and, in some cases, over the RRP), but it’ll be spread out almost unnoticeably across a 24-month contract – often without an up-front fee. Therefore, the fact the iPhone 16e is, arguably, overpriced for what it offers, is totally irrelevant, because those who buy it don’t even know what that price is.

The same goes for specs. We care about them as tech reviewers, but we often forget that most people who buy smartphones use a tiny subset of their phone’s capabilities. They don’t need the stuff we gush or agonise over.

That’s the problem with the iPhone 16e – it gets reviewed by people like me.

Why the iPhone 16e is a smart move by Apple

Put yourself in Tim’s position. You’re running the world’s most valuable company (give or take – I know this is debateable) and you have shareholders breathing down your neck. Unlike your predecessor, you’re not a product guy – but you know how to run the numbers and turn a profit. That’s why you’re paid so well.

One of your products is nearing the end of its lifecycle. It’s called the iPhone SE, and it has proven itself to be profitable and a big hit with a significant portion of your userbase. It’s underspecced and pales in comparison to the competition, but it sells. So, who cares.

It still needs replacing, though. You’re also acutely aware that you’ve got a shed load of active users on very old iPhones. Their carrier contracts and patience are waning. They’ll need to get new devices, soon. The grasp and familiarity of the Apple ecosystem will only see them through so far – the last thing you want on your hands is a mass exodus of old iPhone owners to Android.

You need to release a new device that converts those lagging users, which continues to attract new customers, and that is capable of maintaining your prized profit margins. The best way to do this, you’re informed by your product team, is to re-badge the SE as the 16e (thus instantly making it more susceptible to annual upgrades). The new device won’t be a burden on your profit and loss sheet – it’ll lean on parts you’ve already got in huge supply, and the manufacturing process has existed for so long it barely costs the company a penny.

Oh, and the projected sales numbers and carrier partnerships suggest you can increase the price over the SE, too.

The net result? A big influx of customer upgrades, a new device to market the backside out of, and a pleasant shareholder meeting later this year.

What would you do?

The good: size, chip and battery

I’ve been living with very large smartphones for years now and as much as I love those big displays, the trouser-troubling nature of them can get a bit tiring after a while. It’s why I rated the brilliant Xiaomi 15 so highly.

One of the best things about the iPhone 16e is its size. And, yes, I know it’s practically the same as the regular iPhone 16 in that regard, but when you’ve been so used to the huge slab of the Pro Max, the 16e’s waiflike frame is refreshing. In fact, for this reason alone, I’m tempted to keep my SIM card in Apple’s latest iPhone.

No, really. I’ve not found any issues with adapting to the display size of the iPhone 16e; the keyboard hasn’t felt cramped (the one downside of the iPhone 13 mini) and the reduction in screen estate just doesn’t matter. I also think that the iPhone 16e is one of the best looking iPhones Apple has ever made. Fight me in the comments if you disagree.

The result is a phone that’s incredibly easy to travel with. This is bolstered by the battery life, which is superb. It’s no better than the Android devices with which it competes, but the fact it is on a par with them demonstrates that Apple is acutely aware of what’s going on in Android Land.

The 16e never felt stretched during my time in Barcelona – I’d remove it from the charger at 6am with 100% remaining, and by 7PM there’d still be 35% battery left. These were days of heavy use, too, with lots of map guidance, content creation, and communication.

Last night, I headed to bed with 55% remaining, and only a few percentage points had vanished overnight when I woke up this morning. So, it’s great in standby mode, too.

Once again, this is a very easy smartphone to live with.

I don’t miss the Camera Control at all. If the iPhone 16e proves anything – and this chimes with the commenter’s sentiments above – it’s that some of the additions Apple has made to its flagship line up are either edge-case or entirely gimmicky. The Camera Control resolutely falls into the latter category, I’m afraid.

On that note, I don’t miss the Dynamic Island, either. Although this came as no surprise – if someone removed it from my iPhone 16 Pro Max, I’m not convinced I’d notice the difference.

The same goes for MagSafe – and yes, I know this is unlikely to be a popular opinion. Thanks to the ESR case I’m using, it feels like the iPhone 16e actually has MagSafe, and the fact it can charge wirelessly adds to the illusion. If nothing else, this phone has reminded me that I don’t actually rely on MagSafe for anything apart from those magnets.

If you put the display refresh rate to one side (I’ll come back to it later, don’t you worry), the iPhone 16e feels very fast and capable. It should – it has Apple’s latest chip inside, albeit with one fewer GPU core than the version found in the regular iPhone 16. Performance is where Apple rarely skimps, and the iPhone 16e is a great example of a device which has been dealt a strong hand in that department, despite its lowly placement in the lineup.

The camera system does a good job, too. It’s limited, yes, but the standard lens produces great results, and I was really impressed by the video performance during a rather lovely passenger ride across Barcelona’s mountain range in a classic Porsche (MWC is hard work – I promise).

Oh, and that Apple-designed C1 modem? While it doesn’t necessarily feel better than the Qualcomm chip it replaced, it certainly hasn’t fared any worse. So, that’s nice.

The bad: display, camera and price

The iPhone 16e is a deeply flawed smartphone, let’s not beat around the bush. Every time I whipped it out of my pocket to show fellow creators and press people at MWC, there was an immediate snigger or roll of the eyes.

That’s a little churlish, I know – but, trust me, this happens all the time on the press circuit with pretty much anything Apple-related (unless it’s a MacBook you’re whipping out, because everyone has one of them).

As noted earlier, my list of negatives about the iPhone 16e isn’t long, but it’s frustrating and will contain major stumbling blocks for people who really care about their tech yet who want to spend wisely on it.

I’ll start with the design. While it is indeed lovely, the black version I have marks incredibly easily. Brush your fingernail across it, for instance, and a fingernail-coloured scuff immediately appears. You can wipe it off, but it does make me wonder how well this thing will wear over time.

The display’s refresh rate is stuck resolutely at 60Hz. I can’t defend Apple on this one anymore. Practically every Android phone you can buy today has at least a 90Hz variable refresh rate. Most have 120Hz. And this is regardless of their price or categorisation within a wider lineup. Apple has painted itself into a ludicrously restrictive display corner by making ProMotion a flagship feature.

As a result, the iPhone 16e – despite the grunt on offer from the A18 – feels sluggish when making your way around iOS. The best way to describe the experience is that it feels like you’ve left battery saving mode on. Just like the iPad mini and iPad Air, it’s a real shame and places Apple several yards behind the Android-based competition.

The iPhone 16e doesn’t have an always-on display, either. While not a dealbreaker, it did surprise me and it does, once again, immediately age the iPhone 16e.

Perhaps the most frustrating thing about the iPhone 16e, however, is the camera system. As noted, it’s a decent performer when you don’t attempt to stretch it, but if you fancy getting creative, its limitations become immediately apparent. There’s no ultrawide, which is more restrictive than you might think, and nothing usable beyond the 2x zoom.

As a content creator, I found it incredibly limiting, but it’s been a similar story as an everyday shooter. Put it this way – if you care at all about photography, the iPhone 16e isn’t for you. Which is a huge shame. This all begs one question: will the target audience for the iPhone 16e care at all about the

Final thought

I repeat: I’m not switching back to the iPhone 16 Pro Max. I genuinely can’t think of anything I’d rather do less than go back to that behemoth – particularly when I’m always carrying around a second large-screened Android device (that’s another problem with us tech reviewers).

The iPhone 16e is a great phone because it does exactly what Apple asked of it. For the intended userbase, it’s perfect, regardless of its inherent flaws and brainstorming Android competitors. For someone like me who is, I agree, the last person you’d expect to end up using an iPhone 16e, it’s a breath of fresh air.

Later this year, we expect Apple to cascade Promotion south of its iPhone Pro lineup. The regular iPhone 17 and the much-rumoured iPhone 17 Air, if it arrives, will, therefore, finally have a high refresh rate display. This can only mean that, one day, the ‘e’ iPhone will obtain one too.

Not that anyone who actually buys that phone will notice, obviously.