iPhone 16e review

Take the iPhone XR, 14 and 15, put them all in a IVF lab and what you get is the iPhone 16e. It has the single camera set-up like the XR, notch from the iPhone 14 series and an Action button from the current line up. In the bargain, it does shed a few grams and feels so in the hand as well. Light on the palm, amazing hand feel thanks to the frosted glass back, the only thing that gives away its ageing roots are the thicker bezels and the notch. One of the most appreciable change is of course, the USB-C port, replacing the Apple Lightning connector, finally bringing all of Apple’s gadgets into the EU friend zone. Action button is a convenient add-on and you won’t even notice the lack of Camera Control from the more expensive models. A shortcut to the AI lens search or ChatGPT can be added as a lock screen shortcut anyway so your reaction time shouldn’t suffer at all.

Boasting of the same processor as the iPhone 16 is the biggest flex here as it unlocks all the potential capabilities of Apple Intelligence. I say potential because we are yet to see Siri grow into the real intellectual capacity Apple has been promising for awhile now and without that, it’s mostly fun emojis and image clean up that will be used the most. Useful, yes. Game changing, not really. The A18 SoC has already proven itself to be one of the fastest there is and unless you’re used to editing 4K videos on the phone, you won’t even notice the difference between the 16e and 16 Pro. Compromises have been made in the name of costs in areas where you wouldn’t feel the pinch much, like screen refresh rate which is “only” 60Hz and wireless charging without support for MagSafe accessories. Again, unless you compare the 16e directly with the 16 Pro in each hand and scroll through your Insta feed like you’re looking for rock bottom, you won’t feel much of a difference. Let alone in everyday tasks like texting, emailing or browsing. MagSafe does have a thriving ecosystem of accessories and some may miss the ability to simply stick their iPhone on to a car mount or like me, who likes to use a third-party wireless charging stand by my bedside that allows me to use the Standby feature on the 16 Pro Max and use it as a night time clock. But since there is no 120Hz Pro Motion and hence no Standby feature on the 16e anyway, it’s like losing out on a lottery ticket you never had.

One of the biggest giveaways (for others) will indubitably be its single-lens Fusion camera system. 48MP in resolution and offering a 2x optical zoom, thanks to clever computation and cropping, it’s a very capable snapper. You do lose out on the macro, ultrawide or telephoto but most users looking for just the iPhone experience won’t even feel their absence. What they will feel is the better battery life compared to even the 16 and huge step up over the SE or.XR and it’s attributed to the brand new Apple C1 modem that makes its debut here. Developed over several years after acquiring Intel’s modem business, this is the first step in Apple breaking away from the shackles of Qualcomm and taking even more control of the supply chain. By concentrating its efforts on power efficiency by way of better synergy with the rest of the hardware, Apple claims a phenomenal 26hr battery life on video playback, 4 more than the iPhone 16!

Right off the bat, it’s obviously familiar and all that you’d expect from a modern iPhone. The thicker bezels don’t bother at all, the notch isn’t an eye sore for those who have never seen the Dynamic Island and the camera is perfectly acceptable for the majority of users. Even with one less GPU core compared to the similar A18 processor on the iPhone 16, Genshin Impact or Call of Duty didn’t show any signs of processor fatigue and the sound from this chassis is exceptionally clear and spatially balanced, besides being loud. It does heat up a fair bit, perhaps due to a smaller thermal cooling chamber but nothing too alarming if you manage your play time.

Photos taken from the bespoke Fusion camera look punchy and detailed, with outstanding colour accuracy like all other Apple devices. If you lean heavily towards the content creation side, you will obviously miss the lack of macro or zoom capabilities, but if you’re only into video or Reels, the 4K/60 and Dolby Vision support is a redeeming feature. Something that even a lot of higher end Androids still don’t boast of. With Spatial Audio recording, you can also use the AI-infused Audio Mix to better focus the sound on the subject or bring in more ambience into your video, depending on creative choice.

Tangible gains because of the C1 modem are hard to decipher, but ever since Vodafone caught up with 5G in Mumbai, I’ve had less reasons to complain anyway. Though it must be noted that this Apple modem doesn’t support mmWave 5G yet, which is the most advanced version of 5G and there is every chance that the second generation of this modem in the iPhone 17 series could get it.

All across the board, the performance is strikingly similar to the iPhone 16 or even the 16 Pro in some respects. So clearly, while it isn’t the cheapest phone out there by a long shot, if you simply want the cheapest and latest-gen iPhone, the 16e gives you all the “essentials”. It’s light, lasts ridiculously long, sounds better than any Android phone out there, ticks off all the modern AI tools that Apple promises and allows you to finally carry just a single USB-C cable for all your devices on that vacation. What’s not to like? Oh, the fact that it really should’ve been Rs. 10,000 cheaper.