Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone 16e, the latest addition to the company’s iPhone 16 family, hits stores Friday for $599. I’ve been using the budget-friendly phone for the past few days, and despite its relatively low price, it still provides many of the features you’d expect from the company’s higher-end phones.
You get Apple’s A18 processor, which means you can run Apple Intelligence, something you can’t do on the $699 iPhone 15 and $799 Phone 15 Plus; Face ID; the Action button; and an updated camera system compared to the one found on the aging iPhone SE the 16e replaces. This is also the first phone to come with Apple’s C1 chip, the company’s first modem designed in-house.
But you do miss out on a handful of features, including multiple camera lenses and Apple’s Camera Control button. Still, for the price, the iPhone 16e is a top-notch choice if you’re looking for a newer smartphone that won’t drain your wallet.
The iPhone 16e, like the iPhone 14, includes a cutout at the top of the phone’s screen that houses its Face ID camera and sensors. That means you don’t get the Dynamic Island found on the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro that provides information like sports scores or updates for apps like Uber. I find the Dynamic Island especially handy for tracking my fantasy team’s score during football season, but it’s not exactly a must-have.
The 16e does get Apple’s customizable Action button, which I set up to launch my phone’s flashlight, but it can also fire up the camera or translation apps, among other options.
Around back, the iPhone 16e gets a single 48-megapixel Fusion camera. Apple’s iPhone 16 gets a two-camera setup that includes standard and ultrawide-angle lenses. The iPhone 16 Pro gets both of those and a telephoto lens with 5x zoom. But the iPhone 16e’s camera does include a 2x optical-like zoom option.
The photos I took with the iPhone 16e were clear and crisp, though I do wish Apple included an ultrawide-angle lens, which is a huge help when trying to take group shots. If you’re the type of person who takes tons of snaps, I’d suggest opting for the standard iPhone 16 or jumping to the 16 Pro. But if you’re just taking casual photos here and there, the 16e is more than up to the task.
Importantly, the iPhone 16e is the first iPhone to use Apple’s new C1 modem. Designed in-house by Apple, the modem replaces the Qualcomm (QCOM) chips Apple used in previous iPhone models, including the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro lines.
