iPhone 16E evaluate: Eh, it’s alright

The iPhone 16E is every little thing I like and hate about iOS. FaceTime at your fingertips. A dependable digital camera. Simplicity. Familiarity. They’re the pillars of the iPhone expertise, and Apple’s latest cellphone has ‘em.

My husband picked up the 16E, involved that he must “study one thing new” to make use of it. He swiped round for a second and mentioned, “Oh. It’s identical to my cellphone.” It is identical to his cellphone — a six-year-old iPhone XR — solely up to date with just a few important enhancements (a sooner processor, nicer display, and a contemporary digital camera, that sort of factor) and little else.

That’s the opposite pillar of the iPhone expertise: You get precisely what Apple offers you and nothing extra. On Android, you should buy a $500 cellphone with a quick refresh-rate display, two rear cameras, seven years of software program help, and wi-fi charging. On iOS, you should buy this $599 cellphone with one rear digital camera, a typical 60Hz display, wi-fi charging (however no MagSafe), and an ample however unspoken quantity of software program help. Apple has no competitors in terms of telephones working iOS. The corporate can gatekeep these conveniences behind a better price ticket, and that’s merely the best way issues will likely be. I’m looking at you, ProMotion.

That is the world the iPhone 16E enters. It’s Apple’s least expensive cellphone, nevertheless it’s not low cost — most likely for the aforementioned “lack of competitors” causes. It’s an iPhone that does iPhone issues, nevertheless it’s most likely lacking not less than one main characteristic for any given purchaser, whether or not that’s an additional digital camera or the comfort of a MagSafe ring. If you happen to’re clinging desperately to an older mannequin and need a new iPhone for the least attainable cash, the 16E is the one to get.

That’s the job of the 16E: be the trail of least resistance to blue bubbles. However for a extra discerning buyer the reply’s not as clear-cut.

The iPhone 16E is the non secular successor to the iPhone SE, although Apple would reasonably you not consider it that means. The SE was the corporate’s budget-friendly line, a sort of close-out cut price bin supply on final technology’s chassis with upgraded internals. The design was wildly outdated by the end, however, hey, it solely price $429. That line seems to have ended with the 16E, which is absolutely a member of the iPhone 16 sequence.

However as a substitute of an older design that’s a extremely whole lot, we’ve got a contemporary design that’s solely sort of a deal. It’s $200 cheaper than the $799 iPhone 16 and has the same 6.1-inch OLED display. There’s no Dynamic Island — only a notch. And as a substitute of two rear lenses, you get only one: a 48-megapixel most important digital camera and no ultrawide to go together with it. You get wired charging, however no MagSafe. The Motion Button, however no Digicam Management. This, not that. And so forth.

There’s a sort of equation that may assist decide how a lot it is best to care about this checklist of lacking options. How outdated is your present cellphone? Do different folks in your family use MagSafe equipment that you simply wish to share? Do you even know what MagSafe is? Would you wish to comply with sports activities scores on the prime of your display whilst you do different issues in your cellphone, or are you a Seattle Mariners fan? (Love hurts, guys.) I don’t know what that actual method is as a result of I barely scraped by in calculus, however simply bear it in thoughts as you learn the remainder of this evaluate.

The 16E’s display may be very doubtless a model of the iPhone 14’s display, full with a notch housing the Face ID and front-facing digital camera array. The common 16’s display will get just a bit brighter in idea, however in follow they give the impression of being about the identical to me, brightness-wise. The 16E’s display doesn’t go down to 1 nit just like the 16’s can, which is just too dangerous as a result of it’s truthfully cool as hell and helpful while you’re making an attempt to not get up your partner with a brilliant cellphone display. The notch’s existence additionally means no Dynamic Island — that’s the pill-shaped cutout Apple launched with the iPhone 14 Professional, which homes tiny bits of well timed information you may wish to see at a look.

All that time-sensitive data, like dwell sports activities scores and the proximity of your incoming Uber, continues to be introduced on the 16E’s lock display. However the Dynamic Island retains it on the prime of your display whilst you do different issues in your cellphone. It’s helpful, and having gotten used to it, I missed it on the 16E. The additional visible affirmation is sweet when you may have a timer or display recording in progress. The Dynamic Island most likely gained’t be an important loss when you’re used to a cellphone with out it, although.

MagSafe is likely to be one other case of “when you’ve by no means had it you then gained’t miss it,” however I’m rather less inclined to shrug off its absence on the 16E. Certain, there’s nonetheless Qi wi-fi charging. And you may at all times use a case with magnets as a workaround if you wish to use MagSafe equipment, even when it’s not a sublime resolution. However the great thing about MagSafe is the simplicity, and when you’re a case-hater like me then it’s a helpful means so as to add a Pop Socket or a low-profile pockets to your cellphone with out committing to a case. Except for the SE, each iPhone from the 12-series onward has MagSafe. It seems like a typical characteristic now, and it’s laborious to know why Apple left it out.

The iPhone 16E’s rear digital camera makes use of a 48-megapixel sensor that mixes pixels to assist it higher collect gentle, and it delivers good pictures in most conditions. There’s no ultrawide digital camera and due to this fact no macro pictures both. I missed the ultrawide greater than as soon as when stepping backward to border a large shot wasn’t attainable. There’s a good portrait mode, although it’s the older model the place you may’t change the main target level after the very fact. Photographic Types can be found to assist dial in coloration copy, although they’re additionally the previous-gen model and you’ll’t tweak undertones.

This can be a digital camera system most individuals will likely be completely proud of. If you happen to’re in the slightest degree inclined photographically and need extra flexibility — each in focal vary and processing choices — then think about an iPhone 16 or 16 Professional. Nevertheless it’s a superb digital camera for a basic viewers. There’s wonderful 4K video recording, optical picture stabilization, and dependable coloration copy. A extra superior cellphone digital camera would supply higher possibilities of capturing transferring topics in dim gentle, however this one retains up in most conditions.

A lot of the 16E is acquainted, however there’s one completely new element: Apple’s C1 modem. That is its debut look, and the street to Apple’s first in-house modem was reportedly filled with setbacks and delays. I’ve used it for the previous week to make FaceTime calls, add giant video information in crowded locations, and stream YouTube on the bus. I examined it alongside a daily iPhone 16 outfitted with a Qualcomm-made modem — each on Verizon — and I didn’t see any constant distinction in efficiency between the 2.

Each time I assumed the iPhone 16 was faring higher with video name high quality or add speeds, I’d attempt the identical take a look at once more and the 16E would come out forward. If I had been none the wiser, I wouldn’t have given the modem a second thought as I used the cellphone. Given the problem Apple seemingly encountered constructing this factor and the complexity of a mobile modem, “it appears high quality” is definitely an important end result for the C1.

Apple claims switching to its personal modem has allowed it to squeeze somewhat extra battery life out of the 16E, providing “the most effective battery life ever on a 6.1-inch iPhone,” according to its press release. Battery life actually appears good. I spent a day out of the home utilizing quite a lot of navigation, streaming a podcast, testing connectivity, and watching YouTube. I clocked about 5 hours of display time and was solely all the way down to 41 p.c by the top of the day. I’m assured that most individuals may get by way of a day comfortably on this battery, however that’s not my greatest concern. I’m extra interested by long-term battery well being — Apple’s recent track record here is spotty — and there’s simply no means of understanding that after every week of testing.

The opposite improve right here is Apple Intelligence. Possibly you’ve heard of it? Or seen it on a billboard? Or in a industrial just a few dozen occasions? Apple would love us to think about its AI as a marquee characteristic on the 16E, however Apple Intelligence simply doesn’t really feel like one — not but, anyway. Nevertheless it’s all right here: the AI writing instruments, Picture Playground, notification summaries, and the up to date Siri with a ChatGPT extension. It’s all pretty forgettable right now.

Working example: it took me a number of days to note that Apple Intelligence wasn’t working on the 16E I used to be testing, regardless of having the Apple Intelligence possibility turned on. I sorted it out — I assume one thing about the best way I set it up prevented the mandatory AI fashions from downloading — however this says rather a lot about how helpful Apple Intelligence is correct now. Probably the most attention-grabbing stuff is yet to come, and the 16E will likely be prepared for it, which is sweet. However I undoubtedly wouldn’t let Apple Intelligence be a deciding consider choosing this cellphone versus, say, an iPhone 15.

That highlights the place I’m caught making an attempt to determine the 16E. If you happen to’re coming from an older iPhone like an 11, don’t need to spend so much, and don’t care about MagSafe or an ultrawide digital camera, then the 16E sort of is smart. However 100 {dollars} extra will get you a brand new iPhone 15 with MagSafe, the Dynamic Island, and an ultrawide digital camera, although there’s no Apple Intelligence or motion button.

The 16E feels prefer it ought to supply the necessities, nevertheless it’s laborious to say what’s a vital iPhone characteristic and what’s not. It’s most likely extra like a mix of options, and for some folks, the 16E doubtless gives a mix they’ll be proud of. Particularly, I imply folks like my husband and anybody else with an outdated iPhone who’s tired of studying what MagSafe is, not often takes footage, and simply needs a dang iPhone. The 16E covers these necessities. For somebody who needs extra flexibility from their smartphone’s digital camera or its system of equipment, this isn’t the iPhone for you.

I’d reasonably have a cool magnetic accent system and a neat quick-glance show characteristic constructed into my cellphone than Apple Intelligence, particularly for $600. It doesn’t fairly add up for me, however perhaps the mathematics appears somewhat completely different for you.