The Gateway Phone to the Apple Ecosystem

iPhone 16e Review: Design

Look, it’s an iPhone 16

The third-generation iPhone SE was the last “budget” iPhone. That phone looked like it existed for fan service; it had Touch ID, which harkened back to an iPhone generation that Apple had since left when the SE 3 was announced. It had a measly 64GB of storage space and a camera that couldn’t even shoot in the dark. The 4.7-inch screen was cute, especially in 2022 when we were all clamoring for smaller phones, but in 2025, it’s a screen for ants. The Google Pixel A-series quickly surpassed the iPhone SE. Apple’s “budget” phone stayed dated.

The iPhone 16e has a renewed sense of self. It is not a “budget” Apple phone, but the entrance into the ecosystem that the company would like to invite you to sit in, even though it is very bright and slightly cold. It has all the essentials to enjoy tending in the walled garden. The design is a pared-down, lighter version of the iPhone 16. There have been complaints that the iPhone 16e is not colorful enough because it only comes in black and white, but you’ll probably end up covering this thing in a case, anyway.

The iPhone 16e doesn’t have the Dynamic Island, but it does have Face ID, which works just as quickly as the iPhone 16 and 16 Pro. Don’t forget to scan yourself with sunglasses and a mask because typing in a six-digit passcode is still annoying when trying to do something fast. The 6.1-inch screen is a Super Retina XDR display, though it tops at 1,200 nits of brightness. The charging port is now USB-C, and there is Qi wireless charging but no MagSafe, which is fine because you can easily spoof the magnet anyway (I’ve been doing it on Android for years).

The Action Button also makes an appearance here. I can see this being the main selling point of this specific iPhone model. It’s beneficial for people buying this phone to help aid someone if they’re alone. Imagine setting up a Shortcut for a routine that dims the lights or setting up a FaceTime bookmark to simplify the task of video calling the grandkids.

My favorite part about the iPhone 16e is its lightness relative to the rest of the iPhone lineup—I’m not even talking about the Plus or the Pro Max. I am talking about this phone weighing just under six ounces. The iPhone 16 is right at six ounces on the chart, but it has protruding glass, which adds a smidge more heft. Apple figures some of us will be buying this as a secondary phone. I liked that I could carry it around in my purse with the Pixel 9 Pro, which weighs seven ounces, and I barely felt it in there. That was with Apple’s magenta silicone case on it.

Unlike the iPhone 16 family, only one camera sensor is on the iPhone 16e. However, it’s a 48-MP Fusion camera, a two-in-one camera system that can shoot in 24-MP and 48-MP resolutions like the rest of the iPhone 16 family. The iPhone 16e’s primary camera offers some wiggle room with features like Portrait Mode with depth control. But there is no focus control. There’s no ultrawide camera to zoom out into or macro photography, either. If you want to get close to something, you’ll have to walk up to it.

The iPhone 16e supports Dolby Vision video up to 4K at 60 frames-per-second, which is ample enough for anyone just recording for the sake of logging it. Photographic Styles are on the iPhone 16e, which feeds the inner emo in me. I even took a nighttime landscape photo by keeping the shutter open for a few seconds. All the basic camera necessities are on the iPhone 16e, and I was pretty satisfied despite the “fixed” lens experience.

The perks of being an iPhone user

The iPhone 16e exists to help bring new users into the fold with its ecosystem perks, particularly the ones that Apple has been able to market as essential utilities. Things like Emergency SOS, Roadside Assistance, and messaging over satellite will do wonders at extolling the idea that the iPhone is a helpful aid to life. Features like Find My and Crash Detection will also make it easier for parents to default to the iPhone 16e as their kids’ digital leash.

Apple Intelligence is another big get, and the iPhone 16e is in this timeline to bring even outliers up to speed with what it’s doing with AI. I’m still scratching my head at whether people joining the platform gravitate toward using the built-in features, but I can see typing to Siri getting the most play on this form factor. I’m not so sure about the generative abilities of Image Playground. It’s fast on the iPhone 16e, just like on the other iPhone 16s, but I’m still not getting the desired results I want, which discourages me from using it. At the very least, you’ll have things like Apple Intelligence in the Mail app to help you sift through threads and generative writing help for those days you hate people too much to construct a sentence. Again, Apple’s point is that the device gives you access to the essentials, even the AI stuff.

iPhone 16e Review: Performance

Apple’s homegrown chips

One of Apple’s latest priorities is getting a handle on its supply chain so it has total control over what it produces without relying on third-party vendors. It’s getting there with the advent of the C1 modem. The only drawback of the modem is that it only works with sub-6GHz 5G networks, so you’ll have a hard time connecting inside stadiums and other overwhelmed, crowded places. But that’s also why Apple can make such steady battery claims since most people don’t need access to that stuff constantly. Apple says this is the “longest battery life even in a 6.1-inch iPhone.” I’m still working on our official battery test to come in an update this week, but I can already tell you I have hardly charged the iPhone 16e since getting it set up five days ago.

The other homegrown part of the iPhone 16e is its processor. The A18 featured here isn’t a copy-paste chip; the GPU is a four-core chip rather than a five-core like in the regular iPhone 16. Still, that’s not going to slow you down. The Geekbench numbers for GPU performance were only 2,000 points apart between the two sibling devices. Apple Arcade games like Hello Kitty Adventure Island and Sonic Dream Team ran smoothly without hiccups on the iPhone 16e. Pokémon Go was fine. Realistically, that’s the caliber of mobile games people will play at this price point, and it’s good to know the first-tier iPhone can handle a subscription to Apple Arcade, though it can handle stuff like Resident Evil 4 and Roblox, too. (The kid stuck with this iPhone will be very happy about that last part.)

iPhone 16e Review: Verdict

Should you buy the iPhone 16e?

I wasn’t expecting to adore this phone or prefer it over the iPhone 16 Pro I typically use to test software. The light build alone makes the iPhone 16e a joy to handle. There’s also virtually no difference in software experience between the iPhone 16e and the iPhone 16, so carrying around the whole kit and caboodle doesn’t feel necessary. It’s nice and freeing. Apple plans to push out Apple Intelligence features to the iPhone 16e simultaneously with the rest of the iPhone 16 family.

The iPhone 16e may not be capable of capturing objects from far away or come in a spectrum of neat colors. Nor does it sync up with the vast offering of MagSafe accessories and devices. Otherwise, it’s everything you need to lock into the ecosystem and start buying other Apple accessories and subscribing to services. The iPhone 16e is the gateway drug.

I know there will be a debate over the fact that there are cheaper Android devices that offer the same quality of features as the iPhone 16e. I say the iPhone 16e isn’t for you. It’s for the already-dedicated Apple users who don’t want to fuss about what phone to buy to tether family members. With trade-ins and sales, the iPhone 16e could help bring in people who have wanted the device but were often limited by the high starting cost. It’s also going to be a good deal for anyone upgrading from a much older iPhone 11 or earlier, and it’s $200 cheaper than going outright for the iPhone 16 with 128GB of storage.