Apple iPhone 16e Review – When Budget Doesn’t Meet the Cut

Unboxing the Apple iPhone 16e

Kicking off our Apple iPhone 16e review with the unboxing, our unit comes in the usual minimalist Apple packaging with an illustration of the device’s front. Naturally, I was confused at first as I thought my boss has given me an old iPhone 14 given the lack of the Dynamic Island but it was indeed the 16e. If you’re buying a used unit, just make sure to check that you got the right phone. Inside the box, we found the following items:

• USB-C to USB-C cable
• Documentations
• SIM ejector tool
• The Apple iPhone 16e itself

Note: The protective case that you’ll be seeing throughout the review is a separate purchase and is an official Apple case.

Specifications

CPU:	Apple A18 2 x performance cores 4 x efficiency cores 2nd Gen 3nm TSMC 16-core Neural Engine
GPU:	4-core Apple GPU
RAM:	8GB
Display:	6.1″ 2532 x 1170 (460 ppi) Super Retina XDR OLED with Dolby Vision, 60Hz, 19.5:9 ratio HDR10, True Tone, Dynamic Island, P3, 800 nits (HBM), 1200 nits (peak) Ceramic Shield glass
Storage:	128GB / 256GB / 512GB NVMe (not expandable)
Camera:	48 MP, f/1.6, 26mm (wide), 1/2.55″, 0.7µm, PDAF, OIS 12MP f/1.9 23mm (wide) selfie camera, 1/3.6″, 1.0µm, PDAF SL 3D (depth / biometrics sensor)
OS:	iOS 18.3.1
Audio:	Stereo speakers
Connectivity:	Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/6, dual-band 2.4GHz, 5GHz, Bluetooth 5.3 with A2DP, LE, GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, QZSS, BDS, NavIC, NFC USB-C 2.0
SIM:	NanoSIM and eSIM
Battery:	Li-Ion 4,005mAh 29W charging 7.5W wireless (Qi)
Dimensions:	146.7 x 71.5 x 7.8 mm
Weight:	167g
Ingress protection:	IP68
Colors:	Black, White

Performance

Starting off our benchmark suite with Antutu v10, the iPhone 16e had a decent showing, but it’s interesting to see how much lower the score is compared to the base model 16, but it’s also lower than the iPhone 15 Plus that used the older A16 Bionic chip. Having one less GPU core than the standard A18 chip certainly had a significant impact on performance.

Moving on to Geekbench 6, we can see that the iPhone 16e is on par with the base model 16. It’s baffling to see the 16 Pro Max lost to this device but then again, the difference is negligible. If anything, this is a sign that the CPU cores are definitely the same and in no way weaker. The only cost-cutting measure for the SoC is having one less GPU core after all.

Then in 3DMark, it gets rather interesting as the iPhone 16e performed virtually the same as the base model 16 in Wild Life, but then it got worse in Wild Life Extreme and Solar Bay. This is what I expected across the board given that it has one less GPU core but speaking of which, I thought having one less core would lead to less heat but that’s not the case. I’m saying this because it has a stability rating of 81.3%, which is roughly 10% less thermal-efficient than the base model 16. It’s still pretty thermal-efficient nonetheless.

Normally, we’d have GPUScore Sacred Path here but for some strange reason, all the benchmarks refused to run on this iPhone 16e even after reinstalling multiple times. As such, we’ll have to omit it for this review.

Normally, we’d rely on PCMark for battery life but since the app doesn’t have any form of support for iOS, we’d have to rely on a different method. As such, we opted for a 4K YouTube video endurance test to see how long it can play for. The iPhone 16e lasted 16 hours and 58 minutes before it reached 10%, which would put the battery life as slightly longer than the base model iPhone 16, and it’s not a difference that would be noticeable for most consumers. It is still pretty good regardless as that’s a pretty lengthy screen-on-time as is.

As for charging, this is what I managed to get using a 100W GaN charger from 2% battery life:

• 15 minutes = 33%
• 30 minutes = 59%
• 45 minutes = 64%
• 60 minutes = 75%
• 75 minutes = 84%
• 90 minutes = 91%
• 105 minutes = 100%

Note: The Apple iPhone 16e only supports up to 29W of fast charging via wired.

Camera

At first glance, the iPhone 16e looks like it shares the same rear camera as the 16’s main camera but that isn’t the case. Unlike the 16’s complete Focus Pixels and sensor-shift stabilization, you get Hybrid Focus Pixels and a lens-based stabilization. The selfie camera on the other hand seems to be exactly the same hardware, just that it lacks Cinematic mode support, so this should be area that you’d see some consistencies between the two.

In broad daylight, the rear camera actually performs really well with vibrant colors and sharp details. Subject separation isn’t exactly the best unless you’re shooting at really close ranges but if you really want those bokeh shots, Portrait Mode will be your best friend at the cost of some details appearing softer. You won’t really see much difference if you shoot in 12MP, 24MP, or 48MP with the exception of finer details like hair and text appearing more detailed in higher resolutions.

2x zoom shots are pretty good but anything beyond will result in a mushy, water color look that no one would enjoy. Low light shots on the other hand still look pretty decent but with duller colors and softer details. It’s worth noting that if your hands are a bit shaky, you may see out-of-focus shots often but otherwise, the results are satisfactory. The camera also has a tendency to overexpose so it’s something to keep an eye out on if you want good shots.

The selfie camera performs reliably, capturing sharp, detailed selfies even in challenging lighting, though sharpness and color saturation diminish slightly indoors. Finer details like hair tend to have a pixelated look but overall, it gives satisfying results. Just like how it doesn’t have a dedicated telephoto camera, it also doesn’t have an ultrawide camera either so you’ll have these two modules to play with.

In case you want to compare it to the iPhone 16, click right here to check out the review for it.

The Good

There are a number of good reasons to consider getting the iPhone 16. For starters, it has an great screen. It features the same 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR OLED display as the iPhone 14, with a resolution of 2532 x 1170 pixels and a standard 60Hz refresh rate. It supports HDR10, Dolby Vision, and True Tone adjustments, with adequate brightness levels peaking out at 1,200 nits. For added protection, the display uses Ceramic Shield, which is reassuring to know since I thought Apple would cut costs on durability here.

Furthermore, the stereo speakers (1 bottom-firing and 1 front-facing via earpiece) sound great with a rich and balanced audio. Together with it being capable of loud volumes, it makes for a great multimedia device. In fact, I feel like it’s a tiny bit louder than the base model 16 while sounding just as good so audio is another area they didn’t cut costs in.

I do love how compact and easy it is to handle the iPhone 16e. In fact, it’s actually slightly smaller and lighter than the base model 16 as it’s 0.9mm shorter, 0.1mm narrower, and 3 grams lighter. Thickness is exactly the same at 7.8mm, which is quite thin in this day and age. They managed to do this without affecting durability either as, on top of the Ceramic Shield glass, it’s also IP68 dust and water resistant, capable of surviving water with depths up to 6 meters for 30 minutes. The build is also the same premium look and feel as the base model 16 as it’s comprised of glass and an aluminum frame, so no plastics here.

Lastly, with more and more consumers prioritizing longevity in this day and age, you’d be happy to know that despite being the most affordable entry in the iPhone 16 series, the Apple iPhone 16e comes guaranteed with 5 years of iOS updates. This means at a minimum, you can use it for a solid 5 years with ease before considering to upgrade it, provided you don’t run into any major issues along the way. Since Apple Intelligence is a major part of the move to the A18 chip, you’ll likely enjoy most, if not all of the AI features while you’re at it.

The Bad

Of course, the iPhone 16e has its share of drawbacks. For starters, the display is still the standard 60Hz affair as higher refresh rates are reserved for the Pro models and if the base models don’t have it, it will take even longer for the SE variants. Moreover, it’s not the only thing that feels outdated here as it lacks Dynamic Island, Always On is not here, and the bezels are really thick. The screen itself may be great but the overall display itself feels old. Forget about affordable flagships from competitors being well-equipped, even affordable midrange smartphones have features that are up to standard with the current times.

Next up, the lack of MagSafe support is baffling to me. According to Apple, they have found that most people in the iPhone 16e’s target market charge exclusively via cable, which may seem like a logical move to omit MagSafe but it’s not just about charging. MagSafe is such an integral part of the iPhone experience and there are a ton of accessories for it. I myself am using MagSafe wallets, which has nothing to do with charging, and it’s something that more and more people are using, so much so that even non-iPhone users are starting to adopt it. To me, it’s a missed opportunity to not only make additional revenue from accessories but as an added factor to keep people within Apple.

Just like the base model 16, the iPhone 16e uses USB 2.0 for its USB-C port. This means that if you opted for a lower storage capacity and plan to purchase an external storage solution, the speeds might be bogged down somewhat with max data transfer rates of 480Mbps as opposed to USB 3’s 5Gbps. Yes, 480Mbps is still plenty but keep in mind that it will not constantly be transferring at that speed, just that the ceiling is much lower compared to USB 3.0.

Lastly, the iPhone 16e’s price makes it a bit hard to pick this when you consider the overall package. Starting at RM2,999 for the 128GB model, it’s hard to choose this as you get a whole lot more from an Android device around the same price. And even if one is dead set on getting an iPhone, the iPhone 16 is a much better buy for an extra RM1,000, or you can opt to save a bit of money and get an older iPhone 15 for an extra RM400-ish, which will at least give you the full iPhone experience sans Apple Intelligence. Personally, I feel like the sweet spot for this iPhone is around the RM2,299 to RM2,499 range but at its current price, it would be a tough sell for anyone that isn’t an Apple fanatic.

Apple iPhone 16e Verdict

While the iPhone 16 did so well, the iPhone 16e however fall shorts in a number of areas. Having a single camera is not a big deal as a lot of people can live with it but with sluggish charging speeds along with the lack of MagSafe support and Dynamic Island, it’s hard to get people to adopt this. One would only consider this if they really want to have a brand new iPhone at the lowest price possible or it’s for school kids and retired folks that won’t need much from an iPhone but for me, you’d be much better off saving up a bit more and getting the iPhone 16 instead.

At the end of our Apple iPhone 16e review, I award this smartphone with our Bronze Pokdeward.