Apple has just done something they’ve never done before—bringing a budget iPhone that actually feels premium. But there is a catch! 

The iPhone 16e packs some of the latest flagship features but also removes things that you might not expect.

So, should you buy it now, or should you wait for something better? Here is everything that you need to know.

So, let’s play a game, shall we? Let’s put a number counter on the plus points and remove points to see what we end up with.

 

Design & Build

Let’s first talk about design. This looks and feels premium but being very light at the same time.

It is an aerospace-grade aluminum on the sides with a matte glass back that actually makes it feel like you’re using an iPhone 16.

So, that is one point (+1) for the iPhone 16e. 

(Current Point: 1) 

Now, it comes in two colors—Black and White—and I obviously went with White because it looks very clean, as you can see. 

Apple also gave it an IP68 dust and water resistance, so it is durable enough to survive some accidental splashes. So, if you accidentally drop this in a “Teh Tarik” (Milk Tea), it will survive—but please don’t do that.

So yes, with simple and great colors with an IP68 rating, I would give another point (+1) for the iPhone 16e over here.

(Current Point: 2) 

Speaking of colors, you can also personalize the iPhone 16e with new silicone cases, like this Winter Blue color, which pairs nicely with the matte white finish. But since I just love white, I went with the White color case as well.

Now, USB-C is here, and it does support wireless charging too. But—and this is a big but (not that butt)—here’s the thing: there’s no MagSafe. Sad but true. 

As someone who uses MagSafe all the time, this was kind of a bummer because it doesn’t have the alignment magnet. So, no more MagSafe accessories that can be used here. But you can always go with third-party cases if you really need to.

I would give another point (+1) since it has wireless charging, but I would deduct a point (-1) for not including MagSafe.

(Current Point: 2) 

But another thing that is also missing is Precision Finding. So, if you have something like an AirTag, you won’t get the super accurate way of finding your item, so keep that in mind. 

So with that, here’s another one-point deduction (-1).

(Current Point: 1)

So yes, overall, having a phone with this design, this size, and this overall form factor was really nice and refreshing compared to using a bigger flagship that I’m used to.

The Action Button is also here—just like the new iPhones—which means you can launch the camera, activate Siri, open your favorite apps, or even trigger the new Visual Intelligence that sees what you see (for this case, sees what the camera sees).

So, here’s another point (+1) for the iPhone 16e for that.

(Current Point: 2) 

 

Display

One of the biggest upgrades here is the 6.1” Super Retina XDR display. It is OLED, so everything looks sharper and brighter, and it also has deeper blacks.

Watching movies or YouTube videos was a great experience, the edge to edge was way better than the LCD on older budget iPhones. 

But, of course, there is a notch over here too, which is something you’ll need to get used to if you haven’t. Because there is a notch, there is also Face ID, so it doesn’t have the Touch ID physical button like the previous SE. 

If you’re coming from the older iPhone SE or any other older model, this screen will feel like a massive jump in size, brightness, and overall power efficiency.

Now, yes, there’s no 90Hz screen, but that is the case for the baseline iPhone 16s anyway, so I wouldn’t deduct any points for that.

But while there is a really great and high-quality screen, I’ll give this a tie because of the fact there is a notch, which might be something that a lot of people, who are coming from the iPhone SE or even older models—might not really get used to.

But where I would give a huge point is the fact that Apple has made repairs easier, because on the iPhone 16e, you can replace the back glass without changing the entire phone—compared to before.

Plus, it also has the Ceramic Shield protection, which means that it is tougher than other regular smartphone glass.

So, here are two points (+2) for that.

(Current Point: 4) 

 

Software Support

One of the biggest flexes that Apple has over most smartphones is the long-term support for the software, which is a total of 7 years. Only recently Samsung and Google Pixel devices have caught up.

Yes, it comes with iOS 18, so you’re getting all the latest software features, which includes my recent favorites and “can’t live without” features, like Writing Tools to proofread, summarize, and even change the tone of your text. Finally, you can make your texts sound more professional instead of just saying, “Bro, where dinner?”

Then Genmoji is also super useful, more than I thought it was, which I did find myself using more than Image Playground, which also has been improved a lot since it was first launched.

So, that is another point (+1) for the iPhone 16e because, remember, this phone is for people who want an iPhone that they won’t swap for the next 6-7 years. Software update is a huge part of owning any iPhone device.

(Current Point: 5) 

 

Performance

Powering everything inside is the A18 chip with a new 4-core GPU. This is something that I feel a lot of people are not assigning enough value to, because this SoC is better than Android phones that cost twice as much.

Yeah—imagine buying a phone that’s double the price just for this one to outperform it. Ouch, right?

This is because this is a 3nm chip, which has a GPU that is 70% faster than the iPhone 11 and 40% faster than the previous 3rd-generation iPhone SE.

Of course, I had to test out the gaming performance. Besides the usual easygoing games like Asphalt Legends Unite, I tried heavier games like Genshin Impact—and it ran very smoothly on higher settings.

But the biggest surprise is the new C1 modem. This is Apple’s first in-house designed modem ever since acquiring Intel’s wireless modem team. It’s super power-efficient and also gives better 5G speeds. I even tested calls in a basement parking lot—where my phones usually struggle—so yes no issues at all.

 

Battery Life

Battery life is also very impressive. Apple claims this is the best battery life ever on a 6.1” iPhone, with up to 26 hours of video playback.

Well, based on my real usage, I could easily go a full day—and sometimes even more than a day, probably even two days if you are a bit more conservative on the battery. 

[easy-image-collage id=27228]

As I was ending the day with about 5 hours and 18 minutes of screen-on time with still 54% battery left. And on day 2, I’m at 39% at about 10:43 AM.

So, let’s add 3 points (+3) for all of these great features, shall we?

(Current Point: 8)

 

Camera

Now, let’s talk about one of the most interesting features, which is this – the 48MP camera.

This is like having two cameras in one, giving you the 1x mode for the standard shots and 2x mode that acts as a telephoto lens.

You can zoom up to 10x, and the quality in both daylight and low light was really solid. 

The 12MP selfie camera was also performing really well, not only for the portrait selfies during the day, but also at nighttime as well.

Now, of course, I do wish that if they included an ultra-wide camera, that would be great. But unfortunately, that is missing over here.

But that said, the portrait mode was still looking great for both people and objects.

And yes, the video quality was top-notch, you can record up to 4K 60fps both for the rear and for the front camera as well. (Check out my YouTube video for sample footage)

So yes, while the single camera did a very good job at being a telephoto lens too, I would deduct one point (-1) for not having an ultra-wide camera.

(Current Point: 7)

 

Final Thoughts – Is It Worth It?

So, let’s see how many points we have in total… Nice, that’s 7 points!

The iPhone 16e is really a solid choice for people who want a new iPhone at a lower price. Whether or not you’re new to iPhone or upgrading from an older model, this is an amazing addition to Apple’s lineup.

It starts at RM2,999 (~USD679), which is decent. But I feel that if it was at RM2,799, it would make this a bit more competitive.

But for a phone that has a great flagship SoC, a great amount of starting storage, and the same amount of RAM as the rest of the iPhone 16 lineup, this means that this phone will probably age up almost at the same time as the other iPhone 16 lineup.

Remember, not all products are made for you. Some are made for your mom, dad, uncle, or aunt—they don’t care, because this is an iPhone.