iPhones are expensive. Remember when the iPhone X launched and everyone was up in arms about it being $1,000? In the current times of phones well over $2,000, that upset feels quaint. Until recently, if you wanted a cheaper iPhone you had two options: buy second hand, or get the quite outdated-looking iPhone SE for $749.
This latest iPhone 16e is designed to give a similar experience to the iPhone 16, but for a lower price. At $1,000, it’s more expensive than the iPhone SE, but the experience is far superior and it’ll be worth it for those willing to splash the cash. But, how does it stack up against the rest of the iPhone range?
Table of contents
iPhone 16e first impressions
Upon unboxing the iPhone 16e, I did a double take to make sure it wasn’t an iPhone 14. It lacks the Dynamic Island that’s been featured on iPhones since the 15, but the camera notch (last seen on the 14) isn’t too intrusive. The previous “budget” iPhone, the SE, still had the home button and same body shape and size as the iPhone 8, so this is a huge leap.
Of course, as always, the setup experience was quick, easy and painless, especially moving from an existing iPhone.
iPhone 16e specifications and price
| Dimensions | W: 71.5mm, H: 146.7mm, D: 7.80mm Weight: 167 grams |
| Display | Super Retina XDR display 6.1‑inch (diagonal) all‑screen OLED display 2532‑by‑1170-pixel resolution at 460 ppi HDR display Haptic Touch 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio 800 nits max brightness (typical); 1,200 nits peak brightness (HDR) |
| Splash, water and dust resistance | Rated IP68 (maximum depth of 6 metres for up to 30 minutes) |
| Chip | A18 chip 6‑core CPU with two performance and four efficiency cores 4‑core GPU 16‑core Neural Engine |
| Camera | 2-in-1 camera system 48MP Fusion: 26 mm, ƒ/1.6 aperture, optical image stabilisation, Hybrid Focus Pixels, super-high-resolution photos (24MP and 48MP) 12MP 2x Telephoto: 52 mm, ƒ/1.6 aperture, optical image stabilisation, Hybrid Focus Pixels |
| Power and battery | Up to 26 hours Video playback (streamed) Up to 50% charge in 30 minutes with 20W adapter or higher |
| Price (RRP) | $999 (128GB model) |
| Warranty | One year |
| Official website | Apple Australia |
The key spec here is that the iPhone 16e uses an A18 chip, which is similar to the A18 in the regular iPhone 16. That means that the iPhone 16e can do all the same Apple Intelligence stuff that the regular iPhone 16 range can. That being said, Apple Intelligence has had its fair share of issues since launching last year. For people who want that, that could be the deciding factor over buying a second-hand phone.
It also means that the 16e will be eligible for the same upgrades and future support as the regular 16, which would be a reason to go for the 16e over the marginally more expensive, and slightly outdated (but still available) iPhone 15.
Performance
The iPhone 16e is an incredibly capable phone. It’s more expensive than budget Android phones, but it’s also not trying to be a budget Android phone, and easily outpaces other “budget” phones in terms of performance. The aim here is clearly to be a more affordable iPhone, not a budget phone.
Design
The design harkens back to iPhones of old. The bezel is a bit thicker, the camera cut out looks a bit dated. On the back, the single camera looks quaint. But, the materials feel premium, and it’s survived my accidental drop tests with flying colours.
For people moving from the iPhone SE, or an older iPhone 8, it will take some adjustment not having a physical home button anymore. Moving to the “Action Button” on the left-hand side instead of the silencing switch will also take adjustment. But both changes allow for more utility.
The screen is significantly larger than on those older models, allowing for easier-to-read text sizes, larger videos and better gaming. The Action Button can be remapped to whatever you want. The suggested options are using it for putting the phone on silent, or opening the camera, but using Siri Shortcuts lets you use it for just about anything.
All up, I really like the design of this phone. It makes enough trade offs to save money, but no significant tradeoffs that would reduce the experience or utility of the phone, and it’s an improvement over previous iterations.
Benchmarks
In terms of benchmarking, this phone is a beast.
| Phone | Geekbench 6 CPU Single-Core | Geekbench 6 CPU Multi-core | Geekbench 6 GPU Metal |
|---|---|---|---|
| iPhone 16e | 2,679 | 6,144 | 23,732 |
| iPhone 16 | 3,306 | 8,319 | 28,057 |
| iPhone 16 Pro Max | 3,350 | 8,021 | 32,719 |
It can run basically anything you throw at it: the latest games and video editing apps would be no match for this, and it should have enough power for years to come. While it’s not exactly the same as the iPhone 16, it’s close enough that most people won’t notice the difference.
Camera
The primary difference between the iPhone 16e camera array and the similarly priced iPhone 15 is that the 15 has an Ultra Wide camera, while the 16e doesn’t. Whether an Ultra Wide camera is worth an extra $400 is up to you. Another difference is that the 16e is capable of using Apple’s Visual Intelligence to tell you what you’re looking at.
In a direct comparison with the iPhone 16 Pro Max’s regular camera, I was pretty impressed.
These 2x zoom photos of the fountain are striking, and accurately reflect what I was looking at at the time. It’s perfectly captured the drama of the clouds, and the movement of the water. The 16e looks slightly greener than the 16 Pro Max, but the photos are so similar that it’s hard to separate them.
At 1x, you get the full scene beautifully. The green of the grass is better on the 16 Pro Max, but the trees in the background have more detail on the 16e.
Both cameras picked up the details on these ducks beautifully, and handled their movement very well. You can see the details of the water droplets and feathers.
This photo of people has managed to capture the life of the scene well, and even got the details on the baby’s feet, despite her constant movement.
As you can see, there’s not much separating the two phones.
Who is the iPhone 16e for?
The iPhone 16e is for people who want an iPhone without dropping over $1,500. I think the purpose of the 16e is to lure people away from the secondhand market and towards getting a new phone with Apple Intelligence. Given the specs and price point, I think it’ll work.
This isn’t a budget phone, and it’s not a true replacement for the iPhone SE (given how much less expensive the SE was, but also how behind its features were). But it’s also not supposed to be.
This is the phone for people who want an iPhone, with a long warranty and many years of software updates, but don’t want or need all the bells and whistles. For that audience, the iPhone 16e is perfect.
GadgetGuy occasionally uses affiliate links and may receive a small commission from purchased products.
The post iPhone 16e review: The cheaper iPhone that packs a punch appeared first on GadgetGuy.
About admin
0 (mga) komento:
Mag-post ng isang Komento