Apple iPhone 16e – an old/new ‘value’ smartphone

The Apple iPhone 16e combines the iPhone 14 design, a 6.1” OLED screen, a faster A18 processor, Apple Intelligence, USB-C, and one of the iPhone 16 camera sensors.

It is Apple’s lower-cost but still damned expensive replacement for the 2022 iPhone SE.

Looking at the specs, the only impressive thing is the Apple logo bragging rights because those expecting an iPhone 16 experience will be disappointed.

• Black or White
• 6.1”, 2532 x 1170, 8-bit/16.7M colours, 60Hz (800 nits maximum and 1200 nits HDR content in 2% screen) with high-risk 250Hz PWM
• $999 128GB, $1199 256GB, $1549 512GB
• A18 Processor (entry-level 4-core version) supports Apple Intelligence
• C1 Apple designed 4/5G modem, SIM and eSIM
• 4G Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 30, 32, 34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 48, 53, 66 (good)
• 5G n1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 12, 20, 25, 26, 28, 30, 38, 40, 41, 48, 53, 66, 70, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79 (good)
• Wi-Fi 6 AX 2.4/5GHz only
• BT 5.3
• NFC
• GPS – GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, BeiDou and NavIC
• RAM size: Not disclosed but believed to be 8GB, which is the minimum for Apple Intelligence
• Battery size: Not disclosed. Supports 20W charge with Apple Adapter and 3W cable. 7.5W Qi1 charge (not MagSafe).
• 48MP rear camera (bins to 12MP), 10X digital zoom and flash. 12MP front Face ID camera.
• USB-C 2.0 480Mbps (charge and OTG cut and paste to external storage)
• Aluminium frame, glass back, ceramic glass front, IP68
• 146.7 x 71.5 x 7.8 x 167g

CyberShack’s view: Apple fanboys love the iPhone 16e, and the rest say it is too damned expensive

For not much more, you can get a 6.1” iPhone 15 (no AI) or 16 (AI). Or save heaps on a refurbished one. The value proposition seems wrong, but paying more for anything Apple always seems wrong.

Reddit readers say that the iPhone 16e value equation does not add up.

Let’s look at our 2024 Android phone of the year. The $999 Motorola Edge 50 Pro – an excellent upper-mid-range smartphone that was the only one to pass all 15 of our selection criteria. It is a beautiful looking phone, 6.7”, 3712 x 1220, 10-bit/1.07B colours, OLED (no PWM risk), Qualcomm SD7 Gen 3, 12/256GB, No throttle, Full USB-C 3.1, Wi-Fi 6E, Superb and strong phone reception, 4500mAh battery 22 minutes charge, Qi charge, IP68, Android 15 and Edge updates, 50+10+13MP read camera, and 50MP selfie.

 Add to that you can escape the Apple walled garden. It is no wonder Android has 72% and a growing global market share, and ioS has 27% with a possible rapid decline in China. Read Apple continues its cliff-dive in the Q3/24 Chinese market.