TheiPhone 16elaunched earlier this workweek , but it ’s far from what we had ab initio thought of it . For starters , it is not a heir to theiPhone SE ( 2022 ) .
The variety to the pattern were n’t incisively unexpected , and through a serial of leaks over the several past month , we were persistently remind of the overhaul the iPhone SE would undergo . Despite setting our prospect already , the iPhone 16e was able to take some strong reactions , mostly dashing hopes , at launching . The $ 600 price tag and cutbacks in some seemingly of the essence areas were the likely culprits .
I , in person , set out with a mission to depend its flaws , cautiously compare it with the otheriPhones you may buy for the same price . But after distinctly observing my thoughts and clear out my biases , I feel the iPhone 16e is an entirely dissimilar earphone — not a Modern SE . And for this reasonableness , it merit a fair fortune , especially for what it offers rather than what it lacks . So , here are the reasons , why , despite wanting to hate the iPhone 16e , I failed .
I’d rather pass on the ultrawide camera
I test 12 of phone cameras each year as part of my job . When I do , it becomes imperative to quiz every photographic camera unit of measurement on the phone , and approximate its caliber against the others . But when I ’m shoot photos for myself , I seldom find myself willingly choosing for the ultrawide camera .
There are a few understanding for that . First , most phones , no matter of their price , cheap out on the quality of the ultrawide television camera while focusing on the primary and the telephotograph cameras . Take for illustration the 12MP ultrawide angle photographic camera on the regulariPhone 16 . It not only has a lower resolution count than the 48MP main camera , but the sensor inside is also physically little . That immediately leads to less sharp trope , with losses mount as we subject the camera to turn down light .
second , ultrawide cameras have evolved the least in recent years . One pressing issue that brand have shied forth from restore is the wonky perspective . This hit the image see abnormal , and I would rather limit my span of view than mow down scenic persuasion for the sake of accommodating more .
It ’s not totally useless , specially since autofocus on the iPhone 16 ’s ultrawide - angle camera enable macro mode . But giving up on the lineament is a compromise I ’m willing to make at that Mary Leontyne Price .
What concerns me more about the iPhone 16e ’s photographic camera is thelack of the same features as the understructure iPhone 16 , primarily , theimproved photographic styleswe saw as part of the iPhone 16 serial . or else , the iPhone 16e gets the older version , which is special and must be localise from arrangement setting instead of within the camera , making the whole process less visceral .
As for the actual camera lineament , I would need to try the tv camera first before doling out a verdict .
Lack of mmWave and UWB doesn’t bother me
With the iPhone 16e , Apple moved away from using Qualcomm ’s 5 gram modem to using its in - house C1 micro chip . While Apple claim the new modem moderate to dispirited battery drain while hitting triple - digit Mb speeds , the C1 is effectively less adequate to than the Qualcomm X71 modem that power the iPhone 16 and the 16 Pro . The most evident disadvantage of the young modem is that it lack support formmWave spectrum , which habituate higher frequency wafture and , in hypothesis , allows for faster data point transfer charge per unit , even in densely throng regions .
The want of mmWave can seem a deal - ledgeman until you watch about its limitations . The high frequency spectrum has a shorter range than traditional sub-6GHz networks , and , therefore , require a larger act of substation to keep the internet running . This eventually lead to high in operation expenses , which is why most career in the U.S. , besides AT&T , have empower in blue oftenness , primarily focusing on the mid - band spectrum , which is a subset of the sub-6GHZ spectrum . If you ’re outside the U.S. , chance are most career have n’t even deploy their networks in the gamey bands .
So , while mmWave has practical advantage — especially if you ’re chase Gigabit speeds on your 5 G connectedness , you would probably be hunky-dory if the iPhone 16e runs at 200Mbps rather — I get laid I would be .
The otherkey feature miss from the iPhone 16e is a dedicated chip for ultra blanket band ( UWB)that is otherwise present on all earphone since the iPhone 11 . UWB is a short communicating technical school that run at frequencies lower than other wireless communication like Wi - Fi , which make it resistant to interference . On the iPhone specifically , UWB help oneself with faster AirDrop connection and precisely maneuvering to AirTags or other Apple devices through the Find My app .
It ’s emphatically groundbreaking ceremony , but it ’s still not essential . Unless you live in a smart home where UWB help you with your digital keys or have dozens of Apple devices where you are tired of waiting for the right twist to pop up on the AirDrop carte , I would say UWB is not that freehanded of a deal . And if you ’re an Android drug user who has only one metrical unit into the Apple ecosystem , you in all likelihood do n’t need to worry about it .
Perhaps , when I see a future tense where UWB becomes more dependable while we rely on car to interact with each other without human discretion , I would change my stance on UWB . Until then , I am utterly fine without it .
I’m not too particular about wireless charging speeds
Apple has particularly outraged a lot of people by skipping MagSafe from the iPhone 16e . That intend while thenewiPhone has wireless charging , it lack magnets that can be used to anchor it to a wireless charger or attach a panoply of accessories such as wallets . That also means wireless charging is restrain to a paltry 7.5W or else of 25W as on the rest of the iPhone 16 series .
Although it was initially speculated that Apple ditched MagSafe to ensure attracter do not interpose with the new modem ’s operation , the company refuted this . The only other fair explanation for omitting magnets was so Apple could cut fabrication costs . If you consider of it like that , it does seem outrageous .
However , if you ’re like me and mostly top up your iPhone with a cablegram instead , the deficiency of MagSafe is n’t a batch - breakers . Further , casing manufacturers have stepped up and circumvented the need for internal magnets by offering MagSafe - compatible cases for older iPhones or even Android telephone set without MagSafe — Samsung being the previous one toskip internal magnets yet support the faster Qi2 wireless charging standard , and there are good deal of affordable options , too , to bring MagSafe - like functionality to any phone , not just the expensive ones .
In essence , using a slip instead of relying on MagSafe has one major drawback , i.e. , you do n’t get admission to the fastest wireless charging f number . But in all honestly , I ’m not among those who will be bogged down by this . That ’s because I use the magnetic charging functionality mostly while at my desk or sleeping . In both scenario , the objective is not to charge the phone but utilize MagSafe — principally for the iPhone ’s understudy mode . So , my requirements can be fulfilled by merely using a causa , even without built-in MagSafe support on the iPhone 16e .
Apple Intelligence makes it worth it
Despite its shortcomings in other areas , the iPhone 16e comes with an A18 processor from Apple . It is n’t identical to the eponymous chip that runs iPhone 16 and 16 Pro earpiece , but uses a slenderly less powerful CPU . Despite that , the A18 is equipped to run Apple Intelligence and Visual Intelligence , and that is enough to get me hyped up for the telephone .
It ’s worth arguing that Apple Intelligence has been underwhelming — it ’s current applications are set to cleaning up your note and emails and offering ( raving mad ) summaries of notification . But I find promising for its applications a few eld afterwards — assuming anyone who bribe the iPhone 16e would keep it for a few years . I primarily foresee Siri maturate into a truly intelligent helper and future versions of iOS getting actually right at predicting your next steps and make the experience unfeignedly enhance with AI — beyond puke a successiveness of Holy Scripture it learned from somewhere on the internet . It would be especially exciting to see how Apple Intelligence — or AI , in general — makes applied science more personalised and utile for multitude who do n’t truly relish fiddling with it .
Not the best $600 phone, but…
As someone who gets to enter the latest and the best engineering — mostly for free — as part of my job , I have developed a general sense of aversion to widget that are short of the best . But I consider these may not fit the all-inclusive audience .
While there ’s no questing that the iPhone 16e is full of compromises , it sells the pipe dream of making feature like Apple Intelligence and the tardy iOS experience approachable to enough more people who just require a good and useable sound that go several year . Yes , it ’s not the most compelling phone for $ 600 — you ’ll findmuch better options such as the OnePlus 13R , which offers bright value , a brighter display , significantly better barrage fire . But if you want an iPhone — one that you would desire to stick around with for years , the iPhone 16e is extremely compelling .
If you want to buy your first iPhone to experiment , there ’s probably no better phone than this one .
