iPhone 16e review: Gateway to Apple's high-walled garden

With A18 silicon at the heart, the iPhone 16e, the most affordable 16-series variant supports Apple Intelligence features and promises to deliver longer battery life than any of the non-Pro iPhone models.

Just a couple of weeks ago, Apple's latest iPhone 16 series hit stores in India.

With a starting price of Rs 59,900, the new iPhone 16e is the most affordable iPhone in India.

With A18 silicon at the heart, it supports Apple Intelligence features and promises to deliver longer battery life than any of the non-Pro iPhone models.

I used the iPhone 16e for a couple of weeks and here are my thoughts on Apple's latest handset.

Design, build quality and display

When you hold the iPhone 16e in your hand, a long-time iPhone user or any enthusiast can instantly notice that the device shares some of the design elements of the predecessor iPhone SE with a solo camera module and the iPhone 14's display.

Apple iPhone 16e [left] and the iPhone SE 3rd Gen [right]

The latest model flaunts a big lone camera sensor with LED flash and takes pretty amazing photos (more on that later).

When looked at from the front, it has an uncanny resemblance to the iPhone 14. It has a thick uniform bezel around the edges and the trademark notch at the top, which houses FaceID, a world-class facial biometric-based security system and the FaceTime camera.

And, it flaunts a flat mid-rail with curved corners, offering a nice grip for the fingers to hold onto the iPhone.

Apple iPhone 16e [left] and the iPhone 14 [right].

Another noticeable new feature is the action button at the top of the volume rockers on the left side of the frame. It can be programmed to launch the user's favourite apps such as Shazam, switch between silent or ring modes, turn on/off the torch, translate languages and do more.

Little below the volume rockers, you will find the sim tray. It can house a single nano-type SIM and by the way, it supports e-SIM. It comes in handy to add new SIMs when travelling to exotic places. On the opposite side, there is a wake button.

At the base, it has a Type-C USB port with speakers on both sides. They are the best (read loudest) in its segment. The audio quality is top-class and doesn't distort even when the volume is put to the max.

Apple iPhone 16e series.

The iPhone 16e is that it comes in just two colours- white and black. I love the latter, which comes with a matte frosted glass finish. It does great with repelling sweaty fingerprint smudges. The white model does an even better job in that aspect.

It would have been great Apple offered more colours in this version like the iPhone 5c, the original iPhone model tailor-made for people with tight budget.

Like any new iPhone, the latest model too is built to last long. The enclosure is made of aerospace-grade aluminium. Also, it should be noted that up to 85 per cent of aluminium is recycled.

Further, the display is protected by Ceramic Shield, which is touted to be the sturdiest glass cover on any premium Android smartphone in the industry. But, a level below the latest version we see on 16 Pro models.

Apple iPhone 16e.

Also, it comes with an IP68 rating, meaning it can survive a drop in a freshwater body such as a swimming pool, a pond or a river for close to a depth of six metres (approx. 19.6 feet) for up to 30 minutes.

The new iPhone features a 6.1-inch Super Retina (2532x1170p) OLED XDR display with 60Hz refresh rate. Though it misses out on compact dynamic island camera design, people will get used to the notch on the top and forget it exists after a while.

It is still good to watch any movie or browse internet. It supports maximum brightness of 1,200 nits, 20,00,000:1 contrast ratio and pixel density of 460 ppi (pixels per inch).

With the introduction of the FaceID-based biometric security feature on the iPhone 16e, the iPhone SE (3rd Gen) becomes the last iPhone model to feature a TouchID fingerprint sensor.

The FaceID, as mentioned earlier is fantastic security feature, more secure than any facial-based security on Android phones.

The FaceID can be used to make in-app purchases, secure social media and messenger apps from prying eyes and lock/unlock bank apps.

Performance

The iPhone 16e is powered by 26-core Apple A18 silicon. It houses a 6-core CPU, 4-core GPU and 16-core Neural Engine. It is optimised for large generative Artificial Intelligence (gen AI) models and runs machine learning (ML) models up to 6x faster than A13 Bionic.

Compared to the regular iPhone 16 (with 27-core A18 silicon), you can barely see any difference in terms of day-to-day usage as such. The apps load and run fast on the iPhone 16e.

And, thanks to hardware-accelerated ray tracing, the device can deliver more realistic lighting and reflections while playing graphics-rich AAA games available on Apple Arcade and the App Store.

Apple iPhone 16e.

There is one very important component in the iPhone 16e, which no Apple device can boast. And, that is the propreitary cellular C1 modem. It is touted to be the most power-efficient modem ever on an iPhone. It promises to deliver fast and reliable 5G cellular connectivity.

As advertised, the iPhone 16e supports fast cellular internet offered by Airtel and Reliance Jio in India.

And, the download speeds are on par with any other iPhone 16 series models.

With the C1 modem, the Cupertino-based company is reducing the reliance on third-party component makers and will be able to further deepen the integration of software and hardware of its products.

Case in point, longer battery life. Though the iPhone 16e is a tad smaller than the regular iPhone 16, it can still deliver 26 hours of video playback (via Wi-Fi), four hours longer than the latter.

But, I have to note that the missing second camera sensor too, has played a role in allowing Apple to incorporate a bigger battery. Still, can't wrap my head around how such a tiny space has allowed the device to deliver 26 hours of battery life.

The device supports 20W charger and can charge up from zero to 50 per cent under 30 minutes. It also supports Qi 7.5W wireless charging too.

Apple Intelligence Features.

Another win for having full control over hardware components is the Apple A18. It is fully optimised with iOS 18 software to run powerful gen AI models such as Visual Intelligence, Genmoji, smart writing tools, and Image Playground.

I ran several such features with iOS 18.4 beta and have to say, the iPhone 16e worked smoothly without any pressing issues to complain about.

I am blown away by the transliteration feature on iOS 18.4. I typed phonetic English words on the native keyboard and it instantly converted the text to Kannada. Guess what, Apple will support 10 such Indian languages including Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi and more.

Almost all Apple Intelligence suite of features with Indian English support is coming with the iOS 18.4 in April.

Further, iPhone 16e also comes with a couple of potential-life saving features-- Crash Detection and Satellite connectivity.

Apple iPhone 16e comes with potential-saving features.

Once the device senses the severe crash, it flashes a 20-second countdown to ascertain if it was a false alarm. And, if the user doesn't respond, it will automatically call the local emergency response team and also share the location GPS details for faster rescue.

And, iPhone 16e owners can send messages via satellite to seek emergency help when there is no cellular network or Wi-Fi service nearby.

It can help with roadside assistance as well. This service is currently available in select regions including the US, Canada and Europe.

Apple iPhone 16e's camera sample.

Photography

The new iPhone 16e comes with a 2-in-1 48MP Fusion camera. It can capture super-high-resolution photos. It supports 2x Telephoto to zoom in with optical quality to get closer to the subject and easily frame their shot. It also supports computational photography technology such as Deep Fusin and Photonic engine.

Apple iPhone 16e's camera sample.

It takes sharp and clear photos of the subject. The subjects be it a pet dog or flowers in your garden or the face of your loved one, they are well captured with near-true natural colours.

Apple iPhone 16e's camera sample.

Even if there is a shadow or shade over the face or any part of the subject, the iPhone 16e manages to get all the minute details.

Apple iPhone 16e's camera sample.

Also, the 2X optical zoom is absolutely top-class. It barely loses any quality.

Apple iPhone 16e's camera sample with 1X.

Even with 5X and 10X Zoom, the pictures are captured with less noise. But, it lacks macro photography.

Apple iPhone 16e's camera sample with 5X zoom.

Apple iPhone 16e's camera sample with 10X Zoom.

Even at night, the iPhone 16e gets sharp images.

Apple iPhone 16e's camera sample.

It can record stable high quality videos up to 4K Dolby Vision video 24/25/30/60 frames per second (fps).

Apple iPhone 16e's camera sample.

On the front, it houses a 12MP TrueDepth camera for FaceTime calling and selfies.

Apple iPhone 16e's camera sample.

It takes brilliant selfies in the natural sunlight. Both the front and the back camera support Portrait modes-- natural light, studio light, contour light, stage light, stage light mono and high-key light mono.

Final thoughts

The new iPhone 16e is a big upgrade over the iPhone SE (3rd Gen). Currently, it is one of the few handful of Apple handsets to suppport Apple Intelligence features, which significantly improves user experience not just for productivity but also for creative and fun activities too.

Though there is no support for MagSafe charging, it still can charge wirelessly with any standard Qi charger and most importantly, the battery life is impressive.

Apple iPhone 16e.

However, it would have been more appealing if the pricing was around Rs 50,000 and came with a base storage of 256GB.

Having said that, iPhone 16e can be grabbed for less with discounts offered by partner bank credit/debit cards' via EMI plans. And, if you plan to trade-in your old device for the iPhone 16e, the price will further come down.

Who should buy the iPhone 16e?

Those owning the iPhone SE (3rd Gen) or the iPhone 13 series or older models, the iPhone 16e will be a big upgrade and defintely have a great time using it.

And, those Android phone users who have long been sitting on the fence to make the jump, iPhone 16e is your gateway to the high-walled garden of Apple ecosystem.

Apple iPhone 16s comes in two colours--black and white. It is available in three storages-- 128GB, 256GB and 512GB-- for Rs 59,900, Rs 69,900 and Rs 89,900 in India.

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