Reasons to skip the iPhone 16e

While Apple's latest budget iPhone looks great at first glance, there's something about it that's caught our eye, and not in a good way. It looks like a solid upgrade, but there's one key change that's holding many back from pre-ordering.

The iPhone 16e looks great on paper

The newly announced iPhone 16e replaces the budget iPhone SE, and virtually every component has been upgraded. It has a significantly improved Fusion camera, longer battery life, an Action button, and even the latest A18 chip - the same chip Quantrimang.com praised in our iPhone 16 Plus review .

While the A18 was primarily introduced to support Apple Intelligence – a feature that’s still incredibly poorly reviewed – it’s great to have Apple’s latest SoC, which means it should get years of consistent support.

There’s no denying that the iPhone 16e has the most beautiful back of any iPhone yet. It’s minimalist, clean, and striking. And if you don’t mind the notch, you’ll be completely blown away by its looks. At first glance, the iPhone 16e looks like a bargain at $599.

But then some of the quirks started to show up. Some great features like Precision Finding and MagSafe were missing altogether. But what worried users the most wasn’t their absence, but Apple’s new C1 chip.

Many users are still not convinced by Apple's new C1 chip

If you haven’t heard of the C1 chip, that’s okay, because even Apple rarely mentions it in its press releases. It’s Apple’s first in-house modem—the part of the phone responsible for cellular connectivity—and it debuted with the iPhone 16e. But there are some concerns.

First, the iPhone 16e doesn't have mmWave 5G, which allows for much faster cellular speeds in areas where the technology is supported. Carrier support in different regions is also a concern.

While major carriers may work well in major cities, if you live in a remote area or rely on a less popular carrier, be wary of cellular performance when thinking about pre-ordering.

Dropped calls, inconsistent signal strength, and inconsistent data speeds can make even the best smartphones unreliable. That's why many people are a little wary of the C1 chip—it's Apple's first in-house modem, so it hasn't been tested in the real world yet.

Until we see real-world performance from everyday users, we can’t really know how well it will perform. Apple has a strong track record when it comes to chip design, but modems are a whole other challenge, and there’s a reason it took Apple so long to create one.

So if you’re considering buying the iPhone 16e, you might want to wait a month or two for proper reviews before making a decision. Be patient and see how things play out before making a decision.

Still, take Apple's claims that the C1 chip will significantly improve battery life over the more expensive iPhone 16. iPhones and MacBooks have always had power-efficient chips, so introducing an Apple-curated modem could increase that efficiency.

It’s exciting to see how well this new budget iPhone performs in real-world use, especially since it’s long overdue for an upgrade. But since this is the first time Apple has created its own modem, we’re skeptical about how it’ll perform in real-world use.

iPhone 16e is significantly more expensive than its predecessor

The iPhone 16e starts at $599, just $200 less than the iPhone 16. That seems reasonable at first, until you remember that the iPhone SE 2022 starts at just $429.

Of course, this is intentional. Someone paying $429 for a phone won't consider a $799 phone, but someone willing to spend $599 on a premium mid-range phone might be willing to spend a little more to get a true flagship phone.

This is a classic example of Apple using a bait-and-switch pricing strategy to get users to spend more.

Last year's flagship phones cost the same

Apple is positioning the iPhone 16e as an affordable and value-for-money option, but a smart buyer looking to get the most for their money will easily find last year's iPhone 15 to be a better value, which is currently priced the same on Amazon.

With the latter, you get an ultra-wide camera, sensor-shift OIS, a brighter display, MagSafe and Qi2 support, and Dynamic Island — all features missing on the 16e.

Granted, the iPhone 16e has the latest A18 Bionic chip, but smartphone specs don’t matter as much as they do on modern phones because they’re already far more powerful than most of us need. The A16 Bionic in the iPhone 15 is still a great chip and can handle anything you throw at it. The only thing the 16e can boast about is its improved battery life.

iPhone 16e may target Asian market

North America is Apple's main market and the company's biggest revenue contributor, so the iPhone maker would never want its most loyal buyers to feel comfortable with the idea of ​​ditching its premium options for a more affordable one.

If Apple really wanted people to buy affordable iPhones, it would release one every year, but it doesn't because it would dilute its brand image. Apple has captured as much as it can in its core markets, and iPhone sales in Europe have been stagnant since 2019, so it makes sense for the company to look elsewhere for growth.

This has led many to believe that the iPhone 16e could be targeting Asian markets, where consumer demand tends to be more elastic. This means that price changes tend to disproportionately affect demand, and Apple could take advantage of this because its products are seen as more aspirational.

In fact, iPhone sales have exploded in India over the past few years, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 52.52% from 2019 to 2023, according to Statista. That compares to just 5.45% growth in the United States over the same period.

Now more than ever, Apple wants Android users to switch to iPhones so it can lock them into the Apple ecosystem. Because people don't upgrade their phones as often as they used to, and selling just hardware isn't a sustainable business model anymore.

It makes no sense for Apple to make the iPhone cheaper for North American buyers who are already locked into its ecosystem. But in a market with the opportunity to introduce hundreds of millions of new users to the Apple ecosystem, the iPhone 16e could be the perfect gateway.