iPhone 16e review: A great not-so-cheap budget phone
Apple’s latest entry-level iPhone has lots of top features — it may not be cheap but it sure is cheerful...
You’re strapped for cash, but you want an iPhone. You also want access to (almost) all the latest features that your tight budget can stretch to.
Apple’s latest iPhone 16e is the answer. A mix of iPhone 14 design with 2025’s feature set, it represents Apple’s newest attempt to draw cash-strapped customers into its flock. It’s using Apple’s latest mobile silicon, making it capable of calling upon the AI-powered Apple Intelligence features; it has the shortcut-enabling Action Button; it has FaceID; it’s comfortable in the hand, with a nice design; it’s got killer battery life in part enabled by an all-new in house modem from Apple itself. It’s great.
But, as we’ll detail in our iPhone 16e review here, the £599 entry price is an issue, and you might want to think long and hard about if the iPhone 16e is for you — even if you’re counting the pennies. Here’s five things to consider when looking to buy the iPhone 16e...
1. A sleek design
This is, by some stretch in our opinion, Apple’s best-looking ‘cheap’ iPhone ever, and is filled with useful features that don’t always trickle down to Apple’s entry level devices. With its aluminium edges and matte rear finish, it’s one of the most attractive mobile devices Apple’s made in a while — helped in part by its less-intrusive, smaller camera module.
You’ve got a good-looking 6.1-inch / 60Hz OLED screen in an aluminium body, similar to the iPhone 14 in that it has a notch cutaway at the front, where a Face ID face-scanning security camera lives, letting you unlock your phone hands free.
White or black finishes on the rear are available. USB-C charging is onboard. Storage comes in 128GB, 256GB or 512GB sizes. The handset is rated for an IP68 water resistance (good for a 6 metre dunking for 30 minutes), and is very comfortable for smaller hands with its 146.7 x 71.5 x 7.8mm dimensions and 167g weight.
The camera is solid for the price point, if unremarkable when compared to the higher end models. It’s a single 48MP shooter on the rear with a 2x zoom, and takes detailed shots with an ever-so-slightly-cool colour balance by default. It handles most lighting scenarios well, but be ready for a drop in detail in darker scenarios, as the sensor here is relatively small.
There are concessions here though, too. That single camera means you’ll lose the close-up macro mode shooting option. Wi-Fi 7 for the fastest wireless download speeds isn’t supported, leaving you with last-gen Wi-Fi 6 speeds.
Thread and Ultra Wideband radios are missing (the latter important for making the most of ‘Find My’ functionality, for precision location tracking of lost items). Perhaps the most frustrating cut though is MagSafe, letting magnetic charging accessories work with the phone — it’s just bog-standard wireless charging at slow speeds here, as well as cabled power supplies.
It’s a lovely phone then, but Apple’s smart enough to keep you enviously looking up the ladder of devices it offers, too.
2. Apple Intelligence onboard
The iPhone 16e makes use of a slightly-less-powerful version of Apple’s A18 chip that is found in the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus. It’s a snappy chipset even with its slightly-reduced graphics capabilities, and will fly through applications, even fancy gaming titles, with ease.
But the real reason to be excited about the A18 chip’s presence here is that it opens up Apple’s AI features, Apple Intelligence, to the iPhone 16e. Apple Intelligence is built into the iPhone at a system level, and features in many apps too, letting you summarise notifications, rework your notes into flowing prose with just a few prompts, and even generate images with features like Apple’s Image Playground editor.
ChatGPT integration is also included for queries requiring more depth — and for those worried about privacy concerns, Apple keeps all your data out of the OpenAI helper’s hands. In fact, the majority of Apple Intelligence tasks are carried out on-device.
Apple Intelligence remains a work in progress though. One of its most exciting touted features, a Siri revamp that would see the voice helper being able to be more anticipatory in its suggestions by diving deeper into your apps’ data, and making edits on your behalf, if now delayed. But whenever new Apple Intelligence features do roll out, iPhone 16e will be well placed to receive them.
3. Action button abilities
The Action button was first introduced on the top-tier iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max models back in 2023, and makes a surprising and welcome debut on the budget end of Apple’s smartphone scale here with the iPhone 16e. Sitting next to the volume buttons, it replaces mute switch, and can be programmed to trigger lots of different functions on the phone with just a press.
While it can still be used as a mute switch, Apple lets you optionally turn it into a camera launcher, a Focus mode activator, a flashlight shortcut, a dedicated Voice Memo button, and more. You can even get it to trigger the AI powered Visual Intelligence mode, which let you point your camera at any object to get information back on it.
If you’re a bit more techie, you can go much deeper with Apple’s Shortcuts app, letting you program the button to do multiple-step tasks all at once with just a single press. The more time you spend setting it up, the more powerful the Action button becomes.
4. Incredible battery life
The iPhone 16e has seriously impressive battery life, up there with the best that Apple’s ever offered from any of its handsets. That’s in part thanks to the slightly chunkier thickness of the iPhone 16e (at least in comparison to previous SE models), which allows Apple more room to slot in a more capacious battery. I literally went days without needing to charge it, so you’ll safely get through a day of hardcore use without needing to reach for a charger.
One of the big reasons for this battery boost is the modem. We’ll save you the technical details, but this is the first Apple phone that uses an in-house built chip to connect to mobile networks, after years of using chips designed by Qualcomm. The efficiency provided by the new C1 chip when jumping between mobile masts, one of the most battery-intensive things your phone can do outside of powering the screen, helps extend the battery life. With no obvious drawback in terms of connectivity, it bodes well for the battery life of future iPhones that may use it, too.
5. A high price for missing features
The complicating factor? Price. Starting at £599, it’s a lot more expensive than the £419 that its spiritual predecessor, 2022’s iPhone SE 3 launched. Yeah, it’s a much better phone — you’d hope so for approaching three years of progress — but it's a steep increase that makes the gap between entry-and-mid level iPhones much smaller in terms of price and value.
That’s made harder to swallow by a few features omitted. We wouldn’t expect a high end camera at this price, or the iPhone 16 Pro’s camera control button. But to leave out MagSafe charging, an iPhone staple, in favour of inferior wireless charging? And to stick with a 60Hz screen, as, to be fair, with the iPhone 16, when higher refresh rates are the standard at this price point? Once, you could put these cuts down to hitting a lower price tag. But that’s a harder argument for Apple to make as the cost goes up.
And so, if you can handle an older, possibly refurbished device, you may be better off. Pick up a slightly older iPhone, for not very much more money, and you can get a premium-tier iPhone from the previous generation range that betters the iPhone 16e in almost every way. A second-hand iPhone 15 Pro can be bought for £600 in this way. And so the apparent value of the iPhone 16e becomes difficult to tot up.
The iPhone 16e is still the best, cheapest, new iPhone money can buy. But in this instance, make sure new really is for you.
iPhone 16e: Verdict
The iPhone 16e is a solid attempt to give budget-conscious folks a taste of Apple’s latest tech without emptying the bank. It's got a stylish look, great battery life, and cool features like Apple Intelligence and the Action button for some neat customisation.
However, it's a bit pricey compared to its older siblings — and other budget-focussed options from competitors — and misses out on should-be-staples like MagSafe and a high refresh rate screen, which might make you think twice.
It's still the best new iPhone for the price, but if you're okay with something a bit older and (and possibly refurbished), you might snag a better deal with a previous model. A good choice if you're itching for something hot-off-the-production line, then, but make sure it ticks all your boxes first.