Apple recently introduced the iPhone 16e, and while the reaction hasn’t exactly been universally positive, it’s created quite a buzz.
The phone has solid specs, but that £599/$599 price tag is a bit baffling. Sitting just £200/$200 below the standard iPhone 16 and only £100/$100 less than the still-very-capable iPhone 15, it’s positioned at a strange price that makes it hard to recommend.
On one hand, the iPhone 16e lacks MagSafe, still has that ancient notch instead of the sleek Dynamic Island, and only has a single camera. That’s a tough sell when the iPhone 15, which costs just a little more, has a full camera setup, MagSafe, and a more modern design.
On the other hand, the iPhone 16e does have Apple Intelligence baked in, which could be a game-changer for some users. But is it enough?
Eugen Wegmann
However, the iPhone 16e does have a trick up its sleeve in the form of Apple’s brand-new C1 chip, its first-ever in-house modem. According to Ming-Chi Kuo, even the iPhone 17 series won’t have the C1 chip, aside from the rumoured Slim model.
The C1 is Apple’s first cellular modem to be made in-house. Until now, Apple has been buying them from Qualcomm, which looks set to continue on its other handsets.
A modem is a crucial component in any smartphone, allowing you to connect to cellular networks and ensure stable, consistent speeds. According to our sister site Macworld, speeds are slower than iPhones that use Qualcomm modems, but not by much.
That might explain why Apple chose to debut the C1 in its more affordable handset. Rolling it out to the full iPhone 17 series would be a big risk.
However, there’s no denying that the iPhone 16e is getting cutting-edge technology. If it ends up being as good as Apple is hoping for, it’d give the 16e the upper hand over more expensive handsets.
