iPhone 16e: The End of Apple's Budget Phone Era
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In the latest episode of MacBreak Weekly, hosts Leo Laporte, Andy Ihnatko, Alex Lindsay, and Jason Snell dissected Apple's new iPhone 16e, which replaces the budget-friendly iPhone SE at a significantly higher price point. At $600, the 16e costs $170 more than its predecessor, leading Bloomberg's Mark Gurman to declare that Apple is "abandoning the smartphone budget market."
The panel expressed mixed feelings about the price increase. Andy Ihnatko noted it was "a damn shame" that Apple no longer offers a true budget option, especially when compared to the value proposition of similarly priced Android devices. As Jason Snell pointed out, the iPhone 16e is now simply "the least expensive iPhone in the lineup" rather than a true budget offering.
What makes this shift particularly significant is that Apple has discontinued both the iPhone SE and the iPhone 14, leaving no iPhone priced below $600. This marks the end of an era where consumers could enter the Apple ecosystem at around $430. The hosts reflected on how important this price point was for families, with Alex Lindsay mentioning that kids typically received the cheaper iPhones.
The iPhone 16e brings Apple's entire phone line to the iPhone X platform design, featuring OLED displays and Face ID instead of Touch ID. This design shift means the home button is officially gone from Apple's lineup, which several hosts lamented, with Alex Lindsay expressing a preference for fingerprint authentication over facial recognition. Additionally, with the iPhone 16e switching to USB-C, Lightning ports have been completely phased out across Apple's iPhone offerings.
Perhaps the most technically significant aspect of the iPhone 16e is the debut of Apple's C1 modem chip. After six years of development since acquiring Intel's modem business, Apple is finally beginning to replace Qualcomm modems with its own silicon. The hosts discussed how this represents Apple's ongoing strategy to control all key components in its devices.
Jason Snell explained that even if Apple's first modem isn't as powerful as Qualcomm's offerings, there are significant advantages to having custom-designed silicon. Johnny Srouji of Apple told Reuters that the C1 allows for better battery life optimization since Apple can tailor performance based on specific use cases. Andy Ihnatko highlighted the long-term potential, including the possibility of eventually integrating the modem directly into Apple's SoCs, potentially enabling cellular connectivity in future MacBooks.
The panel noted several features missing from the iPhone 16e compared to its more expensive siblings. It lacks Ultra Wideband (UWB) technology, which the hosts identified as particularly problematic for HomeKit integration and precision finding with AirTags. It also doesn't support MagSafe, has slower wireless charging at just 7.5 watts, and lacks millimeter wave 5G support. While it does include the action button that's now standard across the iPhone line, it doesn't feature the camera control button found on higher-end models.
The iPhone 16e is also limited to just two color options – black and white – which the hosts found telling about Apple's positioning of the device. As Jason Snell put it, "You want color? You gotta pay, buddy."
In terms of performance, the iPhone 16e uses what appears to be a binned version of the A18 chip with one fewer GPU core than the standard iPhone 16. While the hosts didn't have official benchmarks yet, they speculated that graphics performance would be approximately 20% lower than the standard model.
Looking toward the future, the discussion touched on Apple's broader chip strategy. Ming-Chi Kuo predicts that Apple's in-house Wi-Fi chips will appear in iPhone 17 models later this year, potentially at a faster adoption rate than the modem chips. This suggests Apple may have more confidence in its Wi-Fi technology than its cellular modems at this stage.
The MacBreak Weekly crew concluded that while the iPhone 16e isn't a bad phone, it does feel like it was designed by removing features from higher-end models rather than being holistically created as an entry-level device. For Apple users looking to upgrade from older devices or enter the ecosystem without spending $800+ on a flagship model, the iPhone 16e represents a new reality – Apple's definition of "budget" has fundamentally changed, and consumers will need to decide if the higher entry price is worth it.
