Apple has launched its new iPhone 16E with an up to date design, extra options — and no residence button or MagSafe charging. This revamped model of the corporate’s finances cellphone can be going for $599 and can embrace a USB-C port, a notch, a customizable Motion Button, a quick A18 chip, and plenty of extras. So what does that do for many who might need been trying ahead to a smaller cellphone? Is the brand new Motion Button an excellent factor? Will you miss MagSafe?
We requested the employees of The Verge for his or her first impressions of the iPhone 16E. After all, we can be operating a full evaluation of the cellphone, which is able to ship on February twenty eighth. However in the meantime, listed below are a few of the emotions that the information has generated in a few of our iPhone customers.
You possibly can’t go House once more
Look, I’m simply as a lot a fan of bodily residence buttons as anybody, however perhaps it’s time we are saying our goodbyes for good. The swipe-up gestures for unlocking, returning to the homescreen, or managing apps feels pure and fluid now. I certain don’t miss the extreme bezels, and I respect the reclaimed display actual property to take pleasure in each dot of edge-to-edge OLED goodness I can. And you understand what? As a lot as I hate the notch, it provides extra to the general aesthetic and consumer expertise than it detracts from it, so I’m wonderful with that tradeoff, too. – Quentyn Kennemer, commerce author
A customizable Motion Button
I really like that Apple introduced the Motion Button to its new reasonably priced iPhone 16E. It’s one of many higher {hardware} options Apple launched lately. It launched on the iPhone 15 Professional and iPhone 15 Professional Max and was included on all iPhone 16 fashions in 2024. I’ve mine set to launch a flashlight (and use it on a regular basis), however you may set it to launch different apps, too, like Apple Translate, the digital camera app, shortcuts, and extra. I’m type of shocked Apple included it since earlier iPhone SE mid-year launches often included a more moderen processor however in a physique a couple of years previous. – Todd Haselton, deputy editor, opinions and commerce
That’s a no for me. Not a lot for MagSafe cost pace — wired is at all times quicker anyway — however as a result of the magnetic ring is so useful. You possibly can at all times add a magnetic case, although, so if the digital camera is respectable sufficient, I assume it’s not the tip of the world. – Nathan Edwards, senior opinions editor
OLED at a pleasant 6.1 inches
As somebody who at the moment wields a 6.7-inch brick of a cellphone, I’ve began to lengthy for my iPhone 6S days. At 6.06 inches, the iPhone 16E’s display measurement looks like the right medium between too massive and too small. It’s greater than the iPhone SE launched in 2022 however roughly the identical as the usual 6.1-inch iPhone 16 (although it’s additionally 0.1mm narrower and 0.7mm shorter). That can hopefully be a plus for these of us who wish to put our telephones in our pockets.
And whereas the iPhone 16E could also be (barely) smaller and cheaper than the iPhone 16, Apple isn’t skimping out on high quality: not like the final iPhone SE, the iPhone 16E comes with an OLED show panel. It’s good to see Apple bringing a few of its premium options to its budget-friendly gadgets. – Emma Roth, information author
Dashing forward with an A18 chip
I’m barely relieved to see the brand new iPhone 16E makes use of the present A18 processor discovered within the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus. Earlier iPhone SE fashions additionally borrowed the most recent chips from the pricier iPhones of their time, however there was part of me that questioned if Apple would possibly shock us with one thing like a last-gen A17. (Bear in mind when the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus received year-old holdovers from the 14 Professional?)
The A18 within the 16E does have one fewer GPU core (4 as a substitute of 5), however I doubt anybody’s actually going to really feel that distinction. Possibly in case you do some side-by-side comparisons with high-end video games like Resident Evil 4, however no one shopping for an iPhone 16E goes to do this (and apparently no one’s actually shopping for these video games anyway).
Having the latest-gen processor means the iPhone 16E ought to see years of assist, which is likely one of the advantages of shopping for an iPhone. And it’s arguably extra essential lately now that some Android producers have gotten their act collectively and promised as much as seven years of software program updates on a few of their newest fashions. – Antonio G. Di Benedetto, reviewer
Bye-bye Lightning, hi there USB-C
I really like my iPhone 12 Mini, however I’ve additionally been excited about upgrading as a result of I would like an iPhone with a USB-C port. I most likely don’t really need many of the fancier options on the principle iPhone 16 lineup, so the brand new iPhone 16E looks like it may serve me properly for a few years.
However do I actually wish to pay $599 largely for a USB-C port? My iPhone 12 Mini nonetheless works properly, particularly after I changed the battery final 12 months. My Lightning cables nonetheless work wonderful for charging, as does my Lightning-equipped MagSafe Duo. I don’t really want a USB-C port for another cause besides comfort.
I feel I’m simply going to hold on to my iPhone 12 Mini and see what’s in retailer for the iPhone 17 lineup. However I don’t suppose I’ll wait for much longer to get a USB-C iPhone. – Jay Peters, information editor
A simple unlock with Face ID
At this level, switching between telephones is definitely fairly easy. Each Android and iOS have made upgrades straightforward, and you may even change between working programs with a cable and a few hours. However each time I change to a tool with out Face ID or an analogous gaze-based authentication system, my muscle reminiscence collapses. Whether or not I’m paying for stuff, accessing passwords, or attempting to lock myself out of social media apps, I exploit the biometric system greater than I understand — and face unlock is quicker, extra dependable, and simply simpler. I really like the tactility and smashability of a house button, however I’ll fortunately commerce it for that instantaneous, my cellphone is already unlocked feeling you get from Face ID. – David Pierce, editor-at-large
This design change means the SE lastly appears like a contemporary tackle an reasonably priced cellphone: extraordinarily highly effective, filled with AI (for higher or worse), and with a full-screen design that doesn’t stick out like a sore thumb.
The notch isn’t precisely Apple’s bleeding edge — I assume we’ll have to attend a couple of extra years for the Dynamic Island to work its means right down to the SE line — however it brings with it each Face ID and much more display actual property. It’s the finish of an period, although: there’s now not any iPhone available on the market that has an uninterrupted show. – Dominic Preston, information editor
Just one rear digital camera? No drawback
It isn’t remotely shocking to me that the iPhone 16E solely offers one rear digital camera. Not solely does that mirror the 2022 iPhone SE (which sported a 12-megapixel sensor, in comparison with the iPhone 16E’s beefier 48-megapixel sensor), however cameras additionally are inclined to have a noticeable correlation with cellphone worth. This is a perfect selection for individuals who don’t want all the flamboyant digital camera {hardware} offered on highly effective, dearer flagship telephones.
Pictures-driven inventive folks sometimes splurge on the most recent Professional or commonplace iPhone mannequin anyway or use a devoted digital camera. The design and efficiency of the iPhone 16E have already been modernized according to most of Apple’s present generational lineup — any extra and it’d as properly simply be an iPhone 16. – Jess Weatherbed, information author
The fitting worth for a correct cellphone
It’s been a very long time since Apple provided an “reasonably priced” iPhone that doesn’t require making large characteristic tradeoffs for the value. That appears to be altering within the new $599 iPhone 16E, and it’s about time. The Android ecosystem has had some very nice choices round $500 for the previous few years from Google, Samsung, and OnePlus — all with massive, trendy screens, loads of storage, and evening mode within the digital camera app. That’s simply not a mix you would get from a brand new iPhone for underneath $800 during the last three years.
Some of us is perhaps disillusioned by dropping the house button or having to change to USB-C (one in every of us… one in every of us…), however I feel bringing a contemporary characteristic set to the iPhone SE and protecting the value comparatively reasonably priced greater than makes up for the loss. I’d love for it to be a bit cheaper, and never providing MagSafe is a bizarre selection. However this is perhaps the cellphone that lastly will get my husband to improve from his XR, and for that, I’m grateful. – Allison Johnson, opinions author
