Apple has been accused of releasing its fair share of creatively unexciting products over the last few years, and perhaps none epitomised this more than the iPhone 16e. Initially touted as the successor to the beloved SE line, the 16e was expected to carry on the tradition of the tradition of putting the latest hardware in a portable package.
Alas, ’twas not to be. The iPhone 16e did not feature particularly up-to-the-minute hardware, and nor was the package particularly portable. This was a big phone – with some big omissions. One of the best iPhones for photography, it is not.
With no MagSafe, the 16e was a big disappointment (Image credit: Apple)
The iPhone 16e features no Dynamic Island, no second camera lens, one less GPU core than the iPhone 16 and, perhaps most egregiously, no MagSafe. The first two aren’t too surprising – the SE line up always featured an older, more basic design. The GPU situation was disappointing, as the SE usually at least featured the latest chip in its full form. But no MagSafe? To me, that’s a design crime.
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By now, MagSafe is arguably a basic, essential feature. It’s graced every phone since 2020’s iPhone 12. Since my home and car are filled with magnetic chargers, there was no point in me even considering the iPhone 16e, tempted as I was by the cheaper price of $599.
The addition of the Dynamic Island would be a welcome one (Image credit: Jon Stapley)
So, now that the iPhone 17e is rumoured to featured MagSafe, I’m interested again. According to our sister site Tech Radar, the 17e is rumoured to be launching this month, packing not only MagSafe, but the faster 25W version that launched with the iPhone 17 last year. Not only that, but it’s also set to feature the Dynamic Island, with Apple finally doing away with the infamous notch forever.
As a fan of the iPhone mini, I’ll always be disappointed that Apple is no longer producing phones that don’t require three hands to hold. But if the 17e does feature MagSafe and Dynamic Island, then it could be the phone the 16e should have been – one that features up-to-date tech in a budget package. Because what’s the use of buying a cheaper phone if I need to replace all of my charging accessories?
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