We reported the news recently. The Apple iPhone 16e is official and priced only at $599. But, if you were to buy the iPhone 16e, you should be aware of the things you might miss out on. Some are obvious, and you can tell the missing features just by looking at the device. Then, we have some internal functions that are sorely lacking on the iPhone 16e if you compare it with the rest of the family.
Just as we didn’t get any explanation from Apple about the title “SE” in previous generations, we didn’t get any description for “e” in the Phone 16e. Is it “economical” or “essential?” We may never find out, but there is a hint dropped by an Apple representative who was asked about the new name. His exact statement was, “The iPhone 16e is for everyone.”
We guess the iPhone 16e is for everyone with its $600 price tag. It is certainly economical enough for even developing countries. But ironically, the cheaper price does come at a cost. We find that the 16e with a solo rear-facing camera has limited functionality, on top of having no dedicated ultrawide or telephoto.
If you shoot videos on the iPhone 16e, you won’t see Cinematic or the Action mode. The folks interested in the iPhone’s video bokeh effect or ultra-stable Action footage, this may be a deal breaker. Those options are bound and exclusive to Apple’s premium phones for now. The latest iPhone price reflects these added features, making it a more expensive but advanced option.
Photographic styles were a new feature introduced by the iPhone 16 family. Sadly, they are also missing from this new iPhone 16e. You can’t fine-tune your photos with deeper shadows or more contrast like the other siblings, but at least the iPhone 16e still has the older stylistic filters from Apple.
You would think the advertised Apple A18 chip inside the iPhone 16e is just as powerful as the other 16 variants, but that’s not entirely true. 16e’s GPU isn’t as powerful since it only comes with four cores instead of five from the original A18 chip. But, if you are not worried about gaming and only care about general use, the CPU speeds were kept the same.
For the screen, the 6.1” OLED XDR Super Retina display on iPhone 16e can be compared with the iPhone 16. But the panel doesn’t get as bright or as dim in direct number-to-number comparison. Also, the Dynamic Island is missing on the iPhone 16e, though it isn’t something to complain about because it replaces the far worse top-bottom bar from the iPhone SE.
Apple’s home-brewed C1 modem for iPhone 16e is innovative, but it doesn’t stack up with the iPhone 16 or 16 Pro’s modem. The C1 chip is probably the reason behind the 16e’s downgrade from WiFi 7 to WiFi 6. We don’t yet know the full capability of the chip, but the iPhone 16e might be devoid of WiFi 7 simply as a cost-cutting measure.
iPhone 16e even misses the ultra-wideband UWB chip that usually helps the other iPhones locate an Apple Air tag. Also, the missing chip means you lose new features like the wireless contact exchange. This isn’t a deal-breaker, but you should be aware of what’s missing on iPhone 16e.
Add no Thread support to this long list of missing features. iPhone 16e doesn’t have the protocol to exchange commands with Smart Home equipment and IoT, like thermostats, smart locks, smart lights, etc. So, you might have to find a workaround on your iPhone 16e.
Some of these features are excluded on iPhone 16e due to the lack of hardware. Some are software-bound, so they might improve in the future. At the end of the day, it’s up to the buyer to decide if the iPhone 16e’s $600 price justifies the loss of these features. Hopefully, this list of missing features will help make your decision easier. For more interesting topics like this, you can regularly visit WhatMobile.com.pk for the latest insights, stories, and news from the Smartphone industry.
