iPhone 16e Reviews Are In: ‘E’ Stands for Expensive—and Excellent Battery

The first media reviews of the iPhone 16e have been published today, offering an early look at Apple’s latest entry-level smartphone, an upgrade to the iPhone SE 3. The reviews are out on the eve of the launch of the iPhone 16e on Friday.
While the iPhone 16e brings some notable upgrades, including impressive battery life that has impressed reviewers, the overall consensus is that the “e” might as well stand for expensive—with many questioning its $599 ($899 in Canada) price tag. Critics note that while it offers solid performance, it comes with trade-offs, such as the absence of MagSafe. Despite this, the iPhone 16e still seems to bring a good entry phone, if you can afford the extra premium cost this time around over the iPhone SE 3 (which started at $579 CAD–that’s a $320 price hike!). This is basically a no-frills update for your mom, dad, grandma or grandpa that doesn’t need the best iPhone.
Check out the first media reviews below:
- Dave2D on YouTube: iPhone 16e Review – E is for Expensive
- Patrick Holland / CNET: I Tested the $599 iPhone 16E and Its Good but Also Kind of Odd
- Marques Brownlee / Marques Brownlee on YouTube: iPhone 16e Review: Who Are You?
- Aaron Leong / HotHardware: iPhone 16e’s Gimped C1 5G Modem Battles Snapdragon X71 With Surprising Results
- Cherlynn Low / Engadget: iPhone 16e review: What’s your acceptable compromise?
- Christian Zibreg / How-To Geek: Love Shooting Photos With Your iPhone? Don’t Buy the iPhone 16e
- Michael Simon / Macworld: The iPhone 16e has a surprisingly large battery
- John Velasco / Tom’s Guide: Apple iPhone 16e review — good but compromised
- Eric Zeman / PCMag: A capable new entry point to the iPhone 16 line
- Julian Chokkattu / Wired: Review: Apple iPhone 16e
- Jennifer Jolly / USA Today: iPhone 16e review: I used Apple’s newest phone for a week. Here’s how it compares.
- Florence Ion / Gizmodo: iPhone 16e Review: The Gateway Phone to the Apple Ecosystem
- The Verge on YouTube iPhone 16E review: the cheapest iPhone is still too expensive
- Nicole Nguyen / Wall Street Journal: iPhone 16e Review: Apple’s ‘Cheap’ Phone Isn’t So Cheap. But Is It a Bad Deal?
- Lance Ulanoff / TechRadar: Cons —The notch is back – -2x zoom is just a crop — Why you can trust TechRadar …
- EMKWAN REVIEWS on YouTube: iPhone 16e Unboxing and Review – Still Worth It?
- Britta O’Boyle / Telegraph: Apple iPhone 16e review: Why spend more?
- Brian Heater / TechCrunch: Apple iPhone 16e review: An A18 chip and Apple Intelligence for $599
- Andru Edwards / Gear Live: iPhone 16e Review: Apple Just Killed the Budget iPhone
- Daniel Howley / Yahoo Finance: Apple iPhone 16e: What it’s like to use Apple’s newest budget-friendly iPhone
- David Phelan / The Standard iPhone 16e review: Affordable with standout battery life
- Fabien Röhlinger / nextpit: iPhone 16e Review: Worth the Price or Too Many Compromises?
- Trevor Long / EFTM: iPhone 16e Review – The best bang for your buck iPhone you can buy.
- David Snelling / Daily Express: iPhone 16e review: Apple just gave you a very tough choice to make
- Sean Keach / The Sun: iPhone 16e review – I’ve secretly tested Apple’s cheapest mobile and I love the new button but that’s not the best bit
- Shivali Best / Daily Mail: iPhone 16e review: I tested Apple’s new budget smartphone – it has all the best features of the iPhone 16 and the battery life is BETTER
You might be better off buying discounted iPhone 16 series phones from Rogers or Fido right now, as they are on sale and you’re paying just a bit more than the iPhone 16e.
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