Some could very well argue that ₹59,900 isn’t exactly an affordable iPhone in the typical “SE” avatar, as I pointed out earlier, the iPhone 16e sits somewhere between the last iPhone SE that we knew and the last iPhone 13 mini that we knew — that’s in terms of functionality, size and of course, perception of value. It isn’t exactly very far from the ₹79,900 onwards pricing of the iPhone 16, and there is enough median there to negate any argument of overlap. Back to the question of value — unlike previous generations of the iPhone SE, an iPhone 16e is on a diet of the latest A18 chip along with Apple Intelligence (the entire suite is available, including writing tools) for parity with the iPhone 16. As well as defining a seminal moment on which Apple’s in-house modem efforts will build.

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There are a few questions that need to be tackled from the outset. If you’re expecting Pro Motion display refresh rate tech on the most affordable iPhone in the line-up, you’d purely be kidding yourself. It may be the Android way with affordable flagships around this price point, but Apple wouldn’t dilute the iPhone 16 line-up to purely tick off a competitive checklist. But I’m with you in arguing that irrespective of the iPhone 16 pecking order, the ₹59,900 onwards pricing demands that the convenience of MagSafe not be on the unsupported list. Even the lack of an ultra-wide band chip (I’ll miss it precise tracking, as a regular AirTag user) The single camera will elicit some opinions too, but to that, I’ll raise my experience of excellent photos as testament that the fusion camera methodology very much works.

This may well be the most affordable current generation iPhone, but it isn’t by any means to be misunderstood with cheap in terms of pricing or how it feels. The design is similar to the rest of the iPhone line-up as it stands tall, unlike the iPhone SE previously which insisted on holding to a generational legacy. In fact, with that minimal real estate on the back being taken up by the camera, the iPhone 16e looks gorgeous. Perhaps there is a case for Apple to do more colours on this at some point. Relatively similar in footprint to the iPhone 16.

Which itself is a factor of the 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR OLED screen, with a very, very minor reduction in pixel count — it doesn’t come through visually. The differences here being the iPhone 16e doesn’t support Dolby Vision, and the peak brightness levels are slightly lesser in comparison. However, in the real world and side by side, they’re for intents and purposes, the same. There’s no Dynamic Island, and instead the notch from a couple of generations ago. Live Activities (such as the ETA for your Zomato order) are still very much available on the Lock Screen. But think about it, Apple expects most iPhone 16e adopters to be upgrading from iPhones that didn’t have the Dynamic Island anyway — not a big experience gap, in that perspective.

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I have a feeling most iPhone 16e users will be perfectly comfortable with the 48-megapixel camera. Apple calls it Fusion Camera, because there’s an integrated 2x telephoto within this. The iPhone 16e delivers photos in the same resolution as the iPhone 16, and from what I could derive from the photos that I captured using the iPhone 16e, detailing is pristine and colours come through really well separated. There is enough in there for not just sharing directly with friends or on social media, but also for deeper edits you’d perhaps want to do later. The Lightroom experience with photos clicked on the iPhone 16e, confirm as much.

The Photographic Styles that Apple introduced with the iPhone 16 series, are available in the entire array on the iPhone 16e. Thats another layer of treatment for photos, to get the aesthetics just right. It is the same consistency that is apparent with 4K video recording, complete with Dolby Vision HDR recordings as well as the array of Audio Mix options that, again, were introduced with the iPhone 16 series. While there is little to argue against the simple point-and-shoot convenience that Apple loves to deliver with cameras, the lack of ultrawide and macro cameras may be somewhat limiting for anyone who’s genuinely interested in photography. Future-proofing may be an aspect, to consider.

Since the iPhone 16e leads the way with Apple’s C1 modem, we were able to find a comparison between this and the iPhone 16 series that uses Qualcomm’s modem for wireless connectivity — 5G, 4G both tested on Airtel as well as Reliance Jio networks. The takeaway is clear. As you use an iPhone 16e as you’d use just any other phone, there is little in terms of any connectivity difference that you’ll notice. If I wasn’t any wiser to this hardware change, I wouldn’t have realised there’s a different modem at work here. Download and upload speed tests were in the same ballpark side-by-side, as was the experience with general usage. Apple’s focus isn’t just speed, and instead, they’ve done a lot more to optimise this for reduced power use. Something you wouldn’t necessarily notice immediately.

Also Read: Apple iPhone 16 finds ‘Pro’ parity, signalling new upgrade and value trajectory

But you would, since the battery life that the iPhone 16e delivers is impressive. Six hours of screen time, and the battery reduced from 100% to 45% at auto brightness (I suspect if I’d manually kept this at my typically low-brightness settings, it’s have left around 5% more charge by this stage). For most folks, this would mean a day of use as your primary iPhone without any battery anxiety.

It is fair that the definition and meaning of essentials is subjective. That holds true for any piece of tech, including an iPhone. To that point, Apple iPhone 16e plays the perfect balancing act. Spot on with the design, your main interface points such as the display and battery, smart methodology to get two cameras out of one physical sensor visible on the back of the phone, and certainly an impeccable start for the C1 modem era. The stuff that has been omitted, which is understandable to keep costs down, can largely be bracketed into conveniences. The widening of the iPhone 16 line-up, further reducing the bottom end of the price band, will deliver value to more iPhone upgraders, than we may realise now.