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iPhone 16e Does it make sense for me to buy a 16e?

4

42545

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 24, 2022
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Hi,
Actually, I wanted to wait for September and buy the 17 Pro, but it's 4 months away. On the other hand, I live in Turkey. 16 Pro is currently around 2000 dollars on Amazon. The government has very high taxes. The 16e is around 1150 dollars.

I stopped by a tech store a few hours ago today and looked at the phones again. 16e is actually not bad. I thought the single camera would be a problem. I'm still not sure.

What do I do with the phone, everything. Social media, producing content for YouTube, playing games, photo and videos... I used to use 13 and 14. I have had a backup of 14 on my computer for 2 years. I will install it.

Actually, one of my dreams is to shoot movies and series on YouTube with iPhone. Maybe it may not be extremely professional in the beginning, but I want to do my best and improve myself. I have experience in shooting and editing videos. I can't shoot log* videos with 16e. Maybe extra apps will allow log video, maybe it is not necessary at the beginning.

I have read some people are concerned about this because the SAR value of 16e is higher than the others. Will I get hurt?

Here, the Galaxy S25 and 16e are sold at the same price. This creates some hesitation. I can get used to the 60hz display, I haven't used 120hz display for a long time. The notch bothers me less than the dynamic island.

What do you think, should I buy 16e? Yes, 17 Pro will be very beautiful like 16 Pro. But constantly thinking about this and waiting keeps my mind busy for no reason. And since $1=₺39 and taxes (tax*tax*tax*tax) on top of taxes make the price more than double, it becomes very expensive. 16 is around 1500 dollars; cheaper can be found, but I don't trust everywhere.

Best
 
The S25 beats the 16e in every category apart from battery life, but of course if you want an iPhone the 16e is the one to get and is pretty good value in my opinion.
 
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I have nothing to add except that I held a S25 the other day and I was surprised by how light it was! I'm really, really, not a fan of how heavy phones have gotten, and it was a breath of fresh air.

I would personally get the 16e, but mostly because I don't care for Samsung's designs. If going Android, I would go with a Pixel.
 
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42545 said:
Hi,
Actually, I wanted to wait for September and buy the 17 Pro, but it's 4 months away. On the other hand, I live in Turkey. 16 Pro is currently around 2000 dollars on Amazon. The government has very high taxes. The 16e is around 1150 dollars.
Click to expand...
What’s going to happen between now and then? Is your current iPhone failing? Do you have money now that you won’t have in four months? Or is this just I want it and I want it now? Nothing wrong with that.


42545 said:
I stopped by a tech store a few hours ago today and looked at the phones again. 16e is actually not bad. I thought the single camera would be a problem. I'm still not sure.
Click to expand...
Do you take a lot of zoomed in pictures? Only you know if it’s going to be a problem.

42545 said:
What do I do with the phone, everything. Social media, producing content for YouTube, playing games, photo and videos... I used to use 13 and 14. I have had a backup of 14 on my computer for 2 years. I will install it.
Click to expand...
I think any smartphone will do that.


42545 said:
Actually, one of my dreams is to shoot movies and series on YouTube with iPhone. Maybe it may not be extremely professional in the beginning, but I want to do my best and improve myself. I have experience in shooting and editing videos. I can't shoot log* videos with 16e. Maybe extra apps will allow log video, maybe it is not necessary at the beginning.
Click to expand...
If you’re actually trying to do something serious with cinematography you might want to stay with the Pro.


42545 said:
I have read some people are concerned about this because the SAR value of 16e is higher than the others. Will I get hurt?
Click to expand...
If you are concerned about this, you shouldn’t be holding any phone to your head. Get something like AirPods or Bluetooth earbuds. I don’t think it’s anything unsafe but who knows in 50 years we might think something different.

42545 said:
Here, the Galaxy S25 and 16e are sold at the same price. This creates some hesitation. I can get used to the 60hz display, I haven't used 120hz display for a long time. The notch bothers me less than the dynamic island.
Click to expand...
That’s a big personal preference thing. Do you like android? Does the notch bother you so much? If the notch is going to bother you then don’t get a phone with one. You’ll be annoyed for a long time.


42545 said:
What do you think, should I buy 16e? Yes, 17 Pro will be very beautiful like 16 Pro. But constantly thinking about this and waiting keeps my mind busy for no reason. And since $1=₺39 and taxes (tax*tax*tax*tax) on top of taxes make the price more than double, it becomes very expensive. 16 is around 1500 dollars; cheaper can be found, but I don't trust everywhere.

Best
Click to expand...
I would wait at least a few weeks and try to get yourself out of that impulse buy stage. If you make an impulse buy for something this expensive, you’re going to regret it. If you buy the 16e for example and you see the 17 Air and think oh wow I want that… What are you going to do? Unless you have more money to burn, you’re going to be stuck with a phone you don’t like because you know there’s something else you like more. Ideally if you wait the four months you will be able to make the decision without worrying about the 17. At that point if you decide the 16e is all you really need then that likely will be available. Maybe in the 17e format
 
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Thank you for the answers. Let me summarize, I have a old phone running Android 8 and the screen sometimes doesn't touch properly. So I don't feel like I'm using a phone, it runs Instagram Lite. Sometimes it stays off for 2 days because the phone is out of battery and I don't care. Since I use my computer more, sometimes I say no need it, just wait. But there are times when it is necessary and I don't trust that phone.

Of course the 16e would not have been my first choice. But when I opened this thread, I was wondering if it would be better to spend less money. It might make sense to save money while waiting for September. I can manage with my current phone, I've been managing for a while.

I'm still not sure and I don't know.
 
42545 said:
Thank you for the answers. Let me summarize, I have a old phone running Android 8 and the screen sometimes doesn't touch properly. So I don't feel like I'm using a phone, it runs Instagram Lite. Sometimes it stays off for 2 days because the phone is out of battery and I don't care. Since I use my computer more, sometimes I say no need it, just wait. But there are times when it is necessary and I don't trust that phone.
Click to expand...

Have you considered a used phone, or a cheaper random phone to tide you over? I worry for your safety - better to have a slow phone that works properly than a phone that does not, especially should there be an emergency of some kind.
 
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Atomic1977 said:
Unless your phone is failing or is really outdated then you probably don’t need to upgrade yet. I have the 16e and
I think it’s great. I had a 13 originally.
Click to expand...
My first iPhone was also a 13. Then I used 14. But I haven't used iPhone for the last 2 years. The phone I'm using now is an entry-level local brand phone released in 2019. It's working Android 8. I cannot take photos and videos properly. The screen also has a bit of a problem, sometimes it doesn't recognize touches. It can be found on a second-hand site for 40 dollars.

ProbablyDylan said:
Have you considered a used phone, or a cheaper random phone to tide you over? I worry for your safety - better to have a slow phone that works properly than a phone that does not, especially should there be an emergency of some kind.
Click to expand...
Sometimes I feel unsafety using it, but I have to have all the bank apps installed. Personally, I say everything when I sell my devices and I try to take good care of them, but the thought of buying a used device creates discontent. Apple doesn't officially sell refurbished devices here.
 
Based on the current phone you have even the iPhone 16e would be a huge improvement, it would probably feel a lot like your old iPhone 14. Personally I would prioritize making sure I have a functional phone. Only you can decide if the extra features are worth a more expensive model.
 
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Regarding your filmmaking ambitions, I don't think a 16e would really hamper you in that compared to a Pro. Filmmaking is more about skills like screen composition, scene lighting, pacing, having a good script and good actors. Any modern smartphone camera will do to get started.
 
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klasma said:
Regarding your filmmaking ambitions, I don't think a 16e would really hamper you in that compared to a Pro. Filmmaking is more about skills like screen composition, scene lighting, pacing, having a good script and good actors. Any modern smartphone camera will do to get started.
Click to expand...
I agree with you

 
The advantage since the 15 pro line is external video recording via USB-C.
Might come handy when you have the files on your computer.
 
Last edited:
Every choice will do all the ancillary stuff, so fuggedaboutit. What you need to do is look hard, do your homework, on how each phone performs at video image capture. Some have better lenses, some support different formats, some provide more bandwidth, some have more RAM, etc.

Think about what you intend the phone to do, video wise, over the life cycle you intend for the new phone. It is not easy, because 100% of the usage of a new device will be in the future. So we do our homework, and make our best estimate of the life cycle (one year, five years, more?) that we intend and then figure what we may want to do in that time frame. Only then can you choose the correct phone for you.

I shoot stills, not video. I find that the Pro models tend to excel, as they should. Another thing to complicate your thinking with is AI. A lot of people knee-jerk and say "I don't need no steenking AI," but unfortunately it is not that simple. More and more apps, especially image apps, are integrating AI into their operation. The significance of that is that we may find only newer devices with more RAM supporting some apps.
 
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If you're looking to get into video production, maybe save a bit or go for last year's model to get an iPhone Pro (or pro max).

Whether its a 14, 15 or 16... better lenses, better camera in general, 10 gig USB3 port (non-pro get USB2!) for video transfer off the device, etc.

Sure, a 16E may do the job for most stuff, but you specifically mention video and the Pro phones are much improved for that due to several of the above features.

If you haven't used Dynamic Island... it has a LOT of neat features tied to it, specifically background apps using it to let you know what's going on in the background. e.g., Timers, alarm status, uber delivery, etc. Notch doesn't do that.
 
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I don’t think you should be choosing either to be honest. 17Pro looks nothing groundbreaking thus far just 16Pro with no titanium and slight bump in specs and a questionable stretched camera island at the back with dead space. Also thicker than 16P? I would either get 16Pro, 17Air (a truly different and new iPhone for refreshing experience) or S25, depending on your preferences and budget.
 
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