Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
iPhone 16e Is the 16e really priced that bad?
- Thread starter jntdroid
- Start date
-
- Tags
- iphone 16e price value
- Sort by reaction score
That’s your opinion based on what you value, which is fair. The 16e has a better processor, more ram, significantly better battery life, and much longer support than the 14. Those upgrades aren’t free. So for anybody that values those over your points, pricing the same as the 14 seems reasonable. Just because you don’t like the compromises they made doesn’t mean it’s not reasonably priced. So what you’re stating is based on your opinions, not numbers - and that’s totally fair to have that opinion. Just don’t treat it as gospel simply because you don’t like what they dropped to save money to offset the other improvements.
That’s awfully dogmatic.
And when it comes to fair valuations, I try to look at numbers and facts, not what other people tell me to think. 🤷♂️
Last edited:
The trendy thing on social media is to hate on the 16e, so there’s a certain segment of people with platforms that are going to jump on that bandwagon because it’s the easy (and click-lucrative) narrative, and then others with smaller platforms just follow suit. But we’re already starting to see that trend back the other direction a little bit as comments/videos are starting to show up that are basically like, “hmm, not so bad actually” and providing more balanced perspectives.
Such is some of society today unfortunately. Knee-jerk responses without much thought, and then once the initial flood of that wears out, perspectives start to balance out. Fortunately this is just a phone, but this general dynamic happens in too many other areas of our lives that actually mean something. But I digress and don’t want to push this any more off the topic of the pricing of the 16e…
Such is some of society today unfortunately. Knee-jerk responses without much thought, and then once the initial flood of that wears out, perspectives start to balance out. Fortunately this is just a phone, but this general dynamic happens in too many other areas of our lives that actually mean something. But I digress and don’t want to push this any more off the topic of the pricing of the 16e…
If you wanted to. Or you could not because you wanted to.
With all the all the carriers/MVNOs deals going around, why are we even talking MSRP?
Nobody’s paying MSRP for this device . Can we move past the MSRP?
Nobody’s paying MSRP for this device . Can we move past the MSRP?
If you're trading in a older iPhone, like say a iPhone SE3, that takes $100 off the final price. Its actually not bad.
I’m not going to say it’s not a little bit overpriced, and it would’ve been nice if Apple didn’t ax a couple of the features from the past few generations like MagSafe or Dynamic Island, but anyone commenting how awful of a device it is likely hasn’t used one.
14 PM and 16 Pro owner here and now a 16e on a secondary line, and I’m quite pleased. Clean design, killer battery life so far, plenty of ram, and a SOC that makes it feel faster and more fluid than the 60hz display would infer. Animations are smooth and apps open instantly. I certainly prefer pro-motion but ‘perceived’ lag seems less intrusive to me on the 16e. Comparing it to a 13 that I’ve held onto the improvements are noticeable. Thanks to some very friendly trade-in deals currently available, mine was nearly free. I’ve got a few more days to decide but I’m considering using the 16e full time and returning the 16 Pro.
Leave the paper specs and influencer reviews at the door and you might just be surprised.
14 PM and 16 Pro owner here and now a 16e on a secondary line, and I’m quite pleased. Clean design, killer battery life so far, plenty of ram, and a SOC that makes it feel faster and more fluid than the 60hz display would infer. Animations are smooth and apps open instantly. I certainly prefer pro-motion but ‘perceived’ lag seems less intrusive to me on the 16e. Comparing it to a 13 that I’ve held onto the improvements are noticeable. Thanks to some very friendly trade-in deals currently available, mine was nearly free. I’ve got a few more days to decide but I’m considering using the 16e full time and returning the 16 Pro.
Leave the paper specs and influencer reviews at the door and you might just be surprised.
Last edited:
Just what I’ve been saying to folks. Apple will take every phone except the newer 16 Pro Max as trade in for the 16e. When you trade in your iPhone or iPad or any other brand phone/tablet that will take down the price of the 16e decently.
The 16e is a more affordable phone but not a dollar general/tree budget phone. Apple could have gone the budget route for the 16e had it not been for Apple Intelligence requiring 8gb of ram and A18 powerful chip.
Yeah same , same all people complaining about the price. But in Japan we pay a premium price even for the cheapest phones.
Apple has to separate the Lineup or else everyone will buy the 16e with all the features and not even think about the 16 base model
Keep in mind Apple is aware of the loophole to still get MagSafe in the 16e but they wanna make you annoyed that’s it’s not automatically there and to tempt you into upgrading to the higher end models.
People are also forgetting about inflation and how all things are generally more pricier than they were 3-5 years ago when the SE 3 debuted.
Why should I buy a used old phone at the same price, or more in case of the 15 Pro, just because it has a few useless features?
LOL.
worldwide inflation is many have.16e is basic now ( with Ai) rather get normal 16 then this.
Remember that Apple was forced by the EU to stop selling the SE, due to the Lightning port. So instead of creating a new SE from the ground up with USB-C, they chose to strip down an iPhone 16. This approach works way better for them as far as the economy of scale and the profit margin. The end product is also more future-proof for the user. If it’s too expensive for certain people, then they can possibly buy a refurb unit, or wait a year and we can expect the price of the 16e to drop as they keep it in the line up. Over time the situation will correct itself; in the interim, Apple gets to retain its margin. If I worked at Apple and had a vote, I would have agreed. Yes it hurts a portion of consumers, but only temporarily, and it’s a relatively small percentage.
Exactly. I wanted a brand new iPhone & the only way to get a 15 Pro here in UK is on the second hand market. That means no Apple warranty or top notch support or the ability to add AppleCare, if that matters to you. It does to me.
Also the post you quoted says the iPhone 14 is better value. The only thing omitted on the 16e is MagSafe and the ultra wide camera.
The 16e has 3 generations newer chip A18 > A15.
More Ram 8gb > 6gb
Better main camera 48mp 2x zoom/crop > 12mp no zoom (my 16e shots look a lot better than my partners 14 Plus)
Better front facing selfie camera.
Action button > ring/silent switch.
Big increase in battery life over the 14 (my 16e is actually beating my partners 14 Plus)
The 16e will get much longer iOS support and new features.
I agree the price maybe should’ve been set a little lower but it is what it is.
Had my 16e for 5 days now and can say I’m very happy with it, from the performance to the camera and the excellent battery life which surprised me.
Most if not all of the people who have legitimately bought a 16e for themselves have nothing but praise for the device. The criticism is from people looking at a spec sheet who don’t even own the device and have no first hand experience with it.
Yes Apple wants consumers to pay the extra $200 to get the 16 Standard. They want Businesses and corporations and Universities and Schools to buy the 16e in bulk.
Wait… do people really think that trade-in value is worth it?
The 3rd-gen SE has an A15, which should be able to work (even on iOS 18) very well for the foreseeable future. $100 as a trade in is negligible, I might as well keep the SE as a second phone.
It’s not that they give you $100 for a phone that could be conceivable characterized as “not good today”. If they gave $100 for the first-gen SE… maybe, but the last SE? Trade-in value is pathetic.
Do people really practically gift their perfectly-working, amazing 3rd-gen SE to Apple for a meagre $100?
People complain about the 16e’s value… but the most egregious aspect is Apple’s abhorrent trade-in value.
Sure, I can choose not to trade-in (I do), but do people really consider this?
The 16e is not a strip down iPhone 16, it’s based on an older iPhone 14 model with up to date internals just as they did with the SE line (5s > SE1, 8 > SE2/SE3) before.
That’s awfully dogmatic.
And when it comes to fair valuations, I try to look at numbers and facts, not what other people tell me to think.
No it’s really not
If you are looking at facts and numbers you would see this is awful value when you compare it with all phones at this price point. So basically you are ignoring all the short comings and buying for the logo then. That’s only reason to buy this device.
Why should you get a 15 pro? Because it kills the 16e in every single area you can think of. It also doesn’t need to be used there’s plenty of places where you can get new 15 pros depending on region.
I fail to see how it has a few useless features when it is superior to the 16e.
Exactly for these reasons I will choose the new 16e over an older 15 or 15 Pro unless I can find them in perfect condition for €400 max. As for the 14, before I would buy it, I would get a used 13 Mini instead.