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The minis were quite in a good pricing spot. They were even cheaper than the larger 12/13ns even though they had higher integration (which is the thing that costs money - you pay for phones to be smaller for a given capability).

The SE were positioned as successor to the minis because they couldn't/wouldn't produce newer minis. So they became state of the art. The alternative in many cases was not to buy a "regular" iphone, but simply an android phone like the fairphone as apple has a lot more competition in the bigger phone market.

That the SE was cheaper than the mini was simply a result of consolidation. People interested in cheap usually don't buy apple.
the mini was the best budget phone :apple: ever brought out.
perfect pocket form size and a pretty darn good camera, especially in 16:9 mode.
a 16 mini i'd buy in a heartbeat - the 16e not so much

Screen Shot 2025-03-07 at 13.42.39.png
 
Well you will miss Apple AI with the regular 15 so this beats the purpose of having a new future proof iphone for two to five years. Yeah I could buy a used two year old phone every two years instead a new one every four years but then I don’t save any money again.

Apple intelligence is not mature at all, when it is mature then very likely they charge a monthly fee. When they charge fee they should open to at least iPhone 13 or above.
 
Apple intelligence is not mature at all, when it is mature then very likely they charge a monthly fee. When they charge fee they should open to at least iPhone 13 or above.
Why should Apple charge a fee? They never ever charged something for basic features. Especially since all the computing is done on device.
 
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Why should Apple charge a fee? They never ever charged something for basic features. Especially since all the computing is done on device.

The main useful features in Apple Intelligence now are called from ChatGPT, which should cost Apple a lot of money.
 
People who want an iPhone but cannot really afford to spend on the standard models will buy it. It's a win all round.
 
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As someone who owns an iPhone 15 Pro, iPad Pro M4, and iPad mini 7, and just bought an iPhone 16e for the hell of it because it cost less than $400 including a month of service from Straight Talk, here are my thoughts:

This does not feel like a budget phone. When you’re not thinking about specs, comparing every little detail to a more expensive phone, and just using the phone, it just feels like another iPhone. I thought the lack of MagSafe was a poor choice at first, but I picked up a MagSafe case for it and there’s basically no difference now.

The 60 Hz screen doesn’t bother me at all. I can obviously tell that scrolling is a little smoother on the iPhone 15 Pro and iPad Pro, but I also use an iPad mini and that display has never bothered me either. Of course I would prefer a higher refresh rate and would never argue against it, but the 60 Hz display is still good enough for me.

I don’t take a lot of pictures so the single camera doesn’t affect me much. I also haven’t needed to use the UWB tracking feature in years so that also doesn’t matter to me.

If you’re one to get fixated on specs, then you were never going to buy this phone anyway. It doesn’t matter that you won’t actually be able to tell the difference in performance with that one missing GPU core because you’re going to know your phone is inferior in some way. Of course there are people who do need features exclusive to the higher tier iPhones so this obviously doesn’t apply to them.

But if you just want a new iPhone that has good performance, good battery life, and does everything 99% of people use their phones for, this may be the iPhone for you, especially if you can get a good deal on it like I did.
 
As someone who owns an iPhone 15 Pro, iPad Pro M4, and iPad mini 7, and just bought an iPhone 16e for the hell of it because it cost less than $400 including a month of service from Straight Talk, here are my thoughts:

This does not feel like a budget phone. When you’re not thinking about specs, comparing every little detail to a more expensive phone, and just using the phone, it just feels like another iPhone. I thought the lack of MagSafe was a poor choice at first, but I picked up a MagSafe case for it and there’s basically no difference now.

The 60 Hz screen doesn’t bother me at all. I can obviously tell that scrolling is a little smoother on the iPhone 15 Pro and iPad Pro, but I also use an iPad mini and that display has never bothered me either. Of course I would prefer a higher refresh rate and would never argue against it, but the 60 Hz display is still good enough for me.

I don’t take a lot of pictures so the single camera doesn’t affect me much. I also haven’t needed to use the UWB tracking feature in years so that also doesn’t matter to me.

If you’re one to get fixated on specs, then you were never going to buy this phone anyway. It doesn’t matter that you won’t actually be able to tell the difference in performance with that one missing GPU core because you’re going to know your phone is inferior in some way. Of course there are people who do need features exclusive to the higher tier iPhones so this obviously doesn’t apply to them.

But if you just want a new iPhone that has good performance, good battery life, and does everything 99% of people use their phones for, this may be the iPhone for you, especially if you can get a good deal on it like I did.

Basically you mean most of us don’t care about anything include the price, just need an iPhone that works for daily web browsing, a call per week, few trip photos per year.
 
the mini was the best budget phone :apple: ever brought out.
perfect pocket form size and a pretty darn good camera, especially in 16:9 mode.
a 16 mini i'd buy in a heartbeat - the 16e not so much

View attachment 2489235
I agree that it was a great pocket phone for some people but the demand was not there. I had one but found myself increasing the font size so I could read things. You have to give them credit, they tried, it just wasn’t popular enough to continue.
 
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As someone who owns an iPhone 15 Pro, iPad Pro M4, and iPad mini 7, and just bought an iPhone 16e for the hell of it because it cost less than $400 including a month of service from Straight Talk, here are my thoughts:

This does not feel like a budget phone. When you’re not thinking about specs, comparing every little detail to a more expensive phone, and just using the phone, it just feels like another iPhone. I thought the lack of MagSafe was a poor choice at first, but I picked up a MagSafe case for it and there’s basically no difference now.

The 60 Hz screen doesn’t bother me at all. I can obviously tell that scrolling is a little smoother on the iPhone 15 Pro and iPad Pro, but I also use an iPad mini and that display has never bothered me either. Of course I would prefer a higher refresh rate and would never argue against it, but the 60 Hz display is still good enough for me.

I don’t take a lot of pictures so the single camera doesn’t affect me much. I also haven’t needed to use the UWB tracking feature in years so that also doesn’t matter to me.

If you’re one to get fixated on specs, then you were never going to buy this phone anyway. It doesn’t matter that you won’t actually be able to tell the difference in performance with that one missing GPU core because you’re going to know your phone is inferior in some way. Of course there are people who do need features exclusive to the higher tier iPhones so this obviously doesn’t apply to them.

But if you just want a new iPhone that has good performance, good battery life, and does everything 99% of people use their phones for, this may be the iPhone for you, especially if you can get a good deal on it like I did.
Thank you for your review, straight from someone who actually owns it.
I figured it would be a good performer. It has the specs most non-geeks want and need. Pictures have been posted on these forums from the camera and they look quite nice. Battery life seems excellent. Seems like a no-brainer especially if you get a deal.
 
Basically you mean most of us don’t care about anything include the price, just need an iPhone that works for daily web browsing, a call per week, few trip photos per year.
Not most of us, most of everyone. We here are not a good measure of the general population. Time will tell if they like it or not.
 
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I’ve had my black 16e for three days now and can say that I’m really enjoying it and happy with my choice.

It isn’t a budget phone and doesn’t feel like one! It’s the least expensive new and up to date iPhone you can purchase from Apple now with the A18 chip & Apple intelligence.

It does everything I need from an iPhone. Some highlights for me

• Performance is top notch and everything feels fast and fluid.

• The battery life is excellent and really surprised me just how good it is.

• The single 48mp rear camera can produce some great shots with plenty of detail and a beautifully natural look right off the phone.

• Love the sleek, clean & aesthetic look. And the size, weight & in hand feel is just great.
 

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I’ve had my black 16e for three days now and can say that I’m really enjoying it and happy with my choice.

It isn’t a budget phone and doesn’t feel like one! It’s the least expensive new and up to date iPhone you can purchase from Apple now with the A18 chip & Apple intelligence.

It does everything I need from an iPhone. Some highlights for me

• Performance is top notch and everything feels fast and fluid.

• The battery life is excellent and really surprised me just how good it is.

• The single 48mp rear camera can produce some great shots with plenty of detail and a beautifully natural look right off the phone.

• Love the sleek, clean & aesthetic look. And the size, weight & in hand feel is just great.

Did you use magsafe with previous devices? If so, do you notice a difference without it now?
 
When Apple just launched the iPhone 16e, what was she thinking? Would people prefer all these flaws for $200?
If it had cost $500 I think it would have been a hit, and people would have lined up to buy it, but at $600 I'd save a little more and buy an iPhone 16 for $800
Maybe it's even worth giving up Apple Intellect 😅
Really Apple, it seems like you want this to remain a niche phone like the SE 3 (I'm not sure the amount Apple paid the programmers to write this HTML was worth it to them)
What do you think about this?

Why does the supermarket think anyone would buy a Hershey's bar? What was Kroger thinking when they put these on their shelves? Would people accept this flawed candy when for just a little bit more they can get a Dove Milk Chocolate Bar? If it had cost less, it would have been successful, but at $1.79, I'd save my money and get the Dove. Really Hershey Co, it seems like you almost want this bar to be a niche thing for peasants who eat S'mores.
What do you think about that?
 
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Very rarely used MagSafe with previous devices, so made no difference tbh 😊
I used MagSafe on my 13 Mini, more as a holder especially for convenient charging in the car along with my Sunweyer wireless CarPlay adapter. Just finished a couple of long journeys using the 16e instead, with a MagSafe case. Charging was effectively no different as far as I could tell - I use Waze and streaming radio on long journeys so there is continuous demand on the battery.

I have a Belkin MagSafe battery and was very pleasantly surprised to see that charging starts immediately with the 16e just as before. I have no issue with it being Qi rather than MagSafe rates - other than the different power levels behaviour is exactly as with my 13 Mini except for needing the MagSafe case to ensure alignment.
 
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I used MagSafe on my 13 Mini, more as a holder especially for convenient charging in the car along with my Sunweyer wireless CarPlay adapter. Just finished a couple of long journeys using the 16e instead, with a MagSafe case. Charging was effectively no different as far as I could tell - I use Waze and streaming radio on long journeys so there is continuous demand on the battery.

I have a Belkin MagSafe battery and was very pleasantly surprised to see that charging starts immediately with the 16e just as before. I have no issue with it being Qi rather than MagSafe rates - other than the different power levels behaviour is exactly as with my 13 Mini except for needing the MagSafe case to ensure alignment.

I realize this is anecdotal, but did you find it staying cooler than the 13 Mini while charging? I've wondered if the slower wireless speed would generate less heat - though I know MagSafe was also more efficient...
 
I realize this is anecdotal, but did you find it staying cooler than the 13 Mini while charging? I've wondered if the slower wireless speed would generate less heat - though I know MagSafe was also more efficient...
No noticeable heat, also perhaps because I have the phone angled - see photo of my installation below. Only used when open, and folds shut as normal when not required.

IMG_3443.jpeg
 
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I mean if anything, the slower charging will help maintain battery health so that’s a good thing!
 
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Low end or whatever, there is certainly a lot of talk about the price difference between the SE and 16e so it is a real issue.

Yeah, I'm one of the folks complaining about pricing so I know.

The SE's pricing was around mid-range Android. Now, the entry level 16e price is already on the upper mid-range and even high-end on some Android manufacturers. Apple has pretty much consolidated the SE and 14 while retaining the higher price point.
 
The price is still quite high but the price differential (between other models) in some markets will be crucial and these will sell well to those who strive to be buy an iPhone in countries where $100 or $200 difference means a lot. There is a big wide world out there beyond the US !

Markets such as India, Africa, Latam, SE Asia and other emerging markets often have older models sold for longer, so this will sit well in those markets if not immediately, it will be a medium to longer term success. This is true of other tech as well.
 
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