By Nicole Nguyen

Are you a fan of the classic iPhone home button? Cue the mournful violin. With Apple's new iPhone 16e, the one-press escape hatch/fingerprint reader is no more.

The end of the home button also marks the end of the sub-$500 iPhone. The iPhone 16e gets a big upgrade -- and price bump -- over the $429 iPhone SE, last updated in 2022. Hitting shelves Friday, the 16e starts at $599.

Apple justifies the iPhone-flation with a battery-life boost, twice the amount of storage and other upgrades. But you'd still need to step up to a more expensive model for perks such as MagSafe, the quick-attach accessory and charging system.

After nearly a week of testing the iPhone 16e, I found it a decent choice for anyone who just wants the basics. It's for people who don't care what kind of phone they have, who give priority to price over specs.

If your carrier is offering older models at a discount, however, the 16e might not be the best bang for your buck.

New chips, USB-C and a big battery

My colleague Joanna Stern called the old SE the "I Hate Change" iPhone. It was also the last of the small-screen iPhones. The 16e has the same 6.1-inch screen as the $799-and-up iPhone 16. So much for a model that fits comfortably in small hands like mine!

I'm more enthusiastic about other upgrades.

The side Action Button can be programmed as a custom shortcut to different apps. You can even set it to go back to the home screen, just like the good ol' home button.

There's also Face ID, the latest A18 chipset (for fast scrolling and app switching), USB-C (a more universal charging port), 5G connectivity (for high-speed data), Apple Intelligence capabilities (including built-in ChatGPT), satellite calling and texting (for emergencies) and a camera with 48 megapixels (for 2x zoom without graininess).

I was most impressed by the battery life. Apple rates the 16e as capable of 26 hours of video playback, way more than the SE's 15 hours. It's also longer than the iPhone 16's 22 hours. In my testing, I would often go to bed with 60% or more battery still left in the tank.

The power gains are in part due to a more energy-efficient, Apple-designed C1 cellular chip, which makes its first appearance in the 16e. The new modem handled FaceTime calls and streaming audio throughout San Francisco fine. When the 5G conditions were right, it clocked speeds at a whopping 250 megabits a second. That's more bandwidth than you'd ever really need, even for 4K-resolution Netflix movies.

That said, there's an even faster flavor of 5G -- "millimeter wave" -- that it doesn't get, though it's still in fairly limited use. (If you buy this phone, make sure your carrier isn't charging you for that faster 5G.)

Weighing the cost-feature value

If you're hanging onto an SE or other older device, these improvements will feel significant. Still, you might find that recent models, sold at a discount, offer more value.

I immediately missed my MagSafe accessories, which don't work with the 16e. My MagSafe stand/wallet/grip combo has become an essential fixture in my life for cooking, working out or holding the phone one-handed on the bus. My MagSafe desktop mount turns my iPhone into a high-resolution webcam for meetings. MagSafe also enables speedy 25-watt wireless charging speeds. The iPhone 16e is limited to 7.5 watts.

This model also doesn't have an ultrawide camera on the front or back. Those wider-angle portraits are more flattering -- just ask your resident young person. There's no Dynamic Island either, which shows useful live visuals for flight boarding, Uber arrivals, sports scores and more.

For any of that, you need to pay $200 more for the iPhone 16, or at least $100 more for the iPhone 15, which Apple still sells.

You can find secondhand models for less. Verizon offers a certified preowned iPhone 15 for about the same price as the 16e, and a used iPhone 15 Pro for an additional $167.

Just remember: Apple supports iPhones with new iOS updates for five to six years from initial release. Generally, I don't recommend going back further than one generation.

Apple won't say what the "e" in iPhone 16e stands for. A few guesses: essential features... economical price... enlarged screen? In my case, it stood for envy: what I felt this past week looking at MagSafe-compatible iPhones and all their great accessories.

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Write to Nicole Nguyen at nicole.nguyen@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

The iPhone 16e can make emergency calls via cellular but can only send emergency texts via satellite. "iPhone 16e Review: Apple's 'Cheap' Phone Isn't So Cheap. But Is It a Bad Deal?" at 9.p.m. ET on Feb. 26 incorrectly said the iPhone 16e has emergency satellite calling.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 27, 2025 13:00 ET (18:00 GMT)

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