Apple's new iPhone 16e is the value bet for iPhone buyers

When the iPhone 16 range was announced late last year the cheapest of the bunch was $1,399 for the standard iPhone 16 and while many Aussies do love a lock-in contract with a telco as a way of pretending they aren't spending that much money, just as many people are far more savvy with their smartphone purchase, which makes the iPhone 16e a solid option at $999.

Yes, there are plenty of other options for smartphones under $1,000 – but as we all know, many of us just want an iPhone and won't hear another word about it!

NOTE: Prices are accurate at time of publishing.

Apple iPhone 16e

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So, should you buy the iPhone 16e?

Honestly, I struggle to see why anyone would buy anything but the iPhone 16e. It's as simple as that.

Bang for your buck, this is the best value iPhone we've probably ever seen.

Thanks to the Apple A18 chip, the same as the iPhone 16, it's capable of fantastic graphics performance for games and high-energy apps, but critically it's also able to support Apple Intelligence.

Check out Vodafone plans here!

READ MORE: Meet the newest (and most affordable) member of the iPhone 16 range

How is it different to the iPhone 16?

When you get your hands on this new iPhone, you'll find it feels the same as iPhone 16 thanks to the shared design principles, while the screen technology is the same but for the 'notch' at the top of the screen for the cameras and sensors, as opposed to the 'island' on iPhone 16.

Critically though, you need to confirm within yourself that you don't need the Ultra Wide lens – that's the missing part on the rear of iPhone 16e – there's just one circle lens there which is the same 48-megapixel 'fusion' camera on the rest of the iPhone 16 range. This means your everyday photos are as good as any other – and that's hard to argue against.

There are a bunch of smaller incremental differences like screen brightness, or networking technologies, but I'm more than certain you'll never notice.

What is MagSafe, and why doesn't the iPhone 16e have it?

When Apple launched the iPhone 12, they announced this thing called MagSafe. Essentially, it's wireless charging, with magnets. So your car phone holder or bedside table phone charger can be a wireless charger, but with some magnets in a specific arrangement so that the phone snaps into place perfectly aligned with the wireless charging coil.

It has seen a huge number of accessories made, and even an Android-friendly Magnetic Attach technology launched.

iPhone 16e has wireless charging, but no magnetic attachment. Good news? You can get a third-party phone case that has the magnetic attachment so it will work on those fancy chargers. Job done!

It isn't as high powered, so charging is slower, but let's be real, you're putting your phone on charge and leaving it while you sleep – you don't really care how fast or slow it is charging.

How much, and when does the iPhone 16e go on sale?

iPhone 16e starts at $999 with 128GB of storage, you can double that to 256GB and pay $1,199 or go to 512GB of storage for $1,549.

All of them are available Friday, February 28, in either black or white colours.

Check out Vodafone plans here!

READ MORE: Our honest thoughts on the new Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra