Apple iPhone 16e

The iPhone 16e is the most affordable entry into Apple Intelligence and the rest of the company’s ecosystem, and is a solid option for anyone who doesn’t care very much about smartphone photography.

You'll pay more for the cheapest model in Apple's lineup, but the iPhone 16e is a marked upgrade over the iPhone SE 2022. In fact, it has a lot in common with the standard iPhone 16, complete with a gorgeous OLED screen, A18 chip, Apple Intelligence features, and the new C1 modem.

The 16E feels like it should offer the essentials, but it’s hard to say what’s an essential iPhone feature and what’s not. It’s probably more like a combination of features, and for some people, the 16E likely offers a combination they’ll be happy with.

This is why the iPhone lineup is a little confusing. Apple sells the standard iPhone 15 for $699, and it has many of those perks (plus more), but it doesn't have Apple Intelligence support—and you know that as the years go on, more features will be siloed into Apple Intelligence versus iOS. Your options might also be a little limited in the used market if you want the convenience of USB-C, since that only debuted on the iPhone 15 series.

$600 is a lot of money, at least for me, but I think the iPhone 16E is worth it. I do recommend looking into carrier deals, discounts and trade-ins to drop that price a bit, unless you're set on doing an installment plan over a couple of years. Even if Apple made a version of this phone that's closer to $500, it would have had to omit or compromise on more features. I wonder how the iPhone 16E's value will look in the fall when the iPhone 17 is released and there's all the deals and discounts for it.

The iPhone 16e may not be capable of capturing objects from far away or come in a spectrum of neat colors. Nor does it sync up with the vast offering of MagSafe accessories and devices. Otherwise, it’s everything you need to lock into the ecosystem and start buying other Apple accessories and subscribing to services. The iPhone 16e is the gateway drug.