- The new iPhone 16e misses out on MagSafe
- According to a notable tech blogger, Apple says this is because the phone’s target audience doesn’t use wireless charging
- However, we’re not sure what this claim is based on
The iPhone 16e is finally here, joining the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max as the latest and cheapest addition to Apple’s current-generation smartphone lineup.
However, the iPhone 16e misses out on some of the best features from its predecessors, chief among them being MagSafe, Apple’s proprietary system of in-phone magnets that facilitates a range of charging and accessory options.
The disappointment in the iPhone fanbase surrounding this omission must have been clear to Apple, as the company has apparently given a statement about the iPhone 16e’s lack of MagSafe (which, for reference, has been standard on all numbered iPhones since 2020’s iPhone 12 series).
This is according to notable tech blogger John Gruber (via his blog, Daring Fireball, who paraphrases a statement supposedly supplied by unnamed Apple representatives: “But according to Apple representatives, most people in the 16e’s target audience exclusively charge their phones by plugging them into a charging cable”.
It seems Apple’s opinion is that if you’re looking to buy an iPhone 16e, you probably didn’t even want MagSafe to begin with – whether that reflects actual consumer opinion is another matter.
As GSMArena notes, who exactly Apple thinks iPhone 16e buyers are remains unclear from this paraphrased statement, as do the figures and research upon which you’d imagine Apple would base its claim.
Priced at $599 / £599 / AU$999, the iPhone 16e is now the cheapest iPhone Apple sells directly, replacing the iPhone SE as the company’s budget handset and booting the iPhone 14 off of its price point and into the archives; both the iPhone SE and iPhone 14 (and iPhone 14 Plus) have been discontinued.
You might expect that Apple would replace a pair of three-year-old phones with a handset that can do everything these models could do and more – but as our iPhone 16e review notes, this isn’t quite the case. As well as MagSafe, the iPhone 16e misses out on the iPhone 14’s ultra-wide camera and ultra-wideband connectivity.
The iPhone 16e also replaces the iPhone SE’s Touch ID-enabled Home Button with Face ID, though this feels less like a loss and more like a natural progression that brings the phone’s design in line with its peers.
What do you think about the iPhone 16e’s lack of MagSafe? Let us know in the comments below, and be sure to join our WhatsApp community to vote in our poll.
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