I am humble enough to admit when I was wrong, and I’m not someone who tries to cover my tracks and pretend things happened. When the iPhone 16e was announced I made this post: https://blog.sm1th.uk/index.php/2025/02/20/iphone-16e-reality-check-needed/
A lot of what I wrote holds true, the GPU does have one less core and the £599 price point is arguably too high, this also is absolutely not a continuation of the “SE” line however it does draw similarities to it. However what doesn’t appear to be justified was my concern about the C1 modem. It has held up to testing to be just as good as the Qualcomm modem it replaced, and the efficiency claims seem justified.
After my recent terrible experience with the Samsung S25 my affinity towards Android as a whole took a massive hit. At this point I feel like the only reason exists any more is to harvest user data. The Android device you buy doesn’t matter, nor how you use it. My post on bootloader unlocking (read here) highlights this; the manufacturers and Google are desperate to keep you using their software, to collect your data. Say what you will about Apple but they are more careful with user data than Google, and their recent run in with the UK government only reinforces this fact.
I’m also at a point in my life where free time is limited. I don’t want to spend my time configuring devices, resolving issues, customising layouts and finding apps to solve problem. I’ve lost what was a passion for smartphones, and with that my desire to get the new release year on year has gone with it. I just want a device that’s easy to setup, reliable and that will last a long time. So with that in mind I went cap in hand back to Apple.
Initially I bought a new, sealed box iPhone 16e from eBay. However upon unboxing this phone it was MDM locked and quite clearly stolen, so I immediately returned it and decided that I would only buy new from a trusted retailer. My options for a new iPhone were last years iPhone 15, the iPhone 16e, the base 16, 16 plus or Pro/Pro max. With longevity in mind and the 15 already being locked out of features that was off the cards immediately. The Pro/Pro max were also quickly discarded as options due to their pricing and functionality that is overkill to my use case. Comparing the iPhone 16e and iPhone 16 was a little more difficult. The benefits of the iPhone 16 that are notable are an ultra wide camera, Magsafe, an extra GPU core and the dynamic island. None of these are particularly important features to me, and the better battery life of the 16e was a more important feature. With that decided I ordered the white iPhone 16e with 128GB storage.
Setup was what I’d expect from an iPhone, very simple and easy. Within about 10 minutes I had the phone setup as I needed it. I was particularly impressed with the native support for CalDAV and CardDav, meaning I could sync my calendar and contacts directly from my Nextcloud installation. Aside from my cross platform notes and banking apps there was very little I needed to install that wasn’t already on the device. Apple still provides alternatives to using it’s iCloud service for everything, I can backup the device directly to my Mac Mini, and photos can be imported and then backed up to my external drive.
The battery claims I’ve seen floating around in forums are justified. Apple devices have always been great at standby usage but this one didn’t even lose 1% overnight. Coupled with it using very little during screen on time and I’m very impressed. Being plugged into my car twice a day for carplay may actually give it enough charge that I never need to additionally charge it up.
Performance is also as I’d expect. It’s fluid, keeps recent apps in memory for far longer than I’d have ever expected and needs next to no user input to maintain this performance long term. I’ve only had limited testing of the camera, and this was outdoors in good lighting but the photos and videos it has produced so far are excellent. Playing back one of these videos I was amazed at the quality of the audio, the microphone and speakers on this device are fantastic.
People have said this is the phone Steve Jobs would’ve made if he was still alive. While I don’t know if that’s true the design is certainly nicer than the other recent releases from Apple. The one camera and lack of a stove top looking arrangement lends itself to a minimalistic look that we haven’t seen for almost a decade. The matte glass back in white, and silver matte aluminium frame make this a very appealing device that feels great in the hand.
Another welcome benefit is the aftermarket support. I had a wealth of high quality cases to choose from, and the screen protector choices were endless thanks to it sharing a screen with the iPhone 14.
I did not expect to find a device that I’d be so happy with, and that will be my long term primary device in something that I was initially so critical of. It just goes to show that we should stay open to new information and opinions even when we think our mind is set.
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