Apple has announced a new iPhone today – the iPhone 16e. While fans were awaiting the announcement of the new iPhone SE 4, Apple surprised everyone by changing the moniker of the budget iPhone. Since the iPhone 16e is priced lower than the iPhone 16, there are some cutdowns that Apple has done. If you are planning to buy the newly announced iPhone, here are some features missing in the new iPhone 16e.
1. No Dynamic Island
This should not come as a total shock to anyone. The iPhone 16e borrows its design from the iPhone 14 series and like the previous gen iPhone it also lacks the Dynamic Island. The iPhone 163 has a notch instead. Now, it is the only iPhone sold by Apple that has a notch. All iPhones starting iPhone 15 series and above have Dynamic Island. While it is nothing major, Dynamic Island has its own benefits like interactive notifications, which you will miss out on on the new iPhone 16e.
2. Lack of Ultra-Wide Camera
The iPhone 16e carries forward the legacy of the iPhone SE series with its single rear camera. Apple has disappointed users by including a single rear camera of 48MP on the rear of the iPhone 16e. It’s absurd that a phone that costs north of $500 has a single rear camera in 2025.
While Apple is calling the iPhone 16e’s camera to be 2-in-1 as it has an ‘integrated telephoto,’ the absence of an ultra-wide lens is something that will be a deal-breaker for many.
3. MagSafe
This is the biggest feature missing on the new iPhone 16e. Yes, Apple’s new budget iPhone does not support MagSafe charging. But, it supports wireless charging. It means you can use a Qi-certified wireless charger to charge the iPhone 16e at 7.5W but it is not compatible with Apple’s own MagSafe accessories. For those who are unaware, MagSafe is Apple’s magnetic technology that allows you to charge devices and connect accessories like cases and battery packs.
4. Camera Control button
Yes, the new iPhone 16e does not have the Camera Control button, which Apple introduced with the new iPhone 16 series. While Apple has been calling the 16e as a part of the iPhone 16 family, the Camera Control is notably reserved only for the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max as of now. However, the iPhone 16e still supports the Visual Intelligence feature without the Camera Button. Instead, it uses the Action Button to invoke the Visual Intelligence feature.
5. One Less GPU Core
If you are attracted by the A18 chipset in the new iPhone 16e, don’t be. The A18 chip in the iPhone 16e is an under-clocked version of the A18 chip found in the base iPhone 16. iPhone 16e indeed comes with the A18 chip but it has a 4-core GPU as compared to the 5-core GPU in the A18 in iPhone 16. While this may not lead to a drastic fall in performance, nonetheless, GPU-intensive tasks will certainly be not on par with the iPhone 16 models.
