Friends, if you are thinking of buying Apple’s cheapest iPhone 16e, then wait! I have been using this phone for 40 days and today I am going to tell you my real experience. When I bought this phone on 1 March, the expectations were sky-high.
But is this phone really as good as Apple claims? Or is it just an overhyped gadget? Let’s discuss iPhone 16e Honest User Review and everything one by one – build quality, design, display, performance, camera, battery, and those things that really disappointed me.
Box Content: What do you get?
The phone has the same old Apple minimalism in the box – a USB-C to C cable, phone, and that’s it. Charger? That is not available even in dreams. It is a phone worth Rs. 60,000, but you will have to open a separate pocket for the charger. The cable quality is good, but that was expected. If you want to see detailed unboxing, then check my unboxing post on Unfite.com, where I have shown everything.
Build Quality: Premium or just Okay?
The weight of iPhone 16e is 167 grams, and it is a very thin and lightweight phone. There is glass on the front and back, along with ceramic shield, and the aluminium frame gives it a solid feel. The in-hand feel is quite premium – when you take it in your hand, it feels that the phone is light but also strong. There is also an IP68 rating, which means no tension from dust and water.
But keep one thing in mind – despite the ceramic shield, scratches can come quickly. I would suggest that you put a screen guard and a good cover. If you buy a MagSafe cover, then it is even better, because this phone does not support MagSafe (and this is a big drawback, we will talk about it later). Overall, the build quality is top-notch and justifies this price range.
Design: iPhone 13 Vibes?
Talking about the design, the matte glass on the back looks premium and doesn’t hold fingerprints either. But the camera module is slightly bigger, which makes the phone visually a bit different from the iPhone 13, but gives a slightly odd feeling in proportions. In size it is exactly like the iPhone 13 – so similar that the cases of both are interchangeable.
Now talking about the front design
This phone is from 2025, but from the front it looks exactly like the 4 year old iPhone 13. That big notch! I thought during unboxing that I will get used to it in a day, but even after using the phone for 10 days, this notch reminds me of the old phone every time. If it had a Dynamic Island, the experience would have been much better. In terms of design, if you don’t have a problem with the notch, then it’s fine, but I did not like it at all.
Display: 60Hz in 2025? Seriously?
The iPhone 16e has a 6.1-inch HDR10 display, which is the same as the iPhone 13. With 800 nits HBM brightness and 1200 nits peak brightness, it works even in sunlight. But if you compare it with the flagship phones of 2025, the brightness will seem a bit low. The display quality is good, colours are vibrant, but there is one big problem – the 60Hz refresh rate.
I have been using this phone as my main phone for the last 10 days and this 60Hz display hurts my eyes every time. Scrolling and animations feel slow as iOS animations are inherently a bit slow. When I compared it with the Samsung S25 Ultra, there was a huge difference in the scrolling smoothness.
If the animations were a bit faster or the refresh rate was 120Hz, the experience would have been much better. This is a major letdown, especially in a phone under Rs 60,000.
Performance: Magic of A18 Chip
No complaints in terms of performance. The iPhone 16e has an A18 chip (same as the iPhone 16, but with a 4-core GPU), 8GB of RAM, and NVMe storage. In daily use, this phone is extremely smooth – apps open instantly, multitasking is painless. Gaming is also great on this – I tested heavy games and did not find any heating issues. For a detailed gaming test, check out my gaming review on Unfite.com.
But there is one thing – this phone is so powerful, but the slow animations of iOS do not take full advantage of its speed. Still, there is no chance of lag or jitters in daily life. This phone is well sorted in terms of performance.
Software: iOS 18.4 and Apple Intelligence
The iPhone 16e comes with iOS 18.4, which is quite optimized. Bugs are almost non-existent. It also has Apple Intelligence features, like dancing Siri, voice memo transcription, and writing tools. But to be honest? These features are not yet optimized for India. If you talk to Siri in Hindi, she gives half-English, half-Hindi answers, which is nowhere to be found at ChatGPT level.
For example, I recorded a 3-minute voice memo, and it only transcribed a few things and wrote “no no no” for the rest. Android phones worth Rs 20,000 give better transcription than this! Apple Intelligence is still a promise, but is still useless after 6 months. The basic features of iOS are great, but don’t rely on Apple Intelligence to buy this phone.
Camera: Decent, but nothing amazing
The iPhone 16e has a 48MP main camera and a 12MP selfie camera. Photos look quite good in daylight – natural colours, good details, especially for food photography. There is also a 2x telephoto, which is digitally cropped, but the quality is decent. But low-light photography? Absolutely disappointing. Details are lost in photos, and even the face gets blurred.
Video quality is its highlight. I record my videos with this phone itself, and both audio and video are of quite good quality. It works well in professional environments as well.
But if there was an ultra-wide camera, it would have got more value in this price range. And if you compare it with the cameras of iPhone 15, then it beats it in every respect – better sensor, better low-light, and ultra-wide too.
Battery Life: Decent, but no doubt
Regarding battery life, I thought that with C1 modem and compact size, this phone will give battery life like iPhone 16 Pro Max. But it is not so. I got an average screen-on time of 7-8 hours, which lasts 1-1.5 days for normal usage. Heavy users will finish the battery in a day. Charging speed is also decent – 50% charge is done in 30 minutes.
But one big complaint – it does not have MagSafe. My iPhone 13 (4 years old!) gives fast charging with MagSafe, but this 60,000 phone does not have this feature. I bought a MagSafe cover, which is for 250, but still the charging speed is only 7.5W, which is quite slow. This was a big disappointment.
Network & Other Features
With C1 modem, call quality and network are the same as iPhone 15 Pro Max or 16 Pro Max – no complaints. Face ID is fast, and the customizable Action Button (I use it for torch) is quite handy. There is also satellite communication, but it is of no use in India.
But one feature really broke my heart – Find My’s precision detection. I have an AirTag in my car keys, and when I used Find My with this phone, I only got directions, not any arrow-based precision detection. iPhone 13 has this feature, but it doesn’t have an ultra-wideband chip! Such an expensive phone, and it missed this basic feature? That’s why I stopped recommending this phone.
Pros & Cons
Pros:
- Lightweight and premium build quality
- Splendid performance (A18 chip)
- Decent and consistent cameras
- USB-C port, Face ID, Action Button
- iOS 18.4 quite optimized
Cons:
- 60Hz display – unacceptable in 2025
- Notch design seems old
- No MagSafe and fast charging
- Find My precision not found
- Apple Intelligence is still half-baked
Conclusion: Is this phone worth buying?
Friends, if you are thinking of buying iPhone 16e for Rs 60,000, then listen to me – there can be no more foolish decision than this. At this price you can easily get iPhone 15 (around ₹55,000), which is much better than this in cameras, display, and overall experience. I think Apple has launched this phone only to increase the sales of iPhone 15 and 16.
If this phone is available for sale for ₹40,000, then maybe I can ignore its drawbacks. But for ₹60,000? Not value for money at all. If you are using iPhone SE or 13, then maybe this will seem a bit of an upgrade, but for new buyers, stay away from it.