After months of speculations, Apple finally pulled back the curtain on the latest member of the iPhone 16 lineup, the iPhone 16e, which puts the decade-old iPhone SE lineup out to pasture. With a $599 price tag, the iPhone 16e is no longer a budget-friendly iPhone, but it's still a solid deal compared to the $799 standard iPhone 16.
The iPhone 16e shares some components like the A18 processor and 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR OLED display with Apple premium iPhones. However, Apple has decided to ditch the MagSafe from its latest entry-level iPhone. The move didn't come as a surprise at first, as the iPhone SE lineup also lacked MagSafe, but the actual reason behind it might surprise you.
As per a report by John Gruber from Daring Fireball, Apple representatives have told him that "most people in the 16e's target audience exclusively charge their phones by plugging them into a charging cable."
Apple apparently believes that iPhone 16e buyers might not use inductive charging at all, and if they do, "they might not care that the 16e is stuck with a pokey 7.5W Qi charging speed when recent more expensive iPhones charge via MagSafe at 15W or even 25W." The slower charging speed could be an inconvenience for some users.
It's intriguing how Apple concluded that a person who pays $600 for a phone doesn't use or need fast wireless charging. The firm has already denied speculations that its new in-house C1 modem has performance interference with MagSafe (via Macworld).
In addition to faster wireless charging, MagSage brings more convenience to charging iPhones. If you're an iPhone 16e buyer desiring MagSage, you can opt for third-party cases and accessories. However, remember that the speed is limited to 7.5 watts, which makes the charging process much longer and tedious.
If the iPhone 16e is on your purchase list, let us know if fast wireless charging is a deciding factor for you.
8 Comments - Add comment