There’s one feature missing from the new iPhone 16e that makes it a big “no” for me, dog — MagSafe. Apple’s failure to include a few cheap magnets, which could have enabled a wonderful array of iPhone accessories, seems like the ultimate cost-cutting fail.
iPhone 16e’s MagSafe problem
Eyeballing the specs of the iPhone 16e — the brand-new budget iPhone introduced by Apple this morning — it mostly looks pretty great. The first thing you notice is that it’s a good-looking phone, with the same impeccable industrial design as the current iPhone 16 lineup.
It boasts a bunch of great trickle-down features, too: A larger screen and no Home button, Face ID (double, no triple, yay!!), a pretty good 48MP camera, a chip fast enough for Apple Intelligence, and a USB-C connector.
Plus, it sports Apple’s new in-house 5G modem, called the C1. The C1 is the result of billions of dollars of investment and many years of rocky development, and it sounds impressive. It incorporates 4G, 5G, satellite and GPS radios all into one chip, and is the most battery-efficient modem ever used in an iPhone, according to Apple.
So far, so good. But MagSafe goes conspicuously missing from the iPhone 16e specs.
Corners cut
Naturally, Apple needed to cut a few corners to make the iPhone 16e cheap. There’s no Dynamic Island (just a blank, non-dynamic notch). It lacks an ultra-wideband chip (so no precision AirTag finding). And there’s no Ultra Wide camera or Camera Control button. (Here’s a more comprehensive list of iPhone 16e’s missing features.)
None of these are deal-breakers for me, and they likely won’t be for many potential iPhone 16e buyers, either.
But omitting MagSafe from the iPhone 16e is a total head-scratcher. It’s completely unforgivable!
The deal breaker: iPhone 16e is missing MagSafe
MagSafe ranks right up there with mankind’s greatest inventions: fire, the wheel and lifesaving vaccines.
MagSafe makes wireless charging waaaaay better. So much so, I never use a cable to charge my iPhone 16 Pro. And the technology makes possible a bunch of fantastic iPhone accessories, from magnetic battery packs to magnetic wallets.
Why didn’t Apple add a few crummy magnets to the back of the iPhone 16e to enable MagSafe? This could be the biggest blot on CEO Tim Cook’s otherwise stellar career!
Why, Tim? Why??
Otherwise, the 16e looks like a great starter iPhone. And here’s a great fix for the iPhone 16’s baffling lack of MagSafe — a simple magnetic sticker that will make it awesome.
