Apple’s iPhone 16e is a weird one. It’s Apple’s “budget” model, but it’s 40% more expensive than the iPhone SE it replaces. It’s an iPhone 16 in name, but many of its hardware features are from the previous generation. Still, it remains the cheapest iPhone in Apple’s lineup, which is something. And then there’s that new modem.
But there could be an even better option, one which not only saves you money and gets you an excellent recent-model iPhone, but which also avoids the massive environmental cost of manufacturing and shipping a brand-new handset half way across the world.
Today, we’re going to compare the new iPhone 16e with refurbished models (you might consider both Apple’s own certified refurbished models and refurbished iPhones from Back Market) to see what you gain and what you lose.
The Budget iPhone
The iPhone SE looks like the iPhone 14, with the same notch (no Dynamic Island here), and the same home-button-free, all-screen panel with the same thin bezels. Go around back, though, and you’ll see that the 16e has a single camera vs the 14’s dual camera setup. This means you lose out on the 0.5x ultra-wide, but in exchange you get the current 48 MP sensor with its pixel-binning 2x mode, which chops a central rectangle from the sensor to mimic a telephoto lens.
While the 16e might look like an iPhone 14, it is fairer to compare it to the iPhone 16, as it a) uses the same A18 chip, and b) its name puts it in the iPhone 16 lineup.
Here are the differences. The 16e has an action button, but it doesn’t have the touch-sensitive camera control. It doesn’t have MagSafe, and it only has a 60 Hz screen refresh, which is getting a bit sluggish compared to the competition. It also has one less GPU core than the regular 16.
But the biggest difference between the iPhone 16e and any other iPhone before it is that it uses Apple’s new C1 modem chip, instead of a Qualcomm model. Apple is almost certainly testing this out in the budget model first, rather than risking any first-gen hiccups in its mainstream money machine. The advantage, says Apple, is its power efficiency, a claim which seems to be proven by the 16e’s 26 hours of video playback vs the 16’s 22 hours. The disadvantage is that this is Apple’s first ever in-house modem design. It’s probably just fine, but you never know.
Limits
One disadvantage of the SE models, and the new e model, is that you have only a limited choice of options—black and white are the only colors, for example—whereas refurb models may come with any or all of the options available when buying new. On the other hand, the refurb options change constantly, depending on what is available. At the time of writing, Apple’s certified refurbished models in the US store start at $529 for a 128 GB iPhone 14. With that you get MagSafe charging, the 0.5 x ultra-wide camera, and the same 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR display. From Back Market, iPhones start as low as $60, if you’re open to rocking an iPhone 7 dinosaur—or $316 if you’re only looking for iPhone 14 and newer.
With the iPhone 14, you miss out on USB-C, which could be a plus if you’ve already got a bunch of Lightning cables. It cannot run Apple Intelligence, which could also be a plus if you care about the environment and the ethics of how LLMs are trained.
The 16e, at $599, comes in 128 GB, 256 GB, and 512 GB.
RAM Advantage
One huge advantage of the new e over older refurb models is RAM. Thanks to Apple’s push into LLM features with its Apple Intelligence platform, it has been forced to rethink its years-long policy of including too-little base memory in all of its products. Even if you’re not interested in AI, that RAM will let Safari keep pages in memory for longer before ditching them, and let you run more apps, and flip back and forth between them, without iOS chopping the legs out from under them.
The 16e, like the iPhones 16 and 16 Pro, has 8 GB RAM. Depending on the model, you may get less with a refurb. The iPhone 15 Pro has the same 8 GB, but the regular 15 models and earlier only have 6 GB. More RAM is definitely better, especially as it can never be upgraded, and if you want to use Apple Intelligence then you will need as much as you can get.
Repairability
Until we crack open the new iPhone 16e, we won’t know just how repairable it is, but we have decent expectations given Apple’s improvements over recent years. Its rear glass panel should be removable without having to dig out the entire guts of the phone to get to it, and will hopefully feature Apple’s new (to the iPhone 16) electrically-debonding battery adhesive, which lets you “switch off” the glue with an electrical current using our own USB-C-powered VoltClip. This avoids having to remove extra components just to get to the usual adhesive release tabs.
If you opt for an older used or refurbished model, though, repair is a known quantity. Spares are plentifully available, your local repair shop will already have replaced hundreds of screens and batteries in your exact model, and you’ll be able to swap in parts salvaged from dead phones (depending on whether or not Apple has locked them down with parts pairing). This stuff is the essence of repairability.
With the iPhone SE, which started at $429, it was pretty clear which was the cheapest iPhone, and if price was your only concern, then that was the one to buy. Now, with the 16e firmly up in Apple’s regular price range at $599, it’s a much less obvious buy. If I were buying a new iPhone, I’d go for the refurbed 14, and maybe bump the storage up to 256 GB and pay $619.
Refurbished phones are an excellent deal. You get what is essentially a new phone, tested and with a fresh battery and outer casing, with a full warranty for roughly 20% less than you’d pay new (Apple and Back Market offer similar warranty terms in the US). You can also find older models which are no longer sold new by Apple, if that’s something you want.
Or, and here’s where things get a little bit Inception, I’d probably wait a while and get a refurb 16e when they pop up. After all, I’m still perfectly happy with my mini-sized iPhone from several year back, and it’s still only on its first battery. And even buying a refurbished phone is worse than buying no new phone at all.
5 opmerkingen
Where does one buy a refurbished iPhone and feel certain it really has been refurbished? Fresh battery and outer casing, as you say in the article.
Zach Williams - Antwoord
I believe they were referring to the Apple refurbished store here
tamim13 - Antwoord
I buy my refurbished iPhones on eBay. You have to be careful which seller you choose, but if you get an eBay certified refurb, it comes with a warranty. The last one I bought, about two months ago, was an iPhone 14 Pro Max with 1TB (1024 GB) storage. It was $635 with free shipping. It has the same cameras as an iPhone 16, but it doesn’t feature the AI as was mentioned in the article. That was $1000 less than an equivalent storage in the iPhone 16 Pro Max.
Vs Gregg - Antwoord
Can anyone explain why I want AI in a phone? I turn off almost everything that can track, limit apps to what they can access, and only use Bluetooth for one app? What does AI add to the party?
Gunga Dinn - Antwoord
Locally, buying a certified pre-owned iPhone will get you one that has been thoroughly cleaned, had the battery replaced if necessary, as well as anything that is actually broken, like a cracked screen for example. However neither screen nor anything else will be replaced if it is just scratched.
Then you have to consider the price difference versus how long the device will get operating system updates. I want to be able to keep using my phone for 9-10 years before replacing it. That means an older iPhone that costs the same as the new price of a 16e is not a viable choice. Long term it will be costing me more.
Logan Media - Antwoord