I’ve been telling you how amazing the iPhone 16e will be for months, but battery life never made the list of potential highlights. Back then, we thought the handset would be called the iPhone SE 4. The design upgrade to a notch display, the iPhone 16 specs, and a starting price of around $500 were the main reasons that would make me recommend this iPhone.
Now that Apple unveiled the iPhone 16e, we know the iPhone 14 design rumors were real, as were the iPhone 16-grade hardware specs. The price was a little surprising, as Apple went for the $599 price point, which is more expensive than the $499-to-$549 segment we were expecting.
But Apple also delivered a surprising upgrade with the iPhone 16e. The phone features “breakthrough” battery life, which means it will last almost as long as the iPhone 16 Pro. That’s great news to anyone upgrading from an iPhone 12 model or an even older device. All iPhone 16 handsets feature terrific battery life.
As for this longtime iPhone user, I’m also interpreting the iPhone 16e battery life from a different perspective. I’m hoping the ultra-thin iPhone 17 Air will have surprisingly good battery life thanks to similar innovations.
Battery life is one of the iPhone 16e features Apple focused on from the start of its press release. Here are some relevant quotes from the announcement:
iPhone 16e joins the iPhone 16 lineup, featuring the fast performance of the A18 chip, Apple Intelligence, extraordinary battery life, and a 48MP 2-in-1 camera system — all at an incredible value
iPhone 16e delivers fast, smooth performance and breakthrough battery life thanks to the industry-leading efficiency of the A18 chip and the new Apple C1, the first cellular modem designed by Apple.
iPhone 16e has the best battery life ever on a 6.1-inch iPhone, lasting up to six hours longer than iPhone 11 and up to 12 hours longer than all generations of iPhone SE.
Apple silicon — including C1 — the all-new internal design, and the advanced power management of iOS 18 all contribute to extraordinary battery life.
The C1 modem seems to be a key component when it comes to battery efficiency. Apple is expected to use the same chip inside the iPhone 17 Air later this year. The ultra-thin iPhone 17 will also feature the next-gen A19 chip, which should be even more efficient than the A18. These efficiency gains might compensate for the smaller battery in an ultra-thin iPhone.
How good is the iPhone 16e battery life? Apple says the phone will last up to 26 hours for video playback, up to 21 hours for streamed video playback, and up to 90 hours of audio playback. As you can see above, these figures put it almost on par with the iPhone 16 Pro, which is nearly the same size.
Compared to the non-Pro models, the iPhone 16e offers better efficiency than the same-size iPhone 16. I can see the iPhone 16e being a great choice for first-time iPhone users, older smartphone users, and teenagers getting their first brand-new handset.
I’ve also compared the iPhone 16e to the iPhone 15 Plus and iPhone 15 using Apple’s comparison tool to see how good the battery life is. The iPhone 16e’s battery life is on par with the larger, more expensive iPhone 15 Plus.
Finally, here’s how good the iPhone 16e battery life is compared to the previous iPhone SE models. We’re looking at almost double the performance, which makes the iPhone 16e a great upgrade.
With all this in mind, I can’t wait to see what the iPhone 17 Air will have to deliver, particularly if a rather wild iPhone 17 Pro battery rumor comes through.
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