iPhone 16e doesn't have MagSafe

AppleInsider

The iPhone 16e appears on the surface to be an excellent addition -- assuming you don't want to use MagSafe charging or accessories.

How Apple's MagSafe works

It's an interesting omission -- while the iPhone 16e has Qi wireless charging, it lacks the magnet ring for MagSafe accessories. Practically, that means that old-style car mounts are the order of the day.

For those not familiar, MagSafe appeared with the iPhone 12 family. It is the combination of a mounting system and a charging system. Apple started with its Qi wireless charging coil and added several new components to create a proprietary type of wireless charging as well as allow the mounting of different accessories.

Practically, this allows for improved MagSafe wireless charging, and precision alignment for wireless charging. There are also a wealth of accessories going beyond charging, and including SSDs, camera grips, speakers, and more.

We expect third-party cases to add a magnet ring to sort-of restore the functionality to the iPhone 16e.

But for now, that rudimentary stand without magnets is probably the order of the day.



Read on AppleInsider

cesar battistini maziero

That. is stupid. 

jbirdiikun

Deal-breaker. Disappointing.

phoenix1386

As always, readers saying in comments what the people being paid to write should have said in the article.

jamnap

Was planning to purchase this new phone, but having just learned about the absence of MagSafe means it is a pass for me.  Would be nice to learn of Apple’s reasoning behind this omission.  I would pay a few more bucks for MagSafe.  Sad.

randominternetperson

If they were going to cut features to save cost, lower price and avoid cannibalizing sales of higher-end product this is exactly the area to cut corners. It still allows wireless charging; you just lose the magnet. I expect at least 40% if not 60% of consumers have never taken advantage of the magnet (I know I haven't). 

You really have to look hard to see the differences between the 16 and the 16e iPhone - Compare Models - Apple 
The vast majority of consumers should save $200 and get the "economy" model.

Here are the differences:
- Magsafe (but not wireless charging)
- 4 GPU cores rather than 5
- a LONGER battery life (26 hours video compared to 22 hours video--the only times shown)
- a trivially smaller screen (9 pixels less width and 24 pixels height)
- a dimmer screen (only 80% as bright)
- no wide angle camera
- lots of camera-related step downs, including the dedicated camera control button, but the same megapixels front and back. Examples:
 "Next-generation portraits with Focus and Depth Control" versus "Portrait mode with Depth Control" and no Macro photography.

And that is pretty much it. So if photography is very important to you, don't skimp on the "e" otherwise, get the 16e (or wait for the 17).

Edit: I almost forgot, the 16e is missing: "Dynamic Island A magical way to interact with iPhone." As I said, you really have to reach to find differences.

edited February 19

mike1

jamnap said:

Was planning to purchase this new phone, but having just learned about the absence of MagSafe means it is a pass for me.  Would be nice to learn of Apple’s reasoning behind this omission.  I would pay a few more bucks for MagSafe.  Sad.

Um. Costs. There are other models if MagSafe is a deal breaker.

randominternetperson

Ok, I'll trash my own ignorant post above.  I missed this:

16: MagSafe wireless charging up to 25W with 30W adapter or higher
16e: Qi wireless charging up to 7.5W

So it's not just the magnet. Fast charging is better than slow charging.

applezulu

jamnap said:

Was planning to purchase this new phone, but having just learned about the absence of MagSafe means it is a pass for me.  Would be nice to learn of Apple’s reasoning behind this omission.  I would pay a few more bucks for MagSafe.  Sad.

This is the discount model. There have to be actual reasons for the discount model to be cheaper. There have to be things that reduce manufacturing costs, and they're not going to make a lower quality version, so it has to be a fewer features version. They also don't want to cannibalize sales of the 16 and 16 Pro models, so again, fewer features. Finally, they don't want to anger people who have already purchased a 16 or 16 Pro by releasing a discount phone that's pretty much the same but at a lower price. 

So your willingness to pay a few more bucks for MagSafe falls right in line with their intended strategy. They have options available for you to do exactly that. 

caskey

jamnap said:

  I would pay a few more bucks for MagSafe.  Sad.

Thats literally the point. Thats why there's multiple devices with multiple price points and differing features. For some customers the 16e is the correct phone. You are not that customer. Thats' why there's a 16 and 16pro. 

entropys

Missed it, but does it still have standby?

could just put it in a magnetic case if it does.

edited February 19

randominternetperson

entropys said:

Missed it, but does it still have standby?

could just put it in a magnetic case if it does.

What is standby? Is that the horizontal night stand clock mode?  I would certainly think so.

suntanironman

Lack of MagSafe is… probably a deal breaker. I was all set to buy this thing (before it was announced). I’m still reading more about it though. But lack of MagSafe… I use MagSafe all the time. I’m using it right now as I’m typing this.

Edit: Okay. I think I’m going to not buy the iPhone 16e. I just really like using MagSafe. I actually recently bought a few of the new versions of the MagSafe chargers (the 2024 updates).

It’s fine though. I don’t NEED a new phone. I’m getting close to needing a new phone, but I can wait a bit longer. My plan now is to wait for the iPhone 17’s release and then pickup the iPhone 16(normal) at a cheaper price. Maybe at Black Friday — Grab the iPhone 16 and the gift card deal that Apple usually has.

edited February 19

dewme

I think Apple made some reasonable choices to bring down the price, but the lack of MagSafe seems rather silly considering they can put MagSafe in much lower cost products like AirPods Pro charging cases. They were probably down to the point of shaving nickels and dimes off of component and assembly costs to hit their target margins and MagSafe was one of those nickels, dimes, or maybe a quarter. That's all a part of product development when building products like this at scale.

I use MagSafe probably 95% of the time with my iPhone. Some of this time is simply on MagSafe mounts like a camera tripod or dash mounting location while using Bluetooth connectivity to my infotainment system. I have MagSafe charging stations at all of my computers, workbench, nightside table, bathroom vanity, etc. There's probably a ball of lint filling my charging port on my iPhone because I use it so infrequently. 

I also have portable charger bricks that support MagSafe charging. These are obviously not as efficient as wired chargers, but there is an advantage of not having to dig around for a cable just to top-up your phone every now and then. 

Is the lack of MagSafe a showstopper? For me, yes, it would be, but I'm sure there are plenty of people out there that don't really care. There are iPhone users who use cases or adhesive attachments with the little pop-up knob that interferes with MagSafe capability even if the phone supports it. Those folks may be okay with no MagSafe.

I also think that a number of people who are attracted to the Good-Better-Best (GBB) product line pricing strategy who see the $200 step from Good (iPhone 16e) to Better (iPhone 16) will seriously consider making the jump up to the iPhone 16 when they see a couple of obviously missing features like no MagSafe, fewer camera lenses, and fewer color choices. Things like restricted 5G bands, no Ultra Wideband, fewer cores, etc., not so much of a concern. I can only speak for myself, but when I'm faced with the GBB strategy and don't want to go overboard, I tend to go with the Better option. After all, this is an Apple iPhone we're talking about. If I really needed to cheap out I wouldn't be looking at the newest model iPhones or any iPhone. Apple is obviously banking on the attraction of Apple Intelligence to pull in sales on the 16e. I hope it all works out in Apple's favor.

edited February 19

entropys

randominternetperson said:

entropys said:

Missed it, but does it still have standby?

could just put it in a magnetic case if it does.

What is standby? Is that the horizontal night stand clock mode?  I would certainly think so.

Yes. If so that would be good. If it doesn’t need MagSafe all to the good.

strangedays

randominternetperson said:

Ok, I'll trash my own ignorant post above.  I missed this:

16: MagSafe wireless charging up to 25W with 30W adapter or higher
16e: Qi wireless charging up to 7.5W

So it's not just the magnet. Fast charging is better than slow charging.

Better is relative. It’s certainly faster. But it also wears down your battery faster. So if you don’t need a fast charge, a slower charger is better. 

strangedays

“Gah the entry-level model doesn’t have all the features I want!” - okaaayyy…

suntanironman

entropys said:

randominternetperson said:

entropys said:

Missed it, but does it still have standby?

could just put it in a magnetic case if it does.

What is standby? Is that the horizontal night stand clock mode?  I would certainly think so.

Yes. If so that would be good. If it doesn’t need MagSafe all to the good.

StandBy (presumably) still works wired. StandBy works when doing wired charging (if you have the screen at a 90-ish degree angle and in a landscape orientation).

However, if you are probably asking: “Does it still have Standby when charging wirelessly without MagSafe?”

Yes, StandBy should (presumably) work wirelessly. However, without the magnets there is nothing to hold the phone up and horizontal (to active StandBy Mode). Without the magnets, a wireless charger would just slip-off from the iPhone in that orientation needed for StandBy mode (without something else to keep the phone place or one of those Qi chargers that also doubles as a non-magnetic smartphone holder). But if you were to get a MagSafe-ready case, StandBy (presumably) should work fine.

I only say “(presumably)” because obviously I don’t know for sure with this specific phone. I presume StandBy should work wirelessly as I described above, but I don’t know for sure because the phone hasn’t been released yet. But (presumably) StandBy should work fine wirelessly if you get a MagSafe-ready type case for the iPhone 16e. I suppose we will find out for certain in a week+ from now.

edited February 19

suntanironman

StrangeDays said:

“Gah the entry-level model doesn’t have all the features I want!” - okaaayyy…

Please don’t do that. Nobody has expressed that type of opinion in this comments section. (Not yet at least.)

It’s (my opinion) just genuinely surprisingly that it doesn’t have MagSafe. Not only does it not have MagSafe, it doesn’t even have Qi(1) at 15w (it’s Qi at only 7.5w).

It’s especially surprising because Apple cannot really sell MagSafe accessories to iPhone 16e users now. How is Apple going to sell a $59 FineWoven MagSafe wallet to iPhone 16e users without MagSafe?! I’m joking about the FineWoven wallet, but… yeah. Those type of accessories must be incredibly high margin for Apple, but Apple just… doesn’t like cheap to produce, expensive to buy accessories anymore, it seems, lol.

Apple isn’t even selling an official Apple MagSafe-ready case for the iPhone 16e. At least I don’t see one. I only see a normal (no magnet ring) iPhone 16e case on the Apple Store right now.

It’s not like MagSafe has been a Pro-level feature up until this point. The iPhone 12 Mini released in 2020 (which was kinda/sorta like the iPhone 16e of its time) has MagSafe. The iPhone 12 Mini is MagSafe compatible, Qi compatible, and Qi2 compatible.

There were at one point (a few years ago) countless rumors that Apple was going to ditch wired-charging completely and go MagSafe-only. This was back when Apple was fighting with the EU to keep Lightning around. Anybody remember those rumors? Well, I think we can finally put a nail in that rumor’s coffin. I mean… we probably could have nailed that coffin a while ago, but now we can officially do so.

edited February 19

fred257

No MagSafe absolutely no sell for me. Big mistake 

nubus

jamnap said:

Was planning to purchase this new phone, but having just learned about the absence of MagSafe means it is a pass for me.  Would be nice to learn of Apple’s reasoning behind this omission.  I would pay a few more bucks for MagSafe.  Sad.

Not sure why anyone would dislike your post. MagSafe uses Neodymium a rare-earth metal mainly available from China. This could be Apple trying to limit the exposure to those materials due to the political situation.

Can iPhone 16e get MagSafe?
Yes! Belkin is already doing affordable power banks with Qi2 (same features as MagSafe). Case vendors can absolutely create cases with Qi2 while using the USB C connector for charging at full speed.