Apple iPhone 16e teardown reveals good news and bad news for owners

Apple's latest iPhone offering, the "budget-friendly" iPhone 16e, has been put under the razer blade and screwdrivers by the folks over at iFixit, and what they found was quite interesting. The iPhone 16e gained a higher repairability score than the other iPhone 16 devices, but, of course, with a few caveats.

For those who don't know the difference between the iPhone 16e and the rest of the iPhone 16 line-up, here's a quick buying guide if you are considering purchasing the standard iPhone or the iPhone 16e. However, in a nutshell, Apple has removed some key features from the iPhone 16e to reduce its cost. Notable features that have been removed are as follows: no MagSafe charging, no camera control interface, no macro photography, no dynamic island, fewer graphics cores, no Cinematic mode or Action mode, and a dimmer display.

The main hit for the iPhone 16e versus the standard iPhone is definitely in the camera department, but there are some improvements with the 16e versus the standard, and they come in the form of battery life, Apple's new C1 modem, and repairability. According to iFixit, the iPhone 16e automatically gets extra points for Apple including a repair manual in the box for the charging ports, one of the most replaced components in a smartphone.

However, there is a caveat. The USB-C charging port is a pain to get to as it's underneath a lot of other components. iFixit writes, "You've basically got to strip the case of components before you can get to the charging port."

iFixit writes to replace the charging port a user must remove the back glass, selfie camera, top earpiece speaker, battery, Taptic Engine, bottom speaker, main microphone, and SIM assembly. Then lift up the logic board to gain access to the USB-C port. But - Apple has provided a guide for accessing it, so it's a bit of a win/lose scenario.

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How about the good news? There's no home button anymore, which iFixit believes increases the repairability score as the home button on the previous iPhone SE was a component prone to breaking, while also being a repairability nightmare as replacement home buttons wouldn't provide Touch ID capabilities via the software restrictions. Apple has instead opted for the clean single display.

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Another piece of good news is the iPhone 16e uses the same electrically released adhesive seen in other iPhone 16 smartphones. iFixit believes this a welcomed addition as it makes replacing the battery when necessary a much easier process once the case has been successfully opened.