Now that people have their hands on theiPhone 16e, one of the major criticisms the phone is receiving is its lack ofMagSafe support. It’s a puzzling decision by Apple, especially considering the iPhone 16ecosts $600. Now, the Cupertino-based company has reportedly revealed why it opted to exclude this feature from the phone.
According to John Gruber’sDaring Fireballtech blog, Apple representatives who spoke to him explained that the decision to omit MagSafe from the iPhone 16e was based on its “target audience.”
“Most people in the iPhone 16e’s target audience exclusively charge their phones by plugging them into a charging cable,” Gruber said, paraphrasing Apple’s comments, noting that Apple believes individuals purchasing the iPhone 16e “tend to not use inductive charging at all.”
Apple iPhone 16e
The iPhone 16e lacks MagSafe, but Apple’s C1 modem isn’t to blame
The iPhone 16e ditches MagSafe, and the reason isn’t because of the Apple’s C1 modem.
A bold assumption by Apple
Apple’s opinion is that users on a budget only plug in their phone?
Initially, it was rumored that Apple excluded MagSafe from the iPhone 16e because it interfered with the Apple C1 modem inside the device. However, that rumor was quicklyshut down by Apple, which strongly denied this claim. It seems Apple’s decision here rests solely on the belief that MagSafe would not be utilized by the phone’s target audience. Whether potential consumers actually share that view remains unclear and is a separate issue altogether. Nevertheless, it is safe to say that this is a bold assumption.
Since 2020, when the iPhone 12 series launched, MagSafe has been a prominent feature of every iPhone model (except theiPhone SE 3). Even the iPhone 12 mini and 13 mini had MagSafe. Given that the iPhone 16e is angled to be a budget-friendly iPhone, it’s widely viewed that Apple made the decision to ditch MagSafe from the 16e as a cost-cutting measure, even though its $600 price tag is notably higher than the $429 iPhone SE 3 from 2022.
Apple seems to be adopting a “we know what’s best for you” approach with the iPhone 16e, and whether that will pay off for the company will be known soon enough. My view of the whole situation is that Apple is essentially telling iPhone 16e customers, “lol, just plug it in.” If Apple goes ahead and releases an iPhone 17e next year, I’m willing to bet it will have MagSafe and be touted as an upgrade. For now, a solution to the problem for iPhone 16e users is to pick up a MagSafe-compatible case for the device.
Apple’s iPhone 16e aims to offer premium features at a lower price
Apple has officially announced the iPhone 16e, the successor to the iPhone SE.
