Hands-on with the iPhone 16e (VIDEO)

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 27 -- Malaysia is in the first wave of countries greeting the arrival of Apple’s “newest member of the family” i.e. the iPhone 16e when it launches tomorrow on February 28.

Instead of a new iPhone SE, Apple’s 16e is instead taking on its role as the cheapest of the iPhone range but still using the iPhone 16 range’s A18 processor while only having one camera.

Here’s some quick impressions of the new iPhone pending the full review.

What you see, what you get

The iPhone 16e feels a bit like a throwback at first glance — no Dynamic Island, but a notch at the top of the 6.1-inch edge-to-edge display.

Then you spot the single camera on the back compared to the iPhone 16’s dual stacked cameras though Apple says this single rear 48MP Fusion camera can still take both 24MP “standard resolution” photos, 48MP super-high-resolution images in HEIF max as well as emulate 2x zoom without needing a separate telephoto lens.

You’d be forgiven for thinking it was an older base model iPhone but at the heart of it, it still uses the new A18 chip that is 80 per cent faster... than the iPhone 11.

What it improves on compared to older models is more battery life too thanks to the newer chip technology including the newly announced C1 modem chip, which is what I’m most excited about.

I want to see just how much of an improvement the C1 modem is in terms of connectivity as I’m very much reliant on mobile data when outside.

In the hand

Coming from having reviewed various iPhones over the year, the new iPhone 16e feels familiar — all the new stuff is mostly in the software.

Apple touts the device as being ready for Apple Intelligence and in April, the device will also support English (Singapore).

So if you’ve been wanting to try the new on-device Apple Intelligence features but balk at the cost of upgrading to a newer iPhone, the 16e lowers the barrier to entry.

Experience-wise it’s as zippy as a new iPhone will be and the setup and transfer of data from an old to new iPhone is fairly seamless.

Cases will also be available for the new iPhone 16e with options in White, Black, Lake Green, Fuchsia and Winter Blue.

However for the iPhone 16’s colours you get either white or black.

There is also no MagSafe here so bear that in mind when buying phone cases or accessories for it.

Pricing for the iPhone 16e: RM2,999 (128GB), RM3,4999 (256GB) and RM4,499(512GB).

Check back for what I think of the phone once I actually put it through its paces on a day-to-day basis.