The new iPhone 16e proves about as repairable as other members of the iPhone 16 family, according to iFixit’s teardown of Apple’s new budget phone. Despite its lower price tag, the iPhone 16e packs many of the repairability features of its more-expensive siblings, including the ionic liquid battery adhesive that makes replacement easier.
However, iFixit’s teardown leaves one key question unanswered: Why did Apple omit MagSafe from iPhone 16e?
iPhone 16e is “pretty repairable”
The $599 iPhone 16e, which Apple released this month to replace the iPhone SEO at the low end of the lineup, makes certain compromises to keep its price down. For instance, it comes with single 48MP rear camera and lacks MagSafe support.
From a repairability perspective, iFixit’s teardown shows Apple’s cost-cutting does not extend to the iPhone 16e’s internals. In fact, Apple even made a tiny tweak that makes DIY repairs a little less finicky. (Apple added small tabs that keep you from slicing a connector cable when you remove the iPhone 16e’s back glass.)
iFixit ranks the iPhone 16e a provisional seven out of 10 on its repairablity scale. That’s the same as the regular iPhone 16, which iFixit called the most-repairable iPhone yet.
Ionic liquid battery adhesive and Apple’s C1 modem
As mentioned, Apple used its new ionic liquid battery adhesive to hold the iPhone 16e’s battery in place. It’s easy to remove: You just need to hit it with between 9 and 30 volts DC for a minute and a half. This makes battery replacement on the iPhone 16e in DIY repairs much easier.
iFixit’s iPhone 16e teardown also gives us our first look at Apple’s C1 modem, thanks to some imaging help from Yole Group. Apple reportedly spent billions of dollars to develop its in-house 5G modem. While the C1 modem is not as capable as the Qualcomm baseband used in other iPhone 16 models, Apple says it is 25% more efficient, helping improve the iPhone 16e’s battery life.
iFixit points out that the iPhone 16e’s single-camera lens also makes room for a slightly larger battery.
Photo: iFixit
The teardown reveals the 4nm modem and DRAM are integrated into the same package, though the 7nm transceiver is located behind the RF board.
iPhone 16e earns the same repairability score as other iPhone 16 models
The iFixit team praises Apple for publishing an official manual for replacing the iPhone 16e’s USB-C port. This process proves more convoluted than for other iPhone 16 models. It requires removing almost all of the iPhone 16e’s components, including the speaker, battery and Taptic Engine. Still, the official instructions should make DIY repairs easier for intrepid home tinkerers.
Overall, iFixit gives the iPhone 16e the same repairability score as the rest of the iPhone family — a solid (if provisional) seven out of 10.
But why no MagSafe in iPhone 16e?
iFixit’s iPhone 16e teardown video mentions the lack of MagSafe but doesn’t offer any hard evidence for why Apple omitted the technology. Cult of Mac called leaving MagSafe out of iPhone 16e a “total head-scratcher” and “completely unforgivable.”
MagSafe requires 12 slim magnets that position an iPhone perfectly on a wireless charger and other accessories. It also enables faster wireless charging — up to 25W on the iPhone 16 lineup — as opposed to the 7.5W charging of the iPhone 16e.
The iPhone 16e is “still missing MagSafe, for no obvious reason other than making the phone less appealing to consumers than the rest of the 16 lineup,” iFixit wrote on its website. “Wireless charging without the perfect alignment that MagSafe allows is troubling.”
Rajesh has been closely following and writing about the latest happenings in the world of mobile for nearly a decade now. While he prefers Android, he does not deny the superiority of Apple’s products and ecosystem.
