Well, almost. At launch, it was made clear from the lack of MagSafe support in the iPhone 16e specs that the newest iPhone won’t come with the convenience of magnets and magnetic accessories (and chargers). The confusion was so big that Apple even had to explain themselves as to why there’s no MagSafe support on the 16e.
But now, this new discovery indicates that the iPhone 16e missed the MagSafe train by mere seconds, or so. Macworld’s David Price found out that the iPhone 16e actually has MagSafe magnets (wait, what?) but in fact, there are just not enough of them to properly stick.
The iPhone 16e (without a case) can attach to a MagSafe charger (and of course, it charges because it supports wireless charging), but with a very weak connection. It’s weak, but… well, it’s there.
Yep, sticky. | Image Credit – David Price, Macworld
He posted a video where we see that he positions the iPhone 16e above a MagSafe charger and the charger lifts from the table and snaps to the phone, just like you’d expect with normal MagSafe-supporting iPhones. Isn’t that a twist?
The thing is, this might have gone unnoticed as the connection is so weak that it won’t work through a case. Also, you can’t expect a vertical magnetic dock to hold the weight of the phone on these magnets. And yep, if you move it too much, it will detach, so it’s definitely a weak connection. But, it’s there, and this is frankly mystifying.
Why did Apple decide to put some magnets in the iPhone 16e but then ditch the idea of MagSafe support? Apple’s explanation is frankly nonsensical: Cupertino claims the iPhone 16e doesn’t have MagSafe because the target market doesn’t use it.
Curiously enough, the said “target market” is reportedly iPhone SE users, and people rocking an iPhone older than iPhone 11. So yeah, obviously they won’t be using MagSafe, just because they simply don’t have MagSafe!
All of this leads me to believe MagSafe isn’t there on the iPhone 16e because… some differentiation is needed between it and the iPhone 16, and maybe Apple decided at the last moment just a camera lens and a button weren’t enough.
MagSafe charger on the iPhone 16. | Image Credit – Apple
MagSafe has been around since the iPhone 12, a feature dearly loved by me and many others. MagSafe offers convenient wireless charging as your iPhone will just snap to the charger using magnets, so you won’t have to be bothered by finding the perfect alignment for wireless charging.
Also, MagSafe can make wireless charging faster. Original Qi charging offers a max speed of 7.5w, while Qi2 and MagSafe can go all the way up to 15w. On top of that, the iPhone 16 lineup offers up to 25w if you also sport the latest MagSafe charger.
And of course, there’s the world of MagSafe accessories – from battery packs to car mounts, all can work perfectly fine with magnets. Well, not on the iPhone 16e. It got close… but didn’t make it.
Meanwhile, that may not be too bad for some people. Phones like the rival Galaxy A56 and Pixel 8a don’t even have MagSafe to begin with, and lacking MagSafe doesn’t mean your phone can’t charge wirelessly. It seems, at least to me, that the iPhone 16e missing out on MagSafe may really not be too bad for Apple’s target audience of iPhone 11 and SE users.
As for the rest, if you’re used to MagSafe on your iPhone, there’s no turning back (I mean, there is, but it will be painful), so, keep that in mind if you’re eyeing an iPhone 16e but you’re coming from an iPhone 12.
