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It can sometimes feel like false hope to hold out for decent Apple discounts during big sales events, but this iPhone 16e deal is for all the believers out there.
Apple’s latest mid-range phone only launched a handful of months ago, replacing the woefully outdated iPhone SE 3 (2022) and offering iFans an affordable handset that’s actually worth buying. It was a fair bit more expensive than its predecessors but compared to the flagship iPhone 16 series, it was a reasonably good deal.
Now, even that concern is decisively assuaged, with this Prime Day deal dropping the entry-level 128GB model from an average price of £589 down to just £494, the cheapest it has ever been by quite a margin.
As well as a much more modern design, the iPhone 16e is even more impressive inside. The Apple A18 processor is wonderfully nippy, outpacing near-enough every Android phone in this price range, and battery life is massively improved as well. In our standard looping video test, the iPhone 16e lasted for 22hrs 38mins – around 10 hours longer than the iPhone SE 3.
The solo rear camera is an excellent shooter, using the same tech as the standard iPhone 16 to capture crisp, punchy images and record fully stabilised Dolby Vision footage up to 4K at 60fps.
We admittedly aren’t that impressed by Apple Intelligence so far but given that it has room to improve, its presence on the iPhone 16e still counts as a positive. Siri’s ability to interface with ChatGPT to answer questions is useful enough and the proofreading writing tools are very effective – though currently only work in Apple apps like Safari, Notes and Mail.
The display is frustratingly still 60Hz and there’s only one rear camera – where most rivals at least include an ultrawide. Still, if you prefer Apple phones and don’t fancy spending flagship prices, the iPhone 16e is easily the best value iPhone we’ve seen in many years.
If you’re more of an Android fan, there are bargains for you as well. I’m covering all of the biggest deals over on my Prime Day smartphone deals live blog but if you’re looking for something in a similar vein to the iPhone 16e, these are my top picks:
- Google Pixel 9a (avg £474, now £449) – This is my current favourite mid-range phone, with excellent battery life, gorgeous cameras and extensive software support. This deal price of £449 is the lowest on record – it’s been this cheap before but never any lower.
- Samsung Galaxy A56 (avg £464, now £374) – The Samsung Galaxy A56 is even more of a bargain, down to its record-low price of just £374. Battery life and software support are brilliant here, too, and the design is wonderfully slim.
- Nothing Phone (3a) (avg £323, now £289) – The Nothing Phone (3a) is also down to its cheapest price ever, now going for just £289. The big benefits here are Nothing’s unique style, excellent battery life and a telephoto camera, which is very rare at this price.
Amazon Prime Day savings are open to Prime subscribers only. The good news is that you can sign up to a 30-day free trial if you don’t want to commit to the monthly cost.
