Apple argues iPhone 16e lacks MagSafe and 15W Qi because its target audience couldn't care less about wireless charging

Apple argues iPhone 16e lacks MagSafe and 15W Qi because its target audience couldn’t care less about wireless charging

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 28, 2025

Apple has explained why its new iPhone 16e smartphone lacks MagSafe, the company’s proprietary wireless charging feature.

Daring Fireball‘s John Gruber reached out to Apple to inquire about this strange omission. The response from Apple people sounds like a typical corporate excuse. The handset doesn’t have MagSafe, according to Apple, because the type of people who’d buy the iPhone 16e don’t really prioritize wireless charging.

Apple representatives told Gruber that MagSafe is not included in the iPhone 16e because “most people in the iPhone 16e’s target audience exclusively charge their phones by plugging them into a charging cable.”

Why the iPhone 16e lacks MagSafe wireless charging

“These users apparently tend not to use wireless charging at all, and when they do use it, Apple believes the slower 7.5W Qi charging speed compared to MagSafe’s faster rates isn’t a deciding factor for the customer segment it is targeting with the more affordable device,” he added.

Of course, Apple wants us to take its word for it, but I’m not buying this explanation. I’m not a marketing expert, but it seems to me that people in the iPhone 16e’s target audience are more or less the same people who would buy the regular iPhone 16, which does have MagSafe—the latest specification which allows for up to 25W versus 15W MagSafe on the iPhone 15 and earlier lineups. Moreover, the iPhone 16 family also support the latest Qi2 protocol which does 15W wireless charging and magnetic snapping (because Apple contributed MagSafe to the Qi2 specification).

Apple unveiled the iPhone 16e on February 19, and it goes on sale today. The device features repackaged iPhone 16 hardware with a bunch of tradeoffs to hit the $200 lower price than the base iPhone 16 model ($800). The company said earlier that the lack of MagSafe has nothing to do with interference with the C1, Apple’s new modem chip that debuted in the iPhone 16e, which some bloggers speculated.

Someone has to cover the $200 difference!

I’m just ranting. Apple certainly knows the iPhone 16e’s target audience better than I do. I get it; most would-be buyers would pick the iPhone 16e over the iPhone 16 mainly due to the $200 lower price. And if price is the #1 deciding factor, then it makes sense that wireless charging is pretty low on your list of priorities.

I can’t imagine buying an iPhone without MagSafe. Although I’m not a fan of wireless charging, I love magnetic snapping and alignment. It’s much slower and energy inefficient compared to charging via the wire.

The main draw for me is StandBy. I love putting my iPhone on a MagSafe charger to use the StandBy feature. StandBy is like a smart dashboard with widgets I need. I use MagSafe throughout the day, not just at night, when my iPhone is snapped on my MagSafe charging stand with StandBy working like a bedside clock.

Tags Apple iPhone iPhone 16 iPhone 16e MagSafe Wireless charging
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