Apple Has Clarified That Its C1 5G Modem Does Not Interfere With The iPhone 16’s MagSafe Functionality; The Charging Feature Was Removed For Another Reason

At $599, the price of the iPhone 16e for the base storage of 128GB will not sit well with everyone, especially considering that Apple removed features like MagSafe charging, which are readily available in other models. However, one speculation revolving around the removal of the aforementioned feature was due to the company’s in-house C1 5G modem. Thankfully, Apple has come forward and explained that its use of a custom baseband silicon is not the reason why the iPhone 16e lacks MagSafe charging.

The lack of MagSafe wireless charging on the iPhone 16e likely has to do with cost-cutting more than anything else

Now bear in mind that the iPhone 16e does support wireless charging, but it is through the Qi standard, which is limited to 7.5W, whereas MagSafe can top out at 25W, reducing the time it takes to fully charge the battery. Macworld previously reported that this limitation might have something to do with the C1 modem, as the in-house 5G solution may have interfered with the MagSafe magnets. We can understand that this speculation might be understood the wrong way by potential buyers wanting to make the iPhone 16e their daily driver.

Fortunately, Apple responded just in time, stating that the C1 would not interfere with the MagSafe magnets and hinting that there was another reason for excluding these components from the iPhone 16e. Sadly, the California-based giant has not mentioned the reason, which leads us to believe that this compromise was made to help the device reach its $599 price point. Even then, some readers might argue that if Apple had every intention to deprive the iPhone 16e of such features, it should have targeted a price point of $499.

The monetary difference between the iPhone 16e and iPhone 16 is $200 in the U.S., which is a decent chunk of change, and when you mass produce on Apple’s scale, there are a ton of components you can remove to save billions in expenditure. Moving forward, we hope that Apple finds a way to implement MagSafe charging on the iPhone 16e’s successor.

News Source: Macworld