is a strange concept Apple launched eight years ago with the original SE, meant to offer the core iPhone experience at a lower price point. It seems that the idea stuck, as the company has released two other versions since 2016.
However, the company has decided to shake things up a little and bring up a new model and a new concept to the table. Enter the iPhone 16e.
Today we’re going to do just that, compare the new and exciting iPhone 16e to the last year’s core iPhone 16 model. Which one is the better deal? Will the 16e become a threat to its own sibling? Read on to find out!
iPhone 16e vs iPhone 16 differences:
| iPhone 16e | iPhone 16 |
|---|---|
| iPhone 14-like design with a display notch and curved aluminum frame | New design with a vertical camera bump |
| 6.1-inch OLED display with 60Hz | Pretty much the same 6.1-inch OLED with the same slow 60Hz refresh rate |
| Face ID | Face ID here as well |
| Apple A18 chip with 8GB of RAM | The same A18 chip with the same 8GB of RAM |
| Apple Intelligence support | Apple Intelligence |
| Smaller 3,279mAh battery (capacity to be confirmed) | A larger 3,561mAh battery with potentially longer battery life |
| 20W wired charging, No MagSafe | The same slow 25W wired charging, MagSafe wireless |
| USB-C port | USB-C here as well |
| A 48MP wide-angle camera | Dual camera system with one 48MP main and 12MP ultrawide |
| Cheaper starting at $599 | More expensive at $799 |
Table of Contents:
Design and Size
First SE change in generations coupled with a name change
The ultra-wide is missing, and there’s just one main snapper with an LED flash next to it. Other than that, the front uses the old notch layout, while the iPhone 16 utilizes the Dynamic Island idea, where the selfie camera and all the Face ID sensors float in a pill-shaped cutout.
Going around both phones, we find another omission, and it’s the Camera Control button. This new interface can be found on the iPhone 16, while the 16e gets only the Action Button. Both phones use the now-mandatory USB-C port, and when it comes to dimensions and weight, both are in the same ballpark. If we have to nitpick, the regular iPhone 16 is 0.1 mm wider and 3 grams heavier than the 16e, but we reckon no one will be able to feel such a difference.
Display Differences
The departure from the SE moniker comes with another big change and it lies in the display of the iPhone 16e. It’s an OLED panel now with the same specs as the iPhone 14. Now, this puts the new 16e very close to the vanilla iPhone 16, with some very minor differences.
In terms of display size and resolution, both phones feature the same 6.1-inch, 1179 x 2556 pixels panels with the same pixel density of around 460PPI. The new iPhone 16e sticks to the same 60Hz refresh rate as the other non-Pro models in the iPhone 16 family, which is understandable.
As far as biometrics go, both phones rely on the same FaceID system, with the iPhone 16e marking the end of the TouchID, last found on the previous SE model.
Performance and Software
Raw power for everyone?
The new iPhone 16e features almost identical silicon to the regular iPhone 16 lineup. We say almost, because the graphics chip inside the 16e has one less core, compared to the other non-Pro models.
Other than that, it’s the same Apple A18 chipset, and we should be getting very similar synthetic benchmark scores out of these two phones. The caveat here is that 3D Mark results might be lower on the 16e model, due to the different GPU configuration. We will include the raw performance scores soon, so stay tuned.
This is a huge surprise because it seems that the iPhone 16e delivers more or less the same hardware AND software experience as the iPhone 16 and also comes with the same support cycle. The single big difference lies in the camera department. Which is coming up next.
Camera
Back to square (circle) one!
On the back of the new iPhone 16e we find the same 48MP F1.6 wide-angle camera as the one found on the iPhone 16 (with the same fancy name as well). It can do 24MP images by default and also snap some high-resolution 48MP photos.
The iPhone 16 has pretty much the same sensor and optics, with the aforementioned fancy name Fusion Camera. It’s really interesting how these two stack against each other, as this the only area where the vanilla iPhone 16 could have an advantage thanks to the additional ultra-wide camera onboard.
It’s also worth noting that the iPhone 16e lacks the brand-new Camera Control button, relying only on the Action button for different mapped actions. However, the 16e supports Visual Intelligence, so the difference in the end boils down to the ultra-wide camera (or the absence of it on the 16e).
We will add side-by-side samples that will decide the winner soon, so stay tuned.
Battery Life and Charging
Slow charging, (still) unknown capacity
Apple doesn’t list the battery capacity of its iPhone models, so we’ll have to wait for a teardown to learn the exact number when it comes to the iPhone 16e, but our bet is that the phone has the same battery as the iPhone 14 (it’s based upon that model, after all).
As far as charging is concerned, things are doomed to remain abysmal on this front, as Apple doesn’t seem to care much for faster charging. The iPhone 16 comes with 25W wired charging support, and the iPhone 16e mimics these charging speeds. One big omission is the MagSafe support on the new mode, so if you love your MagSafe accessories this might be a big hit for you.
Specs Comparison
| iPhone 16e | iPhone 16 | |
|---|---|---|
| Size, weight | 147.6 x 71.5 x 7.8 mm, 167 g | 147.6 x 71.6 x 7.8 mm, 170 g |
| Screen | 6.1″ OLED 60Hz |
6,1″ OLED 60Hz |
| Processor | A18 Bionic 3nm |
A18 Bionic 3nm |
| RAM, Storage | 8GB/64GB 8GB/128GB 8GB/512GB LPDDR5 |
8GB/128GB 8GB/256GB LPDDR5 |
| Cameras | 48MP F1.6 wide 12MP front |
48MP F1.6 wide 12MP ultrawide |
| Battery | 3,279mAh (capacity not confirmed) | 3,581mAh |
| Charging | USB-C port 25W wired No MagSafe |
USB-C port 25W wired MagSafe |
Summary
We still need to do our tests and see which of these excels in the different categories but at $599 it seems that the new iPhone 16e is a good budget option that focuses on the “essential”
iPhone experience. The additional $200 that Apple is asking for the regular iPhone 16 will get you one ultra-wide camera with the Camera Control button, and MagSafe functionality. Whether or not it’s a fair trade remains to be seen.
Stay tuned for the final verdict once we finish the review of the iPhone 16e.
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