Apple's revealed the iPhone 16e, so one of the biggest questions we now have is how it squares up to the iPhone 16, previously Apple's cheapest new iPhone model.
The iPhone 16e takes a lot of the iPhone 16's basic form, including its size and several internal components. But the iPhone 16 still comes out on top with its display and camera loadout, plus a few other features Apple seemingly decided to cut from the iPhone 16e in the name of price.
We've yet to get the iPhone 16e in for testing, but for now we can compare the specs of the iPhone 16e vs the iPhone 16 and see which one might be better for your needs.
iPhone 16e vs iPhone 16: Specs
iPhone 16e vs iPhone 16: Price and availability
Apple opens pre-orders for the iPhone 16e from February 21, with the formal release date being the following week on February 28th. The iPhone 16's been on sale since September 2024, so no need to pre-order or wait for that model.
The iPhone 16e starts at $599, making it $200 cheaper than the iPhone 16. That's a smaller gap than there was between the iPhone 16 and the old $429 iPhone SE 3, but a $200 difference can't be ignored if pricing is key for your buying decision.
Both of those starting prices are for 128GB of storage. Both phones offer 256GB and 512GB editions too if you need extra space.
iPhone SE 4 vs iPhone 16: Design and display
The iPhone 16e and iPhone 16 both share the same 6.1-inch profile, with the iPhone 16e coming in just a few grams lighter. You'll be able to tell them apart in several ways though.
Apple is using an older notched design for the iPhone 16e, rather than the Dynamic Island of the iPhone 16. There's also no Camera Control button on the right edge of the iPhone 16e, apparently another feature that's staying exclusive to the iPhone 16. The two phones do share the Action button on the right edge though, which allows users to set a custom shortcut action to keep within easy reach.
On the back, the iPhone 16e carries only one camera, whereas the iPhone 16 has two (more on those below). It's here we can also see the two different color options available to the two phones: black or white for the iPhone 16e, and a choice of black, white, pink, teal or ultramarine for the iPhone 16.
In terms of display tech, the two phones use the same OLED panel technology, but the iPhone 16 has slightly more pixels both horizontally and vertically. The 16 is also rated as slightly brighter by Apple, with a 1,600-nit peak HDR brightness compares to the iPhone 16e's 1,200 nits.
iPhone 16e vs iPhone 16: Cameras
The main rear camera on both the iPhone 16e and the iPhone 16 is a 48MP "Fusion" camera, which is Apple language for a high-res sensor capable of taking 2x optical-quality zoom photos without having a proper telephoto lens. Both phones also use the same 12MP selfie camera on the front of the phone, and are also capable of taking night mode and portrait mode shots.
However, the iPhone 16 gets an additional ultrawide sensor, which also unlocks macro photography. On top of that, it gets the newer version of Apple's Photographic Styles filters, a focus control option for portrait mode, and can record Spatial photos and videos for viewing on VR headsets.
iPhone 16e vs iPhone 16: Performance
Inside both the iPhone 16e and iPhone 16 is the Apple A18 chip, the latest silicon for non-Pro iPhones. That should in theory mean identical performance, but the iPhone 16e has one fewer GPU cores, which could mean we see a gap on benchmark scores and in real-life testing.
Although it hasn't mentioned it much, Apple has given the iPhone 16e its first in-house 5G modem, named the C1. This doesn't offer mmWave 5G support like the iPhone 16's Qualcomm-built model, but is promised to be much more power efficient.
As mentioned above, storage for both of these iPhones starts at 128GB. By paying $100 more you can double that to 256GB, and by paying another $200 on top of that, you can get the top-tier 512GB model with tons of room for your photos, files, apps and more.
iPhone 16e vs iPhone 16: Battery and charging
Apple doesn't give official battery capacities for its phones, so until someone tears down the iPhone 16e, we're going to go by the official battery life estimates to judge the iPhone 16e's battery against the iPhone 16.
Apple claims that the iPhone 16e can last for up to 26 hours of video playback, which is four hours longer than what it thinks the iPhone 16 can do. That drops to 21 hours and 18 hours respectively for streamed video, but even with the smaller difference, the iPhone 16e looks to be the most power-efficient of the two.
Wired charging for the iPhone 16e and iPhone 16 is the same, with Apple promising a 50% charge in half an hour when using a 20W USB-C charger. The big difference comes in wireless charging - the iPhone 16 has MagSafe, and the iPhone 16e does not. The 16e can still charge wirelessly via the common Qi standard, but it doesn't have the magnets to make a MagSafe connection, nor support for the faster 25W charging standard.
iPhone 16e vs iPhone 16: Software and Apple Intelligence
You get iOS 18 pre-installed on both the iPhone 16e and the iPhone 16, and all of Apple's current Apple Intelligence features. The only noteworthy difference is that Visual Intelligence is accessed in different ways on each phone. The iPhone 16 has a shortcut to this image analysis tool as part of its Camera Control, whereas the iPhone 16e needs to set up the shortcut manually via the Action button.
As both of these iPhones use the same chip and were launched in the same generation, we'd expect both to receive the same number of software updates - normally five years' worth going by Apple's previous patterns.
iPhone 16e vs iPhone 16: Outlook
This comparison is much closer than we would have expected, both in terms of features and in terms of price. The $200 gap is not as large as the rumors told us, meaning the iPhone 16e is harder to justify against the iPhone 16 if you want maximum value.
The identical chip, main and selfie camera and software features put the phones on an equal footing, but the cheaper starting price of the iPhone 16e, plus its longer battery life, are two big factors in that phone's favor. But the iPhone 16's extra camera and related features, plus its extra GPU core and slightly sharper display could be worth the extra money to some users.
We'll revisit this comparison post-iPhone 16e review, so be sure to check back soon to see our ultimate verdict on how these phones compare.
