The iPhone 16e appears very similar to similar to iPhone 16 but costs £150 less. Which handset should you choose? The differences are explained for you to make an informed decision.
The iPhone 16e is by far the lowest-cost entry point to the iPhone 16 family. Beginning at £451.55 for a version with 128GB of storage the iPhone 16e beats the normal iPhone 16 by £150. It's not the same as an iPhone 15. iPhone 15 is still around £452.30, while it's the iPhone SE and iPhone 14 have been discontinued.
In terms of appearance, the features and pricing, you could have a hard time choosing between the iPhone 16e for £451.55 as well as that of £602 for the iPhone 16. We've extensively tested the iPhone 16e and iPhone 16e. iPhone 16, the latter one of which is still an Editors' Choice winner in the line-up. If you're thinking of getting the larger 16-inch iPhone Let us show the ways that these two phones perform against each other in order to help you choose the one that is right for you. Price The price for the iPhone 16e starts at £451.55 . It comes with 128GB of storage space. The version with an 256GB storage capacity costs £526.93 while the one which has more than 512GB costs £677.70. iPhone 16 iPhone 16 offers the same three storage options at a price of £602, £677 and £828.46.
Design
The iPhone 16e and 16 have similar design features, with smooth metal sides, flat glass panels, and round corners. Its dimensions measure 5.78 by 2.82 by 0.31 inches (HWD) and 5.88 pounds. It is also less bulky than iPhone 16 (which is 5.88 pounds lighter). iPhone 16 (5.81 by 2.82 by 0.31 inches, 6.0 ounces).
The iPhone 16e has that notch in the upper part of the screen. This was initially noticed as a feature on iPhone X, while the 16 features the more modern Dynamic Island on the upper part of the screen. Both phones use FaceID to authenticate users using biometrics.
In terms of colours the iPhone 16e can be found only in Black and White. It is available in the iPhone 16 comes in Black, Pink, Teal, Ultramarine (lavender) and White. If you like a pop of color, you'll are aware of which color to choose.
The two devices share the same IP68 rating, which protects against water and dust. Both have an aluminum frame. The 16e comes with a latest-generation Ceramic Shield front panel but an unspecified form of glass back. It's the iPhone 16. iPhone 16 has a newer version of Ceramic Shield on the front that should provide slightly greater scratch and break resistance.
Display
Both models have an 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR display, however the resolutions of both devices differ little. The 16e iPhone has the resolution of 2,532 x 1,170 pixels. The 16 comes with 2,556 x 1,179 pixels. In spite of the slight difference in terms of the amount of pixels, Apple says both have similar density, 456 pixels per inch to provide basically the same experience.
The typical brightness for the iPhone 16 is 1000 nits. the brightness peaks at 2,200 nits in the outdoors. The iPhone 16e screen is somewhat dimmer with an average luminosity of around 800nits, and an optimum of 1,200 nuits. The 16e display is easily visible in most situations, however when compared side-by-side with the 16e with the 16's display, it is definitely larger and brighter. In light of how comparable the screens however the iPhone 16's more bright screen is what sets it apart.
Performance
It's the same with iPhone 16 and 16. iPhone 16 and 16e both utilize a variant of Apple's A18 processor, but they differ in. The processor in the iPhone 16 has a six-core processor with four efficiency and two performance cores, as well as a 16-core neural Engine, as well as a five-core GPU. The 16e is equipped with a quad-core GPU which means it's only down one core in comparison to that of the iPhone 16. The 16e, according to reports, is equipped with the same 8GB RAM that the 16 has, however Apple hasn't yet confirmed this.
Both of the devices are running iOS 18 with Apple Intelligence and are able to process AI tasks, both on devices and on the cloud. The entire Apple's Intelligence features, like Genmoji, Image Playground, Visual Intelligence as well as Writing Tools can be found in the 16e.
When used in everyday usage both phones behave as if they are. Both phones feel more responsive than one. By using benchmarks to determine figures behind their performance, we discovered that the 16e beats the 16 in the CPU tests like Geekbench but is slightly slower in tests such as GFXBench or 3DMark. The 16's additional GPU core is what helps it edge ahead of the 16e when it comes to these tests for graphics.
The iPhone 16e is the very first handset with a modem designed by Apple known as the C1. Apple claims that this is the most efficient modem on an iPhone and that it's 25% more efficient than the modem in iPhone 15. iPhone 15. The C1 is compatible with all lower and mid-band 5G frequencies utilized by US carriers, but does not support the ultra-fast mmWave signals the 16 can. When tested, it stood the same. It's a good device to test. C1 was able to keep a connection for 20 minutes during the drive, and also delivered the fastest download speeds that we've experienced through AT&T's network.
For other radios, iPhone 16 is the most popular. iPhone 16 has Wi-Fi 7 as well as Ultra-wideband (UWB) chip to provide precise localization, while the 16e is equipped with Wi-Fi 6, but there is no UWB chip.
The battery life could be the most important difference. Apple declares that the iPhone 16e features new internal designs, which gives an increased battery. Additionally it has a C1 modem was created to maximize efficiency. In total, Apple claims the iPhone 16e could run for more than 26 hours while watching video, which is more than the average iPhone that has an 6.1-inch screen. Our battery drain testing, we found that the 16e beat the 16 by almost 4 hour (21 days and 38 minutes, compared to 17 hours 50 mins).
Charging
The iPhone 16e can support the standard Qi wireless charging of 7.5W. It's a bit puzzling that it's incompatible with the Apple MagSafe charger, or MagSafe accessories. If you're looking for MagSafe it's best choose the regular iPhone 16. Additionally, it can charge over three times as quickly wirelessly, at 25W.
Cameras
The iPhone 16e comes with an 48 megapixel Fusion camera at its rear. The iPhone 16 has a 48MP Fusion camera, as well as a 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera. The 16 camera can take pictures with a spatial or macro lens in Apple Vision Pro, but not the Apple Vision Pro, but the 16e is not able to do that. The 16 has 0.5x 1, 1x as well as 2x optical zoom and the 16e can only be restricted to 3x and 1x. Both support 10x digital zoom.
The TrueDepth 12MP selfie camera in the iPhone 16e and 16 are identical, they both use the image signal processor of the A18. The 16 has Cinematic mode, which can support as much as 4K30 video recording, controls for depth and focus when for portrait modes. The 16e doesn't have the Cinematic mode, and it controls the depth in only the portrait mode. Other than that, they're identical spec-for-spec.
iPhone 16 iPhone 16 has more advanced tools for video capture. It features an Cinematic mode that has a low depth of field, Dolby Vision. There is also Action mode as well as spatial video recording as well as the ability to record macro videos. These options are not offered on the 16-inch iPhone. But, both of them can record up to 4K videos with 60 frames per second (fps) and 1080p slow-motion video with 120 frames per second or 240 frames per second.
The camera's touch-sensitive Control is accessible on all iPhone 16 except the 16e. The iPhone 16e can take stunning photographs, however it's just more flexible.
Verdict: Which iPhone Is Right for You?
Based on our research and the way that both phones performed, these are our recommendations on buying a phone:If you're searching for the most affordable entry point into the iPhone ecosystem, with a long battery life and Apple Intelligence, the iPhone 16e is the best way to take.If "mostly the basics" are the only thing that matters to you and you're okay with being limited by the screen's notch and colour palette, you'll be more than satisfied with the features that the iPhone 16e has to offer.
If you're looking for greater video and photography capabilities, then an iPhone 16 is the better alternative.If you'd rather have additional features like MagSafe support and faster mmWave 5G speeds and faster Wi-Fi 7 as well as Apple's Dynamic Island it is recommended to buy iPhone 16. iPhone 16.