Apple just unveiled the iPhone 16e, here's how it compares to the competition

The new iPhone 16e is designed to get Apple Intelligence into as many hands as possible. The company recently began activating its AI features by default during iOS setup, suggesting a harder push to spur adoption and establish iOS as an AI-first platform. But since Apple Intelligence has up till today only been available on the iPhone 16 series (and just the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max before that), there hasn't been a sub-$600 iPhone that can run the latest suite of tools. So the addition of the $599 iPhone 16e to Apple's lineup isn't surprising.

What was slightly unexpected was the framing. The iPhone 16e's arrival was heralded by feverish speculation about a new iPhone SE, which was last released three years ago for a starting price of $429. Though the iPhone 16e is cheaper than the rest of the iPhone 16 family, its price certainly isn't what we might consider "budget" or "entry-level."  

Apple Intelligence’s arrival on a lower-cost iPhone is thanks to one of its biggest upgrades from the SE: the A18 chip (the same processor from the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus). That makes it Apple’s cheapest AI-equipped model by $300. However, that's quite a bump up from the (now-retired) iPhone SE's $429.

Fortunately, there’s no skimping on the Apple Intelligence features for the cheaper model; you get all the AI goodies found in the more expensive iPhones. That includes AI writing tools, Genmoji, Image Playground, Visual Intelligence, ChatGPT integration and notification summaries.

Apple

The phone has a much bigger display than its predecessor: 6.1 inches, up from the 2022 iPhone SE’s mere 4.7 inches. It’s also the first entry-level model to adopt modern iPhones’ full-screen design with Face ID. (Pour one out for the now-retired home button.) However, it doesn’t have the Dynamic Island found on recent higher-end models.

It also gets the Action button, the customizable physical shortcut on the phone's side. It debuted in the iPhone 15 Pro series and is found in all iPhone 16 models.

The iPhone 16e also complies with EU standards by switching from Lightning to USB-C, which is probably the least surprising thing about it. It also lacks MagSafe charging, sticking with standard Qi wireless charging at up to 7.5W.

A list of geeky tech specs doesn’t tell the whole story but can still serve as a starting point. Here’s how the new entry-level iPhone compares to Apple’s previous model and its two biggest Android-running rivals: the Google Pixel 8a and Samsung Galaxy A35 5G. (Although the A35 isn't quite in the same price range, it serves a similar niche in Samsung's lineup.)

	iPhone 16e	iPhone SE (2022)	Google Pixel 8a	Samsung Galaxy A35 5G
Price	$599 / $699 / $899	$429 / $479 / $579	$499 / $559	$400
Dimensions	146.7 x 71.5 x 7.8 mm (5.78 x 2.82 x 0.31 inches)	138.4 x 67.3 x 7.3 mm (5.45 x 2.65 x 0.29 inches)	152.1 x 72.7 x 8.9mm (6 x 2.9 x 0.4 inches)	161.7 x 78 x 8.2 mm (6.37 x 3.07 x 0.32 inches)
Weight	167g (5.88 ounces)	144g (5.09 ounces)	188 g (6.7 oz)	209 g (7.37 oz)
Screen size	6.1 inches	4.7 inches	6.1 inches	6.6 inches
Screen resolution	2,532 x 1,170 (460 ppi)	1,334 x 750 (326 ppi)	1,080 x 2,400 (430 ppi)	2,340 x 1,080 (389 ppi)
Screen type	OLED	Retina HD LCD 60Hz		Super AMOLED up to 120Hz
SoC	Apple A18	Apple A15 Bionic	Tensor G3	Exynos 1380
RAM	N/A	4 GB	8 GB	6 / 8* GB * Non-US only
Battery	"up to 26 hrs video playback"	2,018mAh	4,492 mAh	5,000 mAh
Storage	128 / 256 / 512GB	64 / 128 / 256 GB	128 / 256 GB	128 / 256* GB MicroSD up to 1TB * Non-US only
Rear camera(s)	48MP, f/1.6	Wide: 12 MP, f/1.8	Wide: 64 MP, f/1.89 Ultrawide: 13MP, f/2.2	Wide: 50MP, f/1.8 Ultrawide: 8MP, f/2.2 Macro: 5MP, f/2.4
Front camera	12MP, f/1.9	7 MP, f/2.2	13MP, f/2.2	13MP, f/2.2
Water / dust rating	IP68	IP67	IP67	IP67
Wi-Fi	Wi‑Fi 6 (802.11ax)	802.11ax	Wi-Fi 6E	Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax)
Bluetooth	v5.3	v5.0	v5.3	v5.3
OS	iOS 18	iOS 18	Android 15	Android 14 One UI 6.1
Colors / finish	Black / White Aluminum	Midnight / Starlight / (Product)Red Aluminum	Obsidian / Porcelain / Aloe / Bay	Navy / Lilac

Update, February 19 2025, 1:46PM ET: This story has been updated to add more context about the iPhone 16e in the intro, covering the speculation that Apple was planning to launch a new model of the iPhone SE.

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