If you want an iPhone on a budget, the iPhone 16e is for you. It offers a similar experience to the iPhone 16 – same processor, artificial intelligence – for a fraction of the price.
Obviously there are some compromises. And it faces some stiff competition in the mid-range market from rivals Google and Samsung.
So is it worth buying? Here's everything you need to know about the iPhone 16e.
iPhone 16e: screen and design
The iPhone 16e has an OLED screen with a notch – a big departure from the thick-bezelled design of the last iPhone SE. The home button is also gone from Apple's cheapest iPhone – from the front, the iPhone 16e is essentially an iPhone 14.
The screen is also significantly bigger than that on the iPhone SE which it replaces. The 16e has the same 6.1-inch panel as the iPhone 16 – that's much larger than the SE's 4.7-inch LCD screen.
The iPhone 16e isn't anywhere near as colourful as the iPhone 16, coming in just white or black finishes. It has the same Action button, but lacks the 16's Camera Control button which launches the camera without you having to wake the phone first.
And because it has the notch, there's no Dynamic Island animation to show at-a-glance information. But it does have the same Ceramic Shield front protection as the iPhone 16, as well as its IP68 water resistance.
iPhone 16e: price
The price is sure to disappoint many. The iPhone 16e costs £599 / $599 / AU$999 – that's a much higher price than the third-gen iPhone SE, which cost £429 / $429 / AU$719.
As such, the iPhone 16e isn't really a budget phone at all, more a mid-ranger.
Making things worse for Apple is the Google Pixel 9a. This costs £100 less than the iPhone 16e, and has a screen that's slightly bigger, with a higher refresh rate and that goes brighter.
The iPhone 16e is still the cheapest iPhone you can buy, unless you're going preowned or refurbished.
iPhone 16e: specs and features
Probably the biggest selling point of the iPhone 16e is that it has the same processor and Apple Intelligence AI smarts as the standard iPhone 16. Apple is positioning it as very much part of the iPhone 16 family – hence the name change from the iPhone SE line.
The 16e doesn't have exactly the same capabilities as the standard iPhone 16 though. Because while both phones have the A19 chip, the iPhone 16e only has a four-core GPU configuration compared to the iPhone 16's more powerful five-core GPU. So the iPhone 16 should be the better gaming phone.
The iPhone 16e also debuts Apple's first in-house designed C1 modem, marking a departure from the Qualcomm Snapdragon X75 modem found in the iPhone 16 – a sign of things to come in future iPhone models, no doubt.
On the back is a single camera arrangement, as opposed to the dual setup on the iPhone 16.
The iPhone 16e supports wireless charging, but again, there's a slight downgrade versus pricier iPhones. It's limited to Qi charging at up to 7.5W, while the iPhone 16 offers Qi2 wireless charging up to 15W, and supports MagSafe wireless charging up to 25W when paired with a 30W adapter or higher.
Speaking of MagSafe, it's missing from the iPhone 16e, meaning you can't use MagSafe accessories like cases, wallets, and wireless chargers that 'snap' into place using magnets. That's a surprise, given that MagSafe has been standard on iPhones for years.
The iPhone 16e does have one advantage over the 16 – battery life. It delivers up to 26 hours of video playback, compared to 22 hours on the standard iPhone 16 model. In fact, its battery life is closer to the much pricier iPhone 16 Pro (which gives you 27 hours of video playback).
iPhone 16e: early verdict
Disappointingly high price aside, the iPhone 16e looks like quite a proposition. As AV fans we applaud the OLED screen (though we do lament the paltry 60Hz refresh rate), and coupled with the A18 chip it should make for stellar performance.
The mid-range market is tougher than ever, with the Google Pixel 9a offering more bang for buck (on paper at least), and the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE costing a fair bit less.
That won't matter to Apple fans, of course. If you can't wait for the iPhone 17 later in the year, or want most of the iPhone 16's capabilities with a lower price tag, the 16e could be for you.
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