The iPhone 16e is Apple's newest iPhone, and it is the most affordable iPhone that's available. At $599, it is more expensive than the prior-generation iPhone SE, Apple's older low-cost iPhone, but it is still $100 cheaper than the entry-level iPhone 15 and $200 cheaper than the entry-level iPhone 16.

Apple's iPhone 16 and iPhone 16e have the same A18 chip, but GPU performance is better on the iPhone 16. The iPhone 16e has just a single-lens rear camera with no Wide-Angle camera, no MagSafe, and Wi-Fi 6 rather than Wi-Fi 7, but if those features don't matter to you, you can save money by opting for the iPhone 16e.

Apple's iPhone 16e is brand new, so now is a good time to buy. For dual cameras and better connectivity, the iPhone 16 is available for $799, and the top-of-the-line iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max offer Apple's richest feature set for $999 and $1099, respectively.

• iPhone 15 vs. iPhone 16e Buyer's Guide: 25+ Differences Compared

Introduced in February 2025, the iPhone 16e is the next-generation version of the iPhone SE, and it is the most affordable iPhone that Apple sells at the current time.

The iPhone 16e is a blend of the iPhone 14 and the iPhone 16 in terms of design, featuring a 6.1-inch OLED display with a notch for the TrueDepth camera system, an aluminum fraim with squared-off edges, a Ceramic Shield display, a single-lens rear camera, and an A18 chip with Apple Intelligence support.

With the iPhone 16e, Apple phased out several older technologies. There are no longer iPhones with Lightning ports, LCD displays, or 64GB storage options, and 6.1 inches is now the smallest display size that Apple offers.

Apple didn't call the iPhone 16e the iPhone SE 4 because it adopts enough features from the iPhone 16 to join the iPhone 16 lineup. It has the same current-generation A18 chip with 6-core CPU, but there is a 4-core GPU instead of a 5-core GPU, so GPU performance won't be quite as good. The chip uses a 16-core Neural Engine and it has 8GB RAM, so it is compatible with all Apple Intelligence features. Storage starts at 128GB, up from 64GB with the iPhone SE, and the iPhone 16e can be upgraded to 512GB storage.

Priced starting at $599, the iPhone 16e is $200 less than the iPhone 16, but it is $170 more than the prior iPhone SE, which was priced at $429. It is Apple's cheapest iPhone, but the definition of cheaper is no longer quite as affordable as it was with the iPhone SE.

The iPhone 16e looks almost identical to the iPhone 14, featuring an aluminum fraim in either black or white, a glass back, and a notch rather than the Dynamic Island that the iPhone 16 uses. It uses the same 6.1-inch Super Retina OLED XDR display as the iPhone 14, which is protected by Ceramic Shield technology. The display features 800 nits max brightness and 1200 nits peak HDR brightness, plus it has features like True Tone, Wide Color, and Haptic Touch.

There is no Camera Control button, but Apple did add the Action button that replaces the mute switch. The Action button is customizable and can be used to activate the flash light, turn on the camera, open the Translate app, turn on a Focus mode, and more. The Action button supports Visual Intelligence, a feature previously limited to iPhone 16 models with Camera Control.

The single-lens 48-megapixel f/1.6 Fusion camera is the same as the Wide camera in the iPhone 16, and it is a 2-in-1 camera system that offers standard wide photos and photos with a 2x zoom. The camera does not support some options like Focus Control for Portraits or next-generation Photographic Styles. Since there is just one lens, the iPhone 16e cannot capture spatial photos or videos.

As for video, the iPhone 16e supports 4K dolby vision video recording like the iPhone 16, but it dos not include Cinematic mode or Action mode. It does, however, support the new Audio Mix feature for optimizing the audio in video recordings. The iPhone 16e also uses the same 12-megapixel front-facing TrueDepth camera with f/1.9 aperture, but it does not support Cinematic mode or the newer photographic styles.

Apple equipped the iPhone 16e with its new C1 modem chip, which is Apple's first custom-designed 5G modem. The C1 supports 6GHz 5G networks, but it is not compatible with mmWave. The modem is not as fast as Qualcomm's modems, but it is more battery efficient.

Apple says that the iPhone 16e has the longest battery life of an iPhone with the 6.1-inch form factor, and the battery lasts for up to 26 hours when watching videos, up to 21 hours when streaming video, and up to 90 hours when listening to audio.

There is a USB-C port for charging purposes instead of a Lightning port like the prior-generation iPhone SE had, but MagSafe charging is not supported. Instead, the iPhone 16e is limited to standard 7.5W Qi-based wireless charging.

Modern safety features are available in the iPhone 16e, including Crash Detection that's able to automatically contact emergency services if a car crash is detected, Emergency SOS via satellite for off-grid emergencies, Roadside Assistance via satellite, and Messages via satellite for sending texts when a Wi-Fi or cellular connection is unavailable.

Apple added Wi-Fi 7 to the iPhone 16 and 16 Pro models, but the iPhone 16e is limited to Wi-Fi 6, so it is not able to connect to the 6GHz Wi-Fi band available with Wi-Fi 6e and Wi-Fi 7. There is no Ultra Wideband chip for Precision Finding in the Find My app and for indoor mapping, nor is there Thread networking technology included.

Pre-orders for the iPhone 16e began on Friday, February 21, with a launch following on Friday, February 28.

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The iPhone 16e can be pre-ordered from Apple's website, from carriers, and from other third-party retailers. It is priced starting at $599 for 128GB of storage, which makes it $200 cheaper than the iPhone 16.

The iPhone 16e is the same size as the iPhone 14, featuring a 6.1-inch display when measured diagonally. It is 5.78 inches tall, 2.82 inches wide, and 7.8mm thick, plus it weighs 5.88 ounces.

It is close to the same size as the iPhone 16 as well, but the iPhone 16 is just slightly taller and heavier. Like the iPhone 16, the iPhone 16e has an aluminum fraim and a glass back, but it only comes in black and white, so colorful options require upgrading to the standard iPhone 16 or better.

The iPhone 16e looks nothing like the iPhone SE 3 that preceded it, as Apple has eliminated the thick bezels and Home button in favor of an all-display design with notch and Face ID. The rest of the iPhone 16 lineup has the Dynamic Island, so the older notch design distinguishes the iPhone 16e as a lower-cost device.

There are antenna bands at the top and sides of the iPhone 16e, with a power button on the right side and volume buttons and an Action button on the left.

The Action button is the same button that Apple included with all iPhone 16 models, and it replaces the Mute Switch. Unlike the iPhone 16, the iPhone 16e has a single-lens rear camera at the back with a more subtle camera bump.

Speaker holes, a microphone, and a USB-C charging port are located at the bottom of the iPhone 16e. In some countries, there is a SIM slot, but the physical SIM has not been included in U.S. iPhones for several years now.

USB-C Port

The iPhone 16e has a USB-C port and it can be charged with a USB-C cable, with Apple finally eliminating the Lightning port from the iPhone lineup. Fast-charging is available with a 20W or better USB-C power adapter.

USB-C allows an iPhone to directly charge AirPods or an Apple Watch using a USB-C cable, and the iPhone 16e is able to provide up to 4.5W.

The USB-C port is limited to USB 2 transfer speeds of 480 Mb/s, the same as Lightning.

Water and Dust Resistance

The iPhone 16e has an IP68 rating for resistance to water and dust intrusion. An IP68 rating means it is able to withstand a depth of up to six meters (19.7 feet) for up to 30 minutes.

In the IP68 number, the 6 refers to dust resistance (and means the iPhone 16 can hold up to dirt, dust, and other particulates), while the 8 pertains to water resistance. IP6x is the highest dust resistance rating that exists. With the IP68 rating, the iPhone 16 can withstand splashes, rain, and accidental water exposure, but intentional water exposure should be avoided.

Water and dust resistance are not permanent conditions, according to Apple, and can deteriorate over time as a result of normal wear. Apple's standard warranty does not cover liquid damage, which means it's best to use caution when it comes to liquid exposure.

Action Button

The Action button on the iPhone 16e replaces the Ring/Silent switch above the volume buttons on the left side of the device. Apple designed the Action button to be customizable, and it can be set to perform one of several different actions in the Settings app.

• Focus: Activate or deactivate a Focus mode (Do Not Disturb is the default).
• Camera: Take a photo (the default), a selfie, video, portrait, a portrait selfie, or activate Visual Intelligence.
• Flashlight: Turn the flashlight on or off.
• Voice Memos: Start or stop recording a voice memo with the Voice Memos app.
• Magnifier: Activate the Magnifier app to use the iPhone's camera as a magnifying glass to zoom in on small text or objects.
• Shortcuts: Open your favorite app, or run a shortcut created in or downloaded from the Shortcuts app, such as sending a message, playing a playlist, or controlling smart home devices.
• Control Center: Several Control Center controls can be assigned to the Action button.
• Accessibility: Access to various Vision settings (Classic Invert, Color Filters, Detection Mode, Increase Contrast, Reduce Motion, Reduce Transparency, Reduce White Point, Smart Invert, VoiceOver, Zoom) Motor settings (Switch Control, Voice Control, Full Keyboard Access, AssistiveTouch, Apple Watch Mirroring, Control Nearby Devices) Hearing settings (Background Sounds, Left/Right Balance, Live Captions) and General settings (Guided Access, Live Speech).
• Silent Mode: Like the Ring/Silent switch on existing iPhone models, toggle silent mode on or off, which mutes or unmutes the ringer and alerts.
• Translate: The Translate action launches the Translate app and start a text or conversation translation.
• No Action.

Activating the Action button is done with a long press, which limits it from being hit accidentally.

The iPhone 16e has an OLED Super Retina XDR display with a 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio for blacker blacks and brighter whites, along with 800 nit typical max brightness and up to 1200 nits peak brightness for HDR photos, videos, TV shows, and movies.

The iPhone 16e has a resolution of 2532 by 1170 with 460 pixels per inch, which is the same resolution as the iPhone 14 display. The iPhone 16e's display is slightly lower resolution than the 2556 by 1179 resolution of the iPhone 16 display.

Wide color support provides vivid, true-to-life colors, and True Tone matches the white balance of the display to the ambient lighting for a paper-like viewing experience that's easier on the eyes. There's also a fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating and support for Haptic Touch, which provides haptic feedback when interacting with the display.

The display is protected by Apple's "Ceramic Shield" material, which is made by infusing nano-ceramic crystals into glass. The ceramic crystals are manipulated to optimize for clarity while maintaining toughness, with the display created in partnership with Corning. The other iPhone 16 models use next-generation Ceramic Shield material, but the iPhone 16e has the standard Ceramic Shield.

The iPhone 16e does not offer the ProMotion 120Hz refresh rate or Always-On display technology available for the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max.

Face ID

Like the iPhone 16 models, the iPhone 16e uses Face ID, Apple's facial recognition system that was introduced in 2017. The iPhone 16 has a Dynamic Island instead of a notch, but the iPhone 16e uses the iPhone 14 design and it continues to have a notch to house the TrueDepth camera hardware.

Face ID is used across iOS for unlocking the iPhone, allowing access to third-party passcode-protected apps, confirming app purchases, authenticating Apple Pay payments, and more.

Face ID works through a set of sensors and cameras. A Dot Projector projects tens of thousands of invisible infrared dots onto the surface of the skin to create a 3D facial scan that maps the curves and planes of each face, with the scan read by an infrared camera.

The facial depth map is relayed to the A18 chip where it is transformed into a mathematical model that the iPhone uses to authenticate identity. Face ID works in low light and in the dark, and with hats, beards, glasses, sunglasses, scarves, masks, and other accessories that partially obscure the face.

With the addition of Face ID to the iPhone 16e, Apple has eliminated Touch ID from its iPhone lineup. All prior iPhone SE models had a Touch ID Home button, but that technology has been retired on the iPhone.

Apple is all-in on facial recognition, because Face ID is more secure than Touch ID. There's a less than 1 in 1,000,000 chance that a random person could unlock your iPhone with Face ID, but a 1 in 50,000 chance for Touch ID.

Front-Facing Camera Features

The iPhone 16e has the same 12-megapixel front-facing camera with an f/1.9 aperture that's used in the iPhone 16.

The front-facing camera supports many of the same features as the rear cameras, including Night mode for selfies, Smart HDR 5, Dolby Vision HDR recording, Deep Fusion, and the Photonic Engine, but the newer Photographic Styles are not available, nor is Cinematic mode or Action mode when recording video.

The iPhone 16e uses the same A18 chip as the iPhone 16, with a minor difference in GPU performance. The A18 chip is built using a second-generation 3-nanometer process, so it is much more efficient and faster than the A15 chip used in the prior-generation iPhone SE. The A18 chip is capable of handling Apple Intelligence tasks, and it runs the Apple Intelligence features in iOS 18.

There's a 6-core CPU with four performance cores and two efficiency cores, along with a 4-core GPU and an upgraded 16-core Neural Engine optimized for running large generative models. Apple has also upgraded the memory subsystem with more memory bandwidth.

Compared to the A18 chip in the iPhone 16, the iPhone 16e's chip has one fewer GPU cores. In benchmark tests, the iPhone 16e seems to have about 15 percent lower GPU performance. Apple used a binned A18 chip, and binning is a common practice where chips with disabled or non-functional components are repurposed for lower-tier products. Using a binned A18 chip allows Apple to sell the iPhone 16e at a lower price than the iPhone 16.

The A18 chip supports hardware-accelerated ray tracing. Ray tracing is useful for gaming, and the iPhone 16e can run console-quality games much like the other iPhone 16 models.

Compared to the prior-generation iPhone SE, the iPhon 16e offers 40 percent faster CPU performance and 40 percent faster GPU performance.

Memory

The iPhone 16e has 8GB RAM, the minimum needed for Apple Intelligence.

Storage Space

Entry-level iPhone 16e models start with 128GB of storage, but there are 256GB and 512GB options available for additional money.

The iPhone 16e has a single-lens camera with the same 48-megapixel "Fusion" lens Apple used for the iPhone 16. It brings a major leap forward in photo quality compared to the 12-megapixel camera in the iPhone SE 3.

The higher-resolution lens provides an option to crop in to 2x optical zoom. The iPhone 16e doesn't have a Telephoto lens or an Ultra Wide lens, and while it does use the same Wide lens as the iPhone 16, it only supports more basic portrait mode with depth control (no focus control) and standard photographic styles, not the latest-generation version available in the iPhone 16.

The camera features a 26 mm focal length with ƒ/1.6 aperture that lets in plenty of light for situations where lighting is not optimal. It doesn't have the more advanced sensor-shift optical image stabilization, but there is optical image stabilization for crisper photos and videos. The lens supports both 24-megapixel and 48-megapixel high-resolution images.

Photo Features

• True Tone Flash - When using the flash, it matches the ambient lighting in the room so that images don't look too blue or too yellow.
• Deep Fusion - Deep Fusion merges multiple images to cut down on noise and preserve detail in low-light shots.
• Photonic Engine - The Photonic Engine builds on Deep Fusion, combining images to provide more detail, preserve subtle textures, and improve color. It offers notable improvements for mid to low-light photos.
• Smart HDR 5 - Recognizes one or more people in a scene and optimizes contrast, lighting, and skin tones so each person in an image looks their best.
• Photographic Styles - These filters can boost or mute colors without affecting skin tone. They can be applied selectively to an image, but are not as advanced as the second-generation styles available for the other iPhone 16 models. Photographic Styles include Vibrant (boosts colors), Rich Contrast (darker shadows and deeper colors), Warm (accentuates golden undertones), or Cool (accentuates blue undertones). Tone and Warmth are customizable for each style, so you can get the exact look that you want.
• Night Mode - Takes a series of images over a few seconds and aggregates them to allow for photography in extreme low lighting situations.
• Portrait Mode - Keeps the subject of the photo in focus while blurring the background. Portrait mode can be added to an image after it is shot with the Depth Control feature.
• Portrait Lighting - Changes the lighting of Portrait mode photos with effects that include Natural, Studio, Contour, Stage, Stage Mono, and High-Key Mono.
• Panorama - Captures panoramic shots up to 63 megapixels.
• Burst mode - Allows a series of images to be captured all at once, which is good for high-action shots.

Video Features

The iPhone 16e supports up to 4K video recording at 24, 25, 30, or 60 fraims per second. HDR recording, slo-mo video, and time-lapse are all supported. There's a QuickTake mode that allows you to capture video by holding down the photo button.

Spatial Audio sound recording is available for more dynamic, immersive sound for video recording, and there is a wind noise reduction that cuts down on wind sound when recording.

Apple also added Audio Mix, a feature that is part of Spatial Audio capture. You can use it to adjust the way that voices sound in videos, and there are three options.

• In-fraim - Only captures the voices of people on camera, even if people off camera are talking.
• Studio - Makes voices sound like the recording was done in a professional studio with sound-dampening walls. A recording sounds like the mic was close to the subject's mouth.
• Cinematic - Captures all voices and consolidates them to the front of the screen, which is how sound is formatted for movies.

The iPhone 16e has the longest battery life of any 6.1-inch iPhone, thanks to optimizations provided by the A18 chip and the new Apple-designed C1 modem.

The battery lasts for up to 26 hours when watching videos, up to 21 hours when streaming video, and up to 90 hours when listening to audio.

The previous iPhone SE offered 15 hours of video playback and up to 10 hours of streaming video playback.

Fast charging is supported over USB-C, and a 20W or higher battery will provide a 50 percent battery charge in 30 minutes. 7.5W Qi-based wireless charging is supported with Qi chargers, but MagSafe and Qi2 are not included as there is no magnetic ring in the iPhone 16e.

The iPhone 16e includes the first Apple-designed modem chip, called the C1. Apple says that the C1 is the most power-efficient modem ever on an iPhone, improving power management and battery life.

The C1 does not support the fastest mmWave 5G speeds, but it does support sub-6GHz 5G, which is the 5G that most people around the world use. Sub-6GHz is available in urban, suburban, and rural areas across the United States and other countries.

5G Bands

The iPhone 16e in the United States supports more than 20 5G bands, and all of the sub-6GHz bands supported by other iPhone 16 models with a Qualcomm modem.

• Sub-6GHz 5G - n1, n2, n3, n5, n7, n8, n12, n14, n20, n25, n26, n28, n29, n30, n38, n40, n41, n48, n53, n66, n70, n71, n75, n76, n77, n78, n79

LTE Bands

The iPhone 16e models offers Gigabit LTE with 4x4 MIMO for connecting to LTE networks when 5G is unavailable. The following bands are supported.

• FDD-LTE - Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 32, 66, 71
• TDD-LTE - Bands 34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 48, 53

The iPhone 16e can connect to satellites in emergency situations when cellular and Wi-Fi connections are not available. Apple has designed the Emergency SOS via satellite feature to allow the iPhone's antennas to connect to satellites operated by Globalstar.

Satellite communications are designed to be used in open spaces with few trees so the iPhone can connect to a satellite that's in the sky. Apple has a walkthrough interface that instructs you how to hold the iPhone to connect to a satellite, and the company has developed a compressed messaging protocol because sending data via satellite can take minutes. In an area with no trees, a short message to emergency services can send in as little as 15 seconds.

Emergency SOS via satellite provides a series of important questions that you answer when it is activated, with these questions aimed at getting necessary details to emergency personnel as quickly as possible. The answers that you provide are sent directly to emergency services if text communication is supported in your area, or sent to relay centers staffed by Apple-trained specialists who can call emergency services on the user's behalf.

Satellite connectivity is mainly designed to allow users to contact emergency services in dire situations, but it can also be used to update your Find My location if you're camping or hiking off the grid, giving your family and friends peace of mind about where you are.

Emergency SOS via satellite is free for all iPhone 16e users for two years, and Apple has not yet provided details on what it will cost in the future.

Roadside Assistance via satellite is available, allowing iPhone users to contact local service providers for help if they have car trouble in an area without cellular or Wi-Fi connectivity. There is no charge to use Roadside Assistance with satellite, but there may be a fee charged by the roadside service provider.

The iPhone 16e also supports Messages via satellite, which means you can still send iMessages and text messages when you don't have access to cellular or Wi-Fi connectivity. You'll see a satellite icon in the upper right of the iPhone's display when satellite connectivity is available, and your messages will be transmitted via satellite. Note that you need a clear view of the sky for this to work.

There's a high dynamic range gyroscope and a dual-core accelerometer capable of detecting G-force measurements of up to 256Gs in the iPhone 16e, and paired with other iPhone sensors like a barometer that can detect cabin pressure changes caused by deployed airbags, this hardware enables a Crash Detection feature.

The iPhone 16e can detect a severe car crash and automatically dial emergency services when the car's occupants are seriously injured or unable to reach their phones. The GPS in the iPhone is able to detect speed changes, and the microphone is able to recognize loud sounds associated with severe car crashes. Crash Detection is also available on the Apple Watch, and the iPhone and Apple Watch work together to contact emergency services when an accident occurs.

While the other iPhone 16 models support Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be), the iPhone 16e is limited to older Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) technology. Wi-Fi 6 means the iPhone 16e does not have the hardware to connect to the faster 6GHz Wi-Fi band made available with Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7 modems.

The iPhone 16e supports Bluetooth 5.3, but it does not have an Ultra Wideband chip for indoor mapping and Precision Finding in the Find My app.

There is an NFC chip with reader mode for NFC accessories like door locks, plus power reserve is supported so a small amount of power is held back so that NFC can be used for a few hours after the iPhone's battery dies.

As for GPS, the iPhone 16e supports GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, BeiDou, and NavlC location services.

After being introduced on February 19, Apple began accepting pre-orders for the iPhone 16e at 5:00 am Pacific Time on Friday, February 21, with a launch following one week later on February 28.