Review: iPhone 16E vs. iPhone 16 – Key differences you need to know

In case you haven’t heard, there’s a new iPhone in town. It’s called the iPhone 16E. Apple calls it “the newest member of the family”.

The iPhone 16E is Apple’s newest entry-level iPhone and it’s markedly different from the model it replaces – the third-generation iPhone SE from three years ago. Gone are the thick bezels and the anachronistic Touch ID button, and in their places are a more contemporary design and modern features like Face ID and Apple Intelligence.

With prices starting at S$949, the iPhone 16E is appreciably cheaper than the iPhone 16. On paper, it looks like a compelling option for anyone who wants to get a modern iPhone while spending as little money as possible. But what exactly are you missing out on with the iPhone 16E? What has Apple kept off the table to keep its price low? Read on to find out.

Display

Though the iPhone 16E also comes with a Super Retina XDR display that uses an OLED panel, it doesn’t get quite as bright. The maximum brightness of the iPhone 16E’s display is 800 nits while showing standard content and that goes up to 1,200 nits when there’s HDR content. In comparison, the maximum brightness of the iPhone 16 is 1,000 nits while displaying standard content, and it can go up to 1,600 nits for HDR content, and up to a further 2,000 nits outdoors under bright sunlight.

Display brightness comparison

Brightness aside, the iPhone 16E also lacks the iPhone 16’s Dynamic Island. Instead, it has a simple notch, which houses the Face ID module.

Processor

The iPhone 16E’s A18 chip is slightly less powerful than the one in the iPhone 16. Though it also has 6 CPU cores, it has just 4 GPU cores, which is one less than the A18 chip in the iPhone 16. How this will impact performance will be interesting to see. To recap, here are the core configurations of all the A18 chips in the iPhone 16 family.

iPhone 16 chip comparison

Camera

The iPhone 16E has a single camera, but it’s a 48MP Fusion camera that shares some similarities with the one in the iPhone 16. Apart from having the same resolution, both cameras also have the same f/1.6 aperture lens and a 2x zoom option. They also support photography technologies like Deep Fusion and Photonic Engine. Both use the Smart HDR 5 image processing pipeline.

However, the iPhone 16E’s camera lacks some features, like the ability to change focus in post and the latest Photographic Styles feature that offers greater control over tones, colours, and highlights.

And because the iPhone 16E only has a single camera, it also lacks the iPhone 16’s ultra-wide mode. There’s no macro mode for extreme close-up shots either.

Camera Control

The iPhone 16E has an Action Button, but it doesn’t have Camera Control. Some think it’s a gimmick, but I found it genuinely useful – especially after a recent holiday. It’s also handy for invoking Visual Intelligence – an Apple Intelligence feature that lets you find out about things you see and around you.

Connectivity & charging

The iPhone 16E supports 5G thanks to Apple’s new C1 chip – the company’s first in-house custom modem. However, it lacks support for the newer and faster Wi-Fi 7 standard. Another connectivity feature missing is the second-generation Ultra Wideband chip so you cannot enable Precision Finding with a compatible Apple Watch. Another connectivity feature missing on the iPhone 16E is MagSafe. That said, the phone still supports wireless charging with Qi wireless chargers.

Colours

If you like colourful phones, you’ll be sad to hear that the iPhone 16E only comes in black and white. The iPhone 16, on the other hand, comes in five colours – black, white, silver, pink, and ultramarine.

Note:  Prices of the iPhone 16E start at S$949 and pre-orders will begin on 21 February, 9pm, SGT. It will be available in stores on 28 February, Friday. You can find it on Lazada, Shopee, and the Apple Online Store.

This article was originally published in Hardware Zone.