better to pay extra for a regular 16

Apple kept the previous iPhone SE 3rd generation model as the most budget-friendly smartphone for quite a long time. Time goes on, the design of the iPhone 6-8 had to be changed. And in the spring of 2025, Apple introduced a replacement for the SE series — the iPhone 16e. Today, we’ll take a look at it and try to figure out the question: Is it even needed when you can get an iPhone 16?

Technical characteristics Apple iPhone 16e

	Apple iPhone 16e
Display	6.1 inches 19.5:9, 2532×1170 pixels. 457ppi, OLED, 60 Hz
Processor	Apple A18, 6-core (4×2)
Graphics adapter	Apple GPU, 4-core
Memory	8/128, 8/256, 8/512 GB, NVME
Main camera	48 megapixels, wide-angle, ƒ/1.6, OIS, 4K/60 fps
Front camera	12 megapixels, ƒ/1.9, 4K/30 fps
Modules and systems	4G, 5G, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3 and NFC, aGPS, GPS, GLONASS, Galileo
OS	iOS, 18.3.1
Protection	YES, IP68
Battery	4005 mAh, 20W fast charging, 7.5W wireless charging
Body	Front (Ceramic Shield) and rear glass, aluminum sides
Dimensions	146.7 x 71.5 x 7.8 mm
Weight	167 grams

Packaging and equipment

Apple iPhone 16e comes in a small, thin white box with a picture of the smartphone screen.

Inside we find the hero of our review, documentation and a USB Type-C to USB Type-C cable. We’re reviewing a version of the smartphone without a physical SIM slot. Therefore, you won’t find a paper clip for the SIM card tray. The 20W power supply will have to be purchased separately, like a case and film/glass, etc.

Design and ergonomics

The design of the Apple iPhone 16e is quite different from the last two series of Apple smartphones. There are almost no similar features from the predecessor Apple iPhone SE 3rd generation: a full-front display, flat edges instead of rounded ones, no Home key and no fingerprint scanner.

The only thing that unites both generations of «budget» — is one main camera on the back. It is this camera that will distinguish you from other two- or three-camera «brothers». In general, the iPhone 16e is reminiscent of the brand’s 14 lines, which were with «bangs».

The display takes up almost the entire front of the smartphone. On the top is the famous «chuprina» with a FaceID sensor for unlocking the smartphone by face and a 12-megapixel front camera. The bezels are the same as in the iPhone 15 and much smaller than in the iPhone Xr. Ceramic Shield protects the display from scratches. For those who are worried about the display, it is better to buy and install a protective film or glass.

On the back is a single main camera, flash, microphone, and the Apple logo. The main part is protected by frosted glass.

On the right side is the lock button. On the left are the volume keys, Action button, and SIM card slot in the European version of the iPhone 16e. There’s nothing on the top, and the bottom — has a microphone, speaker, and a USB Type-C 2.0 port. The frame itself is made of aluminum.

Apple iPhone 16e has dimensions of 146.7 x 71.5 x 7.8 mm and weighs — 167 grams. Thanks to its size and light weight, the smartphone fits well in the palm of your hand. The flat edges do not interfere with holding it with one hand.

The glossy surface of both sides quickly collects traces of use. It’s good when these traces are not visible after wiping. The iPhone 16e has IP68 protection. Short-term exposure to water should not cause any problems.

The review is presented in Black color. The smartphone is available only in White color. These two colors are clearly not enough for it. It is necessary to add at least one bright color or return the PRODUCT (RED) line. Personally, I don’t really like dark-colored smartphones, but matte black is a classic and masculine color.

 On the top of the display is the FaceID facial recognition scanner. The technology builds a digital 3D face mask, so it works day and night. I’ve been using FaceID for many years on various Apple smartphones, and I’ve never had any problems. I find it much more convenient than a fingerprint scanner.

Sound and vibration response

The Apple iPhone 16e supports stereo sound, which is realized through the main and earpiece speakers. The sound is loud and clear, nothing buzzes 100%. There were no problems with the sound during conversations.

The smartphone is not large, so the vibration response is noticeable and performs its function properly. Haptic Engine is still one of the best solutions so far.

Bass and volume are palpable, detail and clarity are good. At 50%, the maximum volume was 85 decibels, and at 100% it was — 95 decibels! The average volume was 85 decibels! You can hear the incoming call clearly.

Cameras

The Apple iPhone 16e has only one module — it’s a 48MP wide-angle camera (ƒ/1.6; 1/2.55″ sensor size) with optical stabilization. What are the disadvantages of this solution? No: support for ultra-wide-angle photos (no second camera), Cinematic Mode, macro. That is, too many functions are lost without a second camera.

Here are examples of photos and videos. Photos in 1x mode (2x digital zoom) at 24 MP. You can see the original photosat the link. As you can see, the photos are good during the day. No need to worry.

Here are also examples of photos from the Apple iPhone 15. Can you see the difference? I don’t really. Even at night. And the iPhone 15 and iPhone 16 have the same main camera. Let’s say that this is more of a plus.

Video recording is supported at 4K/60fps. You don’t have to worry about video either.

The 12-megapixel (ƒ/1.9) front camera also takes good photos.

Productivity, software, and games

The Apple iPhone 16e is powered by the Apple A18 chip, a 3 nm hexa-core CPU (2 cores with a frequency of up to 4.04 GHz and four cores with a frequency of up to 2.2 GHz) with four GPU cores. The regular iPhone 16 has the same chip, but with five GPU cores. The memory comes in 8/128 GB (the variant under review), 8/256 GB, and 8/512 GB. The permanent memory is NVME. Interfaces and modules are represented by Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3, NFC, GPS, GLONASS, BDS, and GALILEO navigation services.

The processor is not one of the best and most powerful chips among Apple’s today. However, it will satisfy the needs of both a mobile gamer and support the system, as the 60 Hz display does not require much power to render the user interface.

According to benchmarks, it starts to trot after the first tests. In 3DMark, the drop was 33%. Trotting is not that high, but this is the price for high performance in smartphones.

Apple iPhone 16e runs on iOS version 18.3.1 and later. If you don’t intend to use Apple’s Word, Excel, and Powerpoint on your smartphone, uninstall the following apps: Pages, Numbers, Keynote, GarageBand (music), iMovie (video).

For those who like mobile gaming, I recorded fragments of Genshin Impact and Call of Duty: Warzone on maximum settings. I did not encounter any performance problems. But the smartphone was quite hot. More about Death Stranding in the User Experience section.

AI functions

Last year, to compete with Google, Apple introduced its new artificial intelligence under the «modest» name Apple Intelligence (AI). AI-supported smartphones included only the new 16 line, iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. With the release of the new iPhone 16e, Apple allowed to install AI on it as well. Let’s see what Apple Intelligence is in different tests.

But first, this AI needs to be enabled somehow. From the screenshots below, you can see that AI does not work with the Ukrainian language of the interface. This is not a big problem, so let’s change it to English and get the same error.

Interface language «English» is not the right one. I changed it to English (US) and it worked. AI started downloading the models it needed (5.88 GB)

But after downloading these models, the AI still showed the downloading message. Thinking that I had caught a bug, I decided to restart my smartphone. That was it, the problem was solved, and I could fully use Apple Intelligence.

Instructions for enabling Apple Intelligence:

• Go to Settings — General — Language and region — Add language — English (US);
• Wait 5-20 minutes for the models to load. If the text in Settings Apple Intelligence has not changed, restart the device.

Let’s start with simple image generation. To do this, click on the new Playground app. In it, you can create images based on text/voice description. An image is created, and I try to add text to it, but it is not added. Just some unknown error.

A new Devil May Cry anime is coming out soon, and I decided to generate a poster. The result is an error that the phrase «DMC Dante eat pizza» is written in an unknown language. I removed «DMC», wrote «piza», and the result is the same.

Conclusion on image generation — it works, but we don’t know how. Too early to present to the public.

In addition to generating images, the Photos app has added the «Erase» function. It works without the Internet or Apple Intelligence enabled. The feature allows you to select and delete unnecessary details in photos. Here’s an example: a photo with a flying «bird». Thanks to the camera, the pigeon turned out well, but we need to remove it.

We select the pigeon, wait a few seconds, and the pigeon disappears from the photo. It looks like it worked out pretty well. So I can say that it won’t be a problem to remove an object on a plain background. The real challenge will be removing it from a really complex background. In another photo, let’s try to remove a stone, and the result is much worse.

All that’s left is to talk to Apple Intelligence. I don’t know why, but for some reason, writing lyrics for AI is difficult. Let’s try to repeat the question: «Siri, write Ghost — Satanize lyrics». The AI turns on and cannot find the song because instead of «satanize», it hears «satelite». Click on the window on top and a keyboard appears, enter the query. Just like with Galaxy AI, Apple Intelligence wants to turn on the corresponding music app (in this case, Apple.Music), find the song and lyrics there. It’s quite logical, but I don’t have this subscription.

We did not give up and asked the same question again in a new request. And here is a surprise: Apple Intelligence turns on ChatGPT instead! We repeat the request, and it offers to click on the link (copyright prevents it from showing immediately in the window) with the required lyrics.

After several attempts at the same query, it became quite clear that AI was switching to ChatGPT to solve much more complex tasks. From now on, each iPhone will have three assistants: Siri, Apple Intelligence, and ChatGPT. By the way, for the latter, you can log in to your OpenAI account and use the paid subscription version inside your smartphone. Some people will find it interesting.

After checking all the AI functionality, I can only say one thing — too much «crude» software. Only the built-in ChatGPT shows something adequate.

Autonomy of the Apple iPhone 16e

The Apple iPhone 16e is equipped with a 4005 mAh battery. Compared to the iPhone 15/16 (3300/3500 mAh), we get a little longer battery life thanks to the larger battery. The smartphone has 20W fast charging, if you can call it that, and 7.5W wireless charging. From a 20W power supply, the iPhone 16e is 50% charged in 30 minutes. A full charge takes about 2 hours: up to 80% is charged at full power (20 W), and the next 80-100% at 5 WT.

There’s no PCMark test on iOS, so we’ll check the battery life in the game Death Stranding (no Wi-Fi/ESIM, Bluetooth connected to wireless headphones, minimum brightness) for one hour. Yes, this is a full load on the entire smartphone at once. After an hour of gaming, the battery lost 16% of its charge. It turns out that the iPhone 16e will be able to last about six hours in this game. If we increase the SIM costs and set the brightness to medium, then it should last four hours.

User experience

As a long-time Apple user (since the iPhone 6), I can assure you that this is the same iPhone you had before. Only the functionality with Apple Intelligence has been added, which requires the use of the English interface language, and the overall speed and responsiveness of the system has increased if you use the iPhone Xr or iPhone 11.

Of course, if you compare it to older iPhones, you’ll notice a difference in camera quality (12 MP vs. 24/48 MP). Yes, in low light, the iPhone 16e shoots the same 12 megapixels, but the photos are much better. It’s noticeable.

Death Stranding on iPhone. I wondered how best to test the battery life of the iPhone 16e. I decided to try Death Stranding because its results can be repeated (real-time rendering of scenes) and compared with other iPhones, iPads, and Macs.

What are my first impressions? The smartphone heats up quite a bit and the small display does not interfere with the meditative gameplay of the courier. But the touch controls leave much to be desired. The first thing I did was reduce the sensitivity of virtual sticks (from 50 to 30). I even added a dead zone (from 0 to 2). It’s much better, but I still have to tweak it because Sam always runs, not walks. So for now, the character is still crouching.

Overall, Death Stranding is an interesting game. Yes, the graphics are bland, and the gameplay is likely to become more boring over time. I hope that the maestro will continue to keep the bar high in terms of interest in the story.

The game first downloads about 35 GB for the Prologue. And then it starts downloading the game again for the next chapters. If the game weighs about 80 GB on a PC, then it will be about the same on smartphones/tablets. If you are going to play games of this level, you will have to buy a smartphone with 256 GB of memory.

Prices and competitors

Apple iPhone 16e price for 128 GB model for UAH 27499. If you need at least 256 GB, you need to invest 29999 UAH. If you want to have an official warranty or hand over an old iPhone for Trade-In, you will have to pay UAH 34999 for the 128 GB version and UAH 39999 for 256 GB.

The main competitor from Apple itself is the iPhone 16. It has another camera, a new touchscreen for Camera Control, a cutout in the Dynamic Island display, a bunch of modes for taking photos and videos, plus one video core in the processor, Wi-Fi 7, and more. And what colors… the price for 128 GB is UAH 33737and 256 GB — respectively UAH 43733. The official price is UAH 43999 (128 GB) and 48999 UAH (256 GB).

Otherwise, if the iPhone 16 doesn’t suit you for the price, then there is another option — iPhone 15. Yes, without Apple Intelligence, a year older processor, and minus 2 GB of RAM. But the camera and its modes, instead of «chuprina» Dynamic Island. Options: 128 GB (UAH 38499), 256 GB (UAH 43499).