An early benchmark of the iPhone 16e reveals that graphics efficiency, whereas good, falls barely wanting the iPhone 15 Professional. That is to be anticipated, provided that the brand new 16e makes use of a binned model of the A18 chipset.

Firms like Apple repeatedly make the most of chip binning to maximise manufacturing effectivity. It is a fairly easy concept—some chips will depart the meeting line with a non-functional half, a defect, or another downside. These chips aren’t “damaged,” so to talk, they only fall beneath the producer’s spec. So, as a substitute of throwing these chips within the trash, producers hunt for ways in which they could be repurposed.

Apple made a ton of A18 chips for the iPhone 16 sequence. A few of these chips have been imperfect, in order that they have been put aside for the price range iPhone 16e handset. And, actually, the distinction between these binned and not-binned A18 chips may be very gentle. The iPhone 16e has the identical 6-core CPU rely as the usual iPhone 16, and it runs on 8GB of RAM, it is simply lacking a GPU core. We’re speaking 4 GPU cores as a substitute of 5.

A Geekbench 6 Steel benchmark, noticed by MySmartPrice, offers us an honest concept of how this binning will affect the iPhone 16e’s graphics efficiency. Geekbench clocked the iPhone 16e at a Steel rating of 24,188. This rating is roughly 13.5% decrease than that of the usual iPhone 16. The truth is, after we examine the iPhone 16e’s Steel rating to previous iPhone benchmark tests, it slots someplace between the iPhone 15 Professional (27,283) and the usual iPhone 15 (22,767). Actual-world efficiency could differ from what’s within the benchmarks, however this is kind of what we anticipated from the binned A18 chip.

This is the factor; the A18 is an extremely highly effective chipset. It is extra highly effective than the M1 desktop processor in my 2020 MacBook Air. Eradicating a single GPU core may have nearly no noticeable affect on on a regular basis duties, full cease. It is like arguing the distinction between two generations of smartphones—like, actually, the iPhone 16e’s Steel rating is simply barely worse than that of the iPhone 15 Professional.

The common particular person ought to disregard any hand-wringing about graphics efficiency. It is a new iPhone, it is superb. The iPhone 16e’s truncated digital camera rely, lack of MagSafe charging, and comparatively excessive price ticket are far larger and extra sensible issues than the binned GPU.

Clearly, hardcore cell players are the exception. The iPhone 16e is highly effective sufficient for Loss of life Stranding and different AAA video games which were ported to iOS. It even helps hardware-accelerated ray tracing, nevertheless it ain’t essentially the most highly effective cellphone in Apple’s lineup. In case you intend on enjoying lots of AAA video games, final 12 months’s iPhone 15 Pro is the very best cut price possibility, because it successfully matches the iPhone 16’s graphics efficiency however solely prices about $650, relying on the place you purchase it. A service trade-in deal will push the price even decrease, after all.

I am morally compelled to say that AAA video games in Apple’s App Retailer are very costly. In case you’re on a price range and cell gaming is mostly a precedence for you, perhaps you can purchase an inexpensive iPhone 14 and a Steam Deck. Simply sayin’.

Pre-orders for the iPhone 16e are open today. The cellphone prices $600 earlier than trade-in reductions or different promotions. Personally, I might purchase the iPhone 15 Pro, which is about the identical worth because the iPhone 16e.

Supply: MySmartPrice through MacRumors