Abstract

• The iPhone 16e options an OLED display, the A18 chipset that helps Apple Intelligence, and different enhancements to battery life and digital camera.
• The iPhone SE 3, then again, is the final iPhone with the long-lasting “Residence button” look although it lags trendy choices with its growing old chip and digital camera.
• On condition that Apple has lastly launched a brand new “inexpensive” iPhone after three years, the iPhone 16e is a extra compelling choice for anybody buying new in 2025.

Although they do not belong to the identical lineup, the iPhone 16e and the iPhone SE 3 share the philosophy of being “inexpensive” iPhones with all the essential options. Let’s have a look at how three years of evolution have impacted the iPhone 16e.

iPhone 16e Does not Look Just like the iPhone SE 3 (At All)

With the broad brow and chin bezel, the Home Button at the bottom, and a round digital camera cutout on the again, the 2022 iPhone SE had an iconic look that Apple cherished for nearly a decade. Nonetheless, the iPhone 16e seems to be nothing prefer it.

Apple’s iPhone 16e seems to be like an iPhone 14 slapped on high of the iPhone SE. The ‘e’ variant borrows its edge-to-edge display (with a notch on the high) from the iPhone 14 and its glass again (with the digital camera cutout) from the iPhone SE.

Within the late 2010s, the iPhone SE was thought of a compact smartphone. Nonetheless, as producers began equipping their handsets with massive screens, the definition of ‘compact’ modified. Right now, the baseline iPhone 16, with a 6.1-inch display, is known as a compact flagship.

Therefore, regardless that the iPhone 16e is considerably taller, wider, and thicker than the iPhone SE 3, it belongs to the identical class of compact, easy-to-hold smartphones better suited for one-handed usage in 2025. And sure, the iPhone 16e weighs 23 grams greater than the iPhone SE 3.

Whereas the iPhone SE 3 had an alert slider, the iPhone 16e sports the programmable Action Button. The previous was out there in three colours, pink, white, and black, however the latter solely in black and white finishes. The IP score has additionally gone up from IP67 on the SE to IP68 (as much as 6m for half-hour) on the 16e.

Although each telephones have an aluminum body and glass again, the iPhone 16e options Ceramic Shield glass on the entrance, which is extra sturdy than the ion-strengthened glass on the iPhone SE 3.

iPhone 16e’s Display Is Greater, Brighter, and Higher

The iPhone 16e has a 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR OLED screen with a sharper decision of 2532 x 1170 pixels (460 ppi) and the next peak brightness of 1,200 nits.

This can be a monumental development over the iPhone 2022 iPhone SE’s 4.7-inch Retina HD IPS screen that had a decision of 1334 x 750 pixels (326 ppi) and supported a peak brightness of 625 nits.

Whereas the iPhone SE’s display had a contrast ratio of 1400:1, the iPhone 16e raises it to 2,000,000:1. The brand new iPhone’s show can produce noticeably deeper blacks, enhanced dynamic range, and a greater visible expertise.

On the high of the iPhone 16’s display is a notch that homes the Face ID sensors; that is a primary for an affordable iPhone mannequin, too. Sadly, the Residence Button with Touch ID is gone.

A18 vs. A15 Bionic: Apple’s Favourite Comparability

Apple has a behavior of evaluating a new iPhone or MacBook chip with a two- or three-year-old model, because it inflates the relative efficiency positive aspects. This 12 months, nevertheless, we’ll evaluate the A18 chip on the iPhone 16e to the A15 Bionic chip on the iPhone SE 3.

It does not matter the place we begin, because the iPhone 16e is leaps and bounds forward of the 2022 iPhone SE. Not solely is the 4.05GHz CPU on the A18 substantially more powerful than the three.23GHz CPU on the A15 Bionic, it’s primarily based on the extra environment friendly 3nm fabrication know-how (versus 5nm).

Each chips function a quad-core GPU, however the one on the iPhone 16e can deal with AAA video games with hardware-accelerated ray tracing for extra lifelike lights and reflections. The 16-core Neural Engine on the A18 can deal with all of the GenAI options the corporate calls Apple Intelligence.

With a succesful chipset, the iPhone 16e features 8GB of memory, twice that of the iPhone SE 3. Whereas the previous has 128GB of storage on the baseline variant, the latter began with a 64GB variant. For all intents and functions, the iPhone 16e’s efficiency is nearer to that of the iPhone 16 than that of the 2022 iPhone SE.

Relating to software program help, the 2022 iPhone SE obtained the iOS 18 update in September 2024 (with out the Apple Intelligence options) and can proceed receiving software program help for a number of extra years. This is not a query for the iPhone 16e, because it runs on iOS 18 out of the field.

iPhone 16e Will get a 48MP Main Digicam

The iPhone SE 3 had a 12MP (f/1.8, OIS) back camera that captured respectable photographs and 4K 60 fps video. It additionally supplied options like portrait mode with depth management, Photographic Kinds, QuickTake Video, and stereo audio recording; fairly commonplace stuff. On the entrance, the telephone had a 7MP (f/2.2) selfie shooter, which might document 1080p video at 30 fps.

The iPhone 16e will get a 48MP (f/1.6, OIS) back camera sensor from the iPhone 16, which might seize way more element. It additionally will get options like 2x lossless zoom, night time mode, 4K Dolby Vision recording (as much as 60 fps), Spatial Audio recording, wind noise discount, and Audio Combine. The 12MP (f/1.9) selfie digital camera helps autofocus and might document 4K Dolby Imaginative and prescient movies.

Battery Life Will get a Enormous Improve as Properly

Whereas the iPhone SE 3 can last as long as 15 hours of offline video playback, the iPhone 16e can last as long as 26 hours, a 73% improve. In the case of streaming videos, the iPhone 16e can present as much as 21 hours of playback, greater than twice that of the iPhone SE (10 hours).

That is potential resulting from a bigger bodily battery and a extra environment friendly processor. Each telephones may be charged as much as 50% in half-hour with a 20W adapter (or increased). Relating to wi-fi charging, a Qi-certified charger ought to work for each telephones.

Apple Debuts Its First In-Home Modem With the iPhone 16e

For the primary time for the reason that iPhone’s inception, the iPhone 16e options an in-house 5G mobile chip: the C1 modem (4nm baseband). This can be a big deal, provided that the corporate has been engaged on creating a steady modem for six years (because it acquired Intel’s smartphone modem division in 2019).

In accordance with Apple, it’s the most power-efficient modem on an iPhone (ever), which is why the iPhone 16e guarantees an exceptional battery life (longer than the iPhone 16). Additional, the modem offers “quick and dependable 5G mobile connectivity.” Though Apple will need to have carried out thorough testing, I am excited (and a bit nervous) to see how the modem performs in actual life.

The iPhone SE 3, then again, options the Qualcomm X60M modem (5nm baseband), just like that on the iPhone 13. I’ve used an iPhone 13 for over two years, and I can not bear in mind dealing with any network-related points (besides when there have been outages from the service supplier’s finish).

Each iPhones help sub-6GHz 5G (4×4 MIMO on the iPhone 16e vs. 2×2 MIMO on the iPhone SE 3), Wi-Fi 6, GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, and BeiDou. The newer iPhone has Bluetooth v5.3, versus Bluetooth v5.0 on the older variant. It additionally has the Emergency SOS via satellite function and the second-generation ultra-wideband chip for Precision Discovering by way of the Discover My community.

A draw back for some customers might be the absence of mmWave connectivity on the iPhone 16e, however the iPhone SE 3 did not help it both. Coming to a different main change, the brand new iPhone will get a USB-C port instead of the Lightning port on the SE (nevertheless it nonetheless maxes out at 480 Mbps).

iPhone 16e Prices $120 Extra Than the Equal iPhone SE 3

Apple has launched the iPhone 16e at $599 for the baseline variant with 128GB of storage. Presently up for pre-orders, the iPhone will hit shops beginning February 28, 2025.

The iPhone SE 3, then again, arrived at $429 for the baseline variant with 64GB of storage, whereas the 128GB variant went for $479. The iPhone 16e is $120 dearer than the iPhone SE 3’s 128GB variant.

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Apple is demanding a premium for the iPhone 16e, and I imagine the premium is justified. For an extra $120 over the iPhone SE 3, the iPhone 16e gives an even bigger and brighter display, a lot better efficiency, image high quality, battery life, and USB-C connectivity. It additionally seems to be and appears like a recent iPhone.

The iPhone SE 3 does not make plenty of sense in 2025, and Apple has stopped promoting it. However if you happen to nonetheless need an iPhone SE 3, you will must hunt one down at a third-party retailer for a reduced value.