The iPhone SE line is dead – yes, Apple’s much-popular compact series of iPhones has finally been discontinued, with the 2022 iPhone SE being the last of its kind. In its place is the new iPhone 16e, and while it still carries the “e” branding in its name there’s a lot of changes that it introduces this year, both on the inside and outside. With a price starting at £599 for the base version it’s definitely a lot more expensive than the iPhone SE 3 before it, but is it worth it though?
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Let’s take a look at the changes on the outside – gone is the signature home button that was used in several older iPhone models, and in its place is a full-screen display with a 6.1-inch screen size, although Apple has stuck to a 60Hz refresh rate. This means that there are no more large bezels on the top and bottom, although Apple has stock a notch in there. This is unsurprising, given that the 16e is meant to be a tier lower than the iPhone 15, which features the Dynamic Island as a “flagship” feature. Available in black and white, the 16e features the flat edges found on newer iPhone models, abandoning the rounded sides the debuted as far back as the iPhone 6 series.
Apple has also ditched the mute switch for the 16e, and in its place you get the action button that was introduced with the iPhone 15 Pro. Another change is the lightning port on the bottom, which has been replaced with a USB-C port for charging and data transfers. There’s no camera control button on here however, which again serves as a reminder that the 16e is in fact, a “cheaper” iPhone. MagSafe is likewise absent, which is a shame.
Inside, the iPhone 16e comes equipped with the A18 chip, the same processor found on the rest of the iPhone 16 series phones. There’s also 8GB of RAM, a much welcome upgrade from the measly memory configuration inside the SE 2022. It’s obvious that this new memory + chip configuration is designed to give 16e owners access to Apple’s AI features, which require such hardware in order to work. The 16e also features Apple’s first-ever in-house modem, which it dubs the C1. At this point it’s too early to tell how much of an impact it will have on battery performance, although Apple claims that the 16e can last for up to 10 more hours versus the 16, which is a pretty bold claim.
For cameras, you’re getting a single 48MP lens on the back which supports 2X zoom, something that was sorely lacking on the SE 2022. The front camera comes in at 12MP, and both come with Apple’s usual suite of camera software features, as well as video recording that maxes out at 4K resolution at 60fps. Other details include support for Spatial Audio, WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.3.
