Hardware The iPhone 16e incorporates the Apple A18
system on a chip (SoC) with 4-core GPU. It is available in three internal storage configurations: 128 GB, 256 GB, and 512 GB. It has 8 GB of RAM, twice that of the third-generation iPhone SE's 4 GB of RAM. The iPhone 16e also has an
IP68 rating for dust and water resistance. The iPhone 16e also features an Apple-designed
modem, the
Apple C1, instead of the
Qualcomm modem found in all iPhone models since the
iPhone 12 and including the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro. However, this resulted in the iPhone 16e not supporting
mmWave 5G, unlike its flagship counterparts. Like the previous
SE models, the iPhone 16e lacks the
ultra-wideband features enabled by the
U2 chip which is found in other iPhone models since the
iPhone 11. The iPhone 16e International model has Nano-SIM + eSIM + eSIM support, whereas the US model is eSIM only and the Chinese model does not have any eSIM support. The iPhone 16e has been designed with a USB-C port rather than the older and proprietary Lightning port. However, the iPhone 16e's USB-C port does not support
DisplayPort video output. Like the iPhone 15 Pro and all models of the iPhone 16 and 17 series, the iPhone 16e features the action button replacing the mute switch. Unlike the standard iPhone 16 and 16 Pro, the iPhone 16e lacks the Camera Control, so Visual Intelligence can only be triggered using the Action Button, or with the default button in the Control Centre.
Display The iPhone 16e features a
Super Retina XDR display, using an
OLED panel rather than the iPhone SE line's
LCD. The display has a resolution of pixels, with a diagonal size of and a pixel density of 460 PPI. It can play
HDR10 and
Dolby Vision content. The display panel is identical to the one found on the iPhone 14 and is cross-compatible. Unlike the other models of the iPhone 16 series, the iPhone 16e maintains the notch (a narrower notch design found on the
iPhone 13,
iPhone 13 Pro and
iPhone 14, first introduced with the
iPhone X in 2017) instead of the Dynamic Island (first introduced with the
iPhone 14 Pro in 2022).
Camera The iPhone 16e has a 2-in-1 rear 48 MP Fusion camera with a single lens. Like the
iPhone 15 and
iPhone 16, it has optical-quality zoom in up to 2x, done by cropping a portion of the sensor. It is capable of recording
4K video at 24, 25, 30, or 60 fps, 1080p HD video at 25, 30 or 60 fps, or 720p HD video at 30 fps. The camera has an aperture of f/1.6,
autofocus,
optical image stabilization, and a dual-LED True Tone flash. The front camera is a 12 MP TrueDepth module with an
aperture of f/1.9 and autofocus, capable of shooting
4K video at 25, 30 or 60 fps and slow-motion video at 120 fps. The iPhone 16e adds several camera functions enabled by the A18 with 4-core GPU (an entry-level successor to the
A15 Bionic with 4-core GPU). Like the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro, the rear camera supports Smart HDR 5, spatial audio recording, wind noise reduction, audio zoom and audio mix. Both the front and rear cameras of the iPhone 16e support Portrait mode and Portrait Lighting. However, the 16e's implementation of Portrait mode only supports human faces and lacks an option to change the focus point. Like the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro, Portrait mode has depth control and an advanced
bokeh effect (blurring effect of the
out-of-focus background around the portrait). The iPhone 16e supports Photonic Engine, Deep Fusion, Photographic Styles, and Night Mode but lacks some features such as Cinematic Mode and Action Mode.
Battery and charging The iPhone 16e has a video playback duration up to 26 hours and an audio playback duration up to 90 hours. Unlike other models in the family, the iPhone 16e does not have
MagSafe connectivity. However, the iPhone still supports standard wireless charging up to 7.5 W, via the
Qi standard.
Software The iPhone 16e was originally supplied with
iOS 18.3 for release on February 28, 2025, with a day one update available to iOS 18.3.1. It also supports
iOS 26. Like both the
iPhone 16 and
iPhone 16 Pro, the iPhone 16e supports
Apple Intelligence. == Reception ==