Apple has finally launched the brand new iPhone 16e after months of intense rumors and leaks, and it turns out the new iPhone 16e is a fairly massive upgrade over its outgoing predecessor — the iPhone SE 3. So, if you’re curious what the new iPhone 16e brings as compared to the rather outdated iPhone SE 3, here is our detailed iPhone 16e vs iPhone SE 3 comparison.
iPhone 16e vs iPhone SE 3: Specifications
| Specs | iPhone 16e | iPhone SE 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Display | 6.1-inch, Super Retina XDR OLED | 4.7-inch, Retina LCD, 1334×750 pixels, 326ppi, 625 nits |
| Dimensions | 146.7 x 71.5 x 7.8 mm | 138.4 x 67.3 x 7.3 mm |
| Processor | A18 | A15 Bionic |
| RAM | 8GB | 4GB |
| Storage | 128GB, 256GB, 512GB | 64GB, 128GB, 256GB |
| Rear Camera | 48MP | 12MP, f/1.8 aperture, 5x digital zoom |
| Front Camera | 12MP True Depth camera | 7MP, f/2.2 aperture, |
| Video | Up to 4K at 60FPS | Up to 4K at 60FPS |
| Battery | 26 hours of video playback | 2018 mAh |
| Connectivity | Dual eSIM, 5G, WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.3 | Dual SIM with eSIM support, 5G NR, WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.0 |
| Software | iOS 18 | iOS 18 |
| Price | $599 | $429 |
iPhone 16e vs iPhone SE 3: Design and Build
The first major change we can see with the iPhone 16e is the design — Apple has finally gotten rid of the outdated iPhone 8-like design with the chunky bezels and the Touch ID-enabled home button, and has brought in a design that’s more modern, albeit only slightly.
The iPhone 16e brings a design that’s similar to the iPhone 14, which means slimmer bezels, and a notch for the Face ID sensors. That, of course, also means that the new iPhone 16e has removed Touch ID, and Face ID is now standard across the iPhone lineup. I know a lot of us were hoping for Dynamic Island, but that unfortunately, was not to be — and it makes sense, because Apple will obviously keep noticeable differences between the budget iPhone and the flagship iPhone lineup.
This is a major improvement over the design of the iPhone SE 3 which looks basically like an iPhone 8, and therefore, very outdated in today’s day and age of thin bezels and big displays.
The iPhone 16e also brings the Action button, similar to the flagship iPhones, but the Camera Control did not make an appearance on the newest budget iPhone. Plus, the iPhone 16e also removed the Lightning port in favor of the USB Type-C port, however, it’s still the slower USB-C port. This isn’t exactly surprising, but it’s still disappointing.
iPhone 16e vs iPhone SE 3: Cameras
In terms of cameras, the visual aspect remains the same. The iPhone SE 3 came with a single rear camera, and the iPhone 16e also comes with a single rear camera. This means that the rear of both the phones look quite similar, as far as the number of cameras are concerned.
However, the iPhone 16e does upgrade the single rear camera this time around. While the iPhone SE 3 comes with a 12MP camera on the rear, the iPhone 16e brings the new 48MP camera that has become standard across the iPhone lineup.
This means you can expect much better photos from the iPhone 16e as compared to the iPhone SE 3. Plus, thanks to the 48MP sensor, the iPhone 16e also gets the cropped 2X zoom feature that imitates a 2X optical zoom by cropping into the sensor to get a close up shot without digitally zooming into the frame.
On the front, the iPhone 16e is equipped with a 12MP TrueDepth camera, complete with all the sensors and hardware required for Face ID. This essentially means better selfies, and a noticeable upgrade over the 7MP selfie camera on the outgoing iPhone SE 3.
Overall, the iPhone 16e camera system seems to be a pretty solid upgrade over the iPhone SE 3, and should bring fairly good camera performance to a wider audience thanks to its lower entry price.
iPhone 16e vs iPhone SE 3: Display
The brand new iPhone 16e brings in a massive upgrade on the display front as well. Gone is the Retina LCD display of the iPhone SE 3 — the iPhone 16e comes with a Super Retina XDR OLED display.
However, OLED is the only real upgrade on the display front, because the iPhone 16e still retains the 60Hz refresh rate of the iPhone SE 3, and the brightness numbers aren’t too high either at just around 1200 nits peak brightness.
The screen size is upgraded too. The iPhone 16e gets a 6.1-inch screen as compared to the tiny 4.7-inch display on the iPhone SE 3. That also means that the iPhone 16e is one of the smallest phones in the Apple lineup, since the iPhone 16 series has 6.3 and 6.9 inch displays now.
iPhone 16e vs iPhone SE 3: Performance
Another major upgrade on the iPhone 16e comes in the form of the performance capabilities. The iPhone SE 3 had an aging A15 Bionic processor, but the iPhone 16e comes with the latest A18 chip built on the 3nm process. Plus, it’s paired with 8GB of RAM.
This massive upgrade is due to the simple fact that Apple’s push into AI requires the iPhone 16e to support Apple Intelligence as well, and the A18 along with 8GB RAM is required to get Apple Intelligence to run reliably on the new iPhone 16e.
The A18 also means that the iPhone 16e is a future-proof device and should get plenty of software updates, at least as many as the iPhone 16 series is likely to get. The iPhone SE 3, with its A15 Bionic is also getting the iOS 18 update, by the way, however, you won’t get any AI features on the 2022 iPhone SE.
Judging by the performance we’ve seen from the A18 on the iPhone 16 series, we can reliably assume that the iPhone 16e performance will be at par with the iPhone 16 series, which is wonderful news for those on the fence about buying the iPhone 16e.
You also get 128GB of base storage this time around, as compared to the 64GB base storage option on the iPhone SE 3. This is great because 64GB is definitely not enough storage for phones in 2025, and having a higher capacity base version does sweeten the deal even more in favor of the iPhone 16e.
Overall, the iPhone 16e brings a pretty major performance upgrade over the iPhone SE 3.
iPhone 16e vs iPhone SE 3: Battery and Charging
The iPhone 16e also brings upgrades on the battery front. Apple famously doesn’t reveal it’s battery capacities, and only talks about battery improvements in terms of video and audio playback times. However, the larger iPhone 16e does have a bigger battery than the 2018mAh battery on the iPhone SE 3.
Pair that with the much more efficient A18 and its 3nm fabrication process, and you get a much better battery life on the iPhone 16e.
As per Apple, the new iPhone 16e will last upto 12 hours longer in daily use as compared to the iPhone SE 3, and upto 6 hours longer than the iPhone 11 — that’s a fairly good number, even though these aren’t based on actual usage and we can only really talk about the actual battery life once we’ve had a chance to test the iPhone 16e.
But yes, it should be a pretty massive improvement in battery life as compared to the iPhone SE 3.
Plus, the new iPhone 16e also supports 20W fast wired charging, which is standard across the iPhone lineup. You also get wireless charging with the iPhone 16e, but it doesn’t come with MagSafe support, which is something we were expecting. That puts it in-line with the iPhone SE 3, which also supported Qi wireless charging.
iPhone 16e vs iPhone SE 3: A Worthy Upgrade?
A three year gap between the iPhone SE 3 and the iPhone 16e means that there are massive ugprades across the board on the iPhone 16e. You get a much better design, although not the Dynamic Island. You get a bigger, better Retina XDR OLED display, a bigger battery, flagship level performance with the A18 and 8GB RAM, and improved cameras on both sides — a 48MP camera on the rear, and a 12MP TrueDepth camera on the front.
All of this means that when compared to the iPhone SE 3, the new iPhone 16e is a definite upgrade, and well worth the price tag of $599 that Apple has placed on the newest, budget iPhone. The pricing is, considerably higher than the $429 price tag that the 2022 iPhone SE 3 launched at, but for those extra $170, you get the iPhone 16 series chipset, cameras, and an iPhone 14-like display, complete with Face ID support. Add to that the fact that this phone should get updates until the iPhone 16 series gets updates, and you have a pretty solid deal at $599 — one that will definitely convert into huge sales numbers for the Cupertino giant.
So what do you think about the iPhone 16e? Do you think it’s worthy of an upgrade? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
