What is the difference between an iPhone 16 and an iPhone 16e?

The most significant difference between the iPhone 16 and the iPhone 16e for many people will be the price. The iPhone 16 is £200 more expensive than the iPhone 16e. So what compromises do you have to accept if you choose an iPhone 16e? The phones have very similar specifications and many buyers will probably be happy with the slightly reduced features of the iPhone 16e especially blind and low vision users who don't need the ultimate in graphical games performance or the latest camera features.

Here's a list of the main differences.

The iPhone 16e is available only in two colours white or black. The iPhone 16 is available in 5 colours.

The iPhone 16 has a 5 core Graphics Processing Unit. The iPhone 16e has a 4 core GPU. The iPhone 16 should have better, smoother, graphics performance for games players.

The iPhone 16 has the newly-introduced camera control button and the iPhone 16e doesn't have this button. Initial user reaction to the new button, which gives quick access to some camera features, has been mixed but it may be helpful for blind photographers who use VoiceOver. I have no personal experience yet of using this button in conjunction with VoiceOver. We've certainly managed without the camera control button for many years!

The iPhone 16 has a dual camera system with better zoom capabilities - a 48 megapixel main camera and a 12 megapixel wide angle camera. The iPhone 16e doesn't have the wide angle camera. Instead it has a single, "2 in 1", 48 megapixel main camera that offers 2 times cropped zoom. Both the iPhone 16 and 16e produce what Apple calls super high resolution photos at both 24 and 48 megapixels. Both phones will provide high resolution images for analysis by apps like SeeingAI and Be My Eyes. The iPhone 16e doesn't have a macro feature for close-up photos but I doubt that will be an issue for blind users. Low vision users may have uses for macro photography. I have used SeeingAI on an iPhone 16e and was pleasantly surprised to discover that the app could speak text accurately even when I held the phone very close to the text. I wouldn't normally advocate holding the phone so close, but it was interesting that the lack of the macro feature didn't seem to cause a problem here.

The iPhone 16 has a more advanced portrait mode for photos than the iPhone 16e. Only the iPhone 16 can shoot spatial videos for viewing on Apple's Vision Pro.

The iPhone 16 has the latest version of photo styles and the iPhone 16e has an earlier version.

The dynamic island is present only in the iPhone 16. This is an area near top centre of the screen which can display time sensitive alerts from some apps and some Apple alerts. It's called dynamic because its shape is adjusted to fit the current alert. On the iPhone 16e these alerts will turn up as notifications or bannes. I have dynamic island on my iPhone 15 Pro and haven't found it very useful. Others may disagree but it's certainly not essential.

Due to the improved power management of the new Apple C1 modem chip in the iPhone 16e, the less expensive phone has a longer battery life than the iPhone 16. Apple quote up to 22 hours of video playback for the iPhone 16 and up to 26 hours of video playback for the iPhone 16e. It's worth noting, though, that this is the first phone ever to use Apple's C1 modem chip. The modem is what connets your phone to the mobile network. Apple have tested the C1 rigorously but it wouldn't be astonishing if there are some initial issues. If there are initial issues I'm sure Apple will move fast to deal with them.

The iPhone 16e has an earlier version of Apple's ceramic shield front. Both phones are described as "tougher than any smartphone glass".

Both phones can be charged using the supplied USB-C cable and an Apple charging plug which could be the charging choice of many owners. Additionally, the iPhone 16 supports Apple's MagSafe wireless charging system in which a circular charging pad is held firmly in the correct position on the back of the phone by magnets. The iPhone 16e supports a system called Qi wireless charging which doesn't have MagSafe's automatic magnetic alignment and is also lower power. An iPhone 16 can charge at a power of up to 25W using MagSafe but the maximum charging wattage with Qi on the iPhone 16e is 7.5W. Wireless charging of the 16e will be significantly slower than wireless charging on the iPhone 16. Cases are now available which permit an iPhone 16e to be charged using an Apple MagSafe charger. An example is MagFit cases from Spigen. Note that Apple states "When charging a non-MagSafe Qi-compatible device with a MagSafe Charger, power is reduced and charge times may be slower than on a typical Qi charger."  This probably isn't a big issue but I haven't read any reviews yet. It certainly shouldn't be your choice if you need fast charging. Wireless charging, which just means charging without having to plug a cable into the phone, can be convenient, especially with MagSafe's automatic alignment,  but it's definitely not essential.

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