Photo: Jakub CA / CC BY 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons · source
iPhone 16e
Face ID, Apple Intelligence and USB-C at a lower price.
Overview
The 16e ended the SE series and the home button along with it. It borrowed the body of the iPhone 14 with a notch and 6.1-inch OLED, but supplied it with the A18 chip and 8GB of RAM so that it could run Apple Intelligence. The Action button replaced the mute switch, and USB-C was fitted.
It was the first iPhone with Apple's own C1 cellular modem, built to be power efficient, and that helped deliver up to 26 hours of video playback. A single 48-megapixel Fusion camera with a 2x telephoto crop took photos that looked a lot like those from the dual-lens iPhone 16.
Compromises included no MagSafe, which limited wireless charging to Qi at 7.5W, no Dynamic Island, a 60 Hz screen and Wi-Fi 6. It started at $599 for 128GB and went on sale in late February 2025. It left the Apple Store when the iPhone 17e arrived in March 2026.
Why it mattered
It was the first iPhone with Apple's own modem and ended the home-button era of the iPhone SE.
At a glance
- Announced
- February 19, 2025
- Released
- February 28, 2025
- Discontinued
- March 2, 2026
- Launch price
- $599
- Chip
- Apple A18
- Display
- 6.1"
- Storage
- 128GB, 256GB, 512GB
- Status
- Discontinued
Highlights
- A18 chip with Apple Intelligence
- First Apple-designed C1 modem
- 48MP Fusion camera with 2x crop
- USB-C and Action button
- Up to 26 hours of video playback
Tech specs
Specifications as published at launch. Some values (like battery life) are manufacturer estimates.
Display
- Size
- 6.1-inch
- Type
- Super Retina XDR OLED, HDR10, True Tone
- Resolution
- 2532 x 1170 pixels (460 ppi)
- Refresh rate
- 60 Hz
- Brightness
- 800 nits typical, 1,200 nits peak (HDR)
Chip
- Chip
- Apple A18 (3nm, six-core CPU)
- GPU
- 4-core
- Neural Engine
- 16-core
Memory
- RAM
- 8GB
- Storage options
- 128GB, 256GB, 512GB
Camera
- Rear cameras
- 48MP Fusion wide, f/1.6, with 2x telephoto crop
- Front camera
- 12MP TrueDepth, f/1.9 with autofocus
- Video recording
- 4K Dolby Vision HDR at up to 60 fps; 1080p slo-mo at 240 fps
Battery
- Video playback
- Up to 26 hours
- Charging
- USB-C, Qi wireless up to 7.5W
- Capacity
- 4005 mAh
Connectivity
- Cellular
- 5G (sub-6 GHz) with Apple C1 modem, Gigabit LTE
- Wi-Fi
- Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax)
- Connector
- USB-C (USB 2, up to 480 Mb/s)
- Bluetooth
- Bluetooth 5.3
- SIM
- eSIM in the US; nano-SIM options in some markets
- Satellite
- Emergency SOS and Roadside Assistance via satellite
Design
- Dimensions
- 146.7 x 71.5 x 7.8 mm
- Weight
- 167 g
- Materials
- Aluminum frame, Ceramic Shield front, glass back
- Water resistance
- IP68 (up to 6 m for 30 minutes)
Security
- Authentication
- Face ID (TrueDepth camera)
Software
- Launch OS
- iOS 18.3
