After more than two years, the iPhone SE series finally got its successor—a fresh model with a new name and hardware. Apple took the wraps off the iPhone 16e, (yes, that's what Apple is calling the fourth-generation iPhone SE). According to Apple, the new naming scheme is intended to position the iPhone 16e as a part of the iPhone 16 family.
The phone comes with all the bells and whistles that the previous SE models lacked. It comes with the powerful A18 chipset with Apple Intelligence support, Apple's first in-house C1 modem, an Action Button, a notch, an OLED display, and a 2-in-1 camera system.
The 2-in-1 camera system is a single 48MP primary camera, taken straight from the base iPhone 16, which features both Night and Portrait modes. Thanks to a much higher resolution camera than previous models, the iPhone 16e can crop into images to capture the equivalent of a 2x telephoto shot.
The camera can now also record 4K@60fps with spatial audio support. While the camera is highly capable, it still misses out on a few key iPhone 16 camera features. For instance, the iPhone 16e doesn't feature the Photographic Styles feature, which is available across the rest of the iPhone 16 lineup.
Despite having the same resolution camera and the A18 chipset, the iPhone 16e misses out on the latest Photographic Styles. According to Apple's official comparison page, all iPhone 16 models—except for the iPhone 16e—support the latest version of Photographic Styles. However, the good news is that the iPhone 16e does support Photographic Styles, though it is likely the old version of the feature introduced with the iPhone 13.
With the iPhone 16, Apple introduced a new version of the Photographic Styles feature and added several upgrades to the original version. The new version allows users to edit these styles at their convenience after taking the photo.
Additionally, the iPhone 16e's camera also doesn't support Focus Control, Cinematic Mode, and Action Mode features. On the front as well, despite the phone featuring the same 12MP selfie camera as the iPhone 16, the iPhone 16e doesn't support Cinematic mode, Depth Control for Portrait shots, or the latest Photographic Styles.
Of course, the iPhone 16e starts at $599 compared to the iPhone 16's $799 price tag, but do you think these trade-offs are worth it? Let us know in the comments below.
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