The new iPhone was revealed at Apple's latest even, which was held on February 19th 2025. It wasn't exactly a shock release; the new phone had been expected for a long time, but still, like Apple does best... there were a couple of additions and features to the phone we weren't expecting. So, let's have a look at what this new iPhone 16e is and see if it's worth switching.
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Is the iPhone 16e the new iPhone SE?
The iPhone 16e is the budget edition of the new iPhone 16 range. You may recognise its nickname/codename, the iPhone SE 4. And that's because lots of fans believed the phone was going to join the classic SE range, not the 16 range. And with it being 3 years since the iPhone SE 2022 was released, we were all surprised by the nae change. There were lots of talk in early 2025 of Apple marketing their upcoming budget phone as an iPhone 16, but we were still surprised.
- iPhone SE 3 - March 2022
- iPhone SE 2 - April 2020
- iPhone SE - March 2016
What is different about the iPhone 16e?
So let's look at the basic facts about the iPhone 16e. Remember, its release date is February 28th, so we're only basing our current information on the Apple official website.
The 16e is identical to the 16. It has the same 6.1" super retina XDR OLED screen , and the True Tone and Haptic Touch features. The budget model has a couple of benefits compared to the 16 model. Its video playback has increased from 22 hours on the classic iPhone 16 to over 26 hours! Even better? As we said, it's a budget phone, so the phone is a lot cheaper. Marketed at £599 instead of the iPhone 16s £800 price tag.
However, there are a couple of features the 16e doesn't have, like MagSafe compatibility, wireless charging options, camera control and dynamic island. But with this phone being so much cheaper, it's no surprise some big features would be removed.
iPhone 16 features:
- Apple AI (Writing tools, priority mail messages, summary transcripts and more)
- A18 latest Apple chipset
- Up to 26 hours of video playback
- 48MP fusion camera
- Dolby Vision 4K video quality
- iOS18 compatible
- Available in elegant white and black
- Made from durable aerospace-grade aluminium
- Ceramic shield front screen protection
- Action button
- USB-C charging port
- FaceID
Does the iPhone 16e have a home button?
By far the biggest surprise of the iPhone 16e is that there's a lack of the home button. For the previous SE models, this home button was crucial, and we all expected to see it in the 16e. The last phone to adopt the home button was the iPhone SE 3 in 2022, now there are no actively made iPhones that offer the button. And this is the only feature we're slightly disappointed with.
In our previous blog, What Is The Apple SE 4, we mentioned that Apple should keep their iconic home button on the iPhone 16e. Although it's great to modernise the phone, the home button is considered 'unique' because so many other tech companies have ditched the button too. Because the SE models were aimed at people who aren't as reliant on tech, taking this home button off could make the phone harder to use for some people. The 16e may be part of the 16 series but it's still a budget version, the home button would've been great to include.
This is, however, the only fault we have with the phone. Whilst it's a big factor that's been removed, as long as the phone still works great we won't have any complaints.
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Conclusion:
Overall, we're very happy with this new smartphone. It's great it's got such a close release window too, and the differences in this phone compared to the SE 3 are big. Sometimes Apple disappoint us with their lack of change in their new phones, but the 16e is a fresh update to the iPhone scene and we hope it's as big a success on its official release day.
