With the launch of the iPhone 16e, Apple discontinued the iPhone 14 and SE 3 as anticipated. Upon studying that the brand new entry-level iPhone now begins at a staggering $599 (up from $429), I used to be sure Apple would low cost the iPhone 15 to round $499—successfully changing the SE mannequin for budget-conscious patrons. Boy, was I mistaken. As an alternative, Apple has the braveness to maintain promoting the iPhone 15 on the similar $699 value. It is unnecessary.
What’s the identical: The iPhone 15 and 16e share many specs
From afar, the iPhone 16e could appear a bit dated in comparison with the iPhone 15. It’s tainted by the controversial notch, packs a single rear digital camera, and prices $100 much less. In actuality, each telephones share many inner specs and the identical foremost set of options customers usually anticipate—together with the common USB-C connector.
Regardless of being cheaper than the iPhone 15, the all-new 16e mannequin provides an identical 6.1-inch Tremendous Retina XDR show, letting you eat crisp media and look at true black ranges. The 2 iPhones are additionally constructed from aluminum and glass, boasting the identical IP68 ranking for water and mud resistance. So, when it comes to sturdiness and on a regular basis scrolling, the iPhone 15 and 16e are basically comparable.
Given how outdated the iPhone SE 3’s rear digital camera is, the 16e’s single-lens setup could scare off potential patrons. Nicely, fear not, as Apple has geared up it with a 48MP digital camera, much like that included with the iPhone 15. So, you’ll be able to seize 4K video at 60fps, emulate 2x optical zoom with out sacrificing the 12MP output high quality, take portraits, and so forth. Your Instagram Tales received’t look grainy, and your followers received’t mistake it for an Android.
Equally, each the iPhone 15 and 16e pack a 12MP TrueDepth digital camera, enabling Face ID, Memoji, slo-mo video recording, HDR assist, and extra. So, the selfies you tackle both system ought to look the identical. The 2 iPhones each have a base storage of 128GB, and you may go for 256GB or 512GB.
What’s totally different: Superior options at a cheaper price
Whereas the iPhone 15 and 16e are constructed on the identical basis, they naturally characteristic unique perks. Surprisingly, the extra inexpensive iPhone 16e consists of newer know-how absent from the 2023 mannequin.
For starters, it’s powered by Apple’s (binned) A18 chip, that includes 8GB of RAM, 6 CPU cores, 4 GPU cores, and 16 Neural Engine cores. Consequently, the iPhone 16e helps the total Apple Intelligence suite, together with Writing Instruments, Picture Playground, ChatGPT integration, Genmoji, and extra. For reference, the iPhone 15 packs an A16 chip, barring it from working Apple’s AI system.
The iPhone 16e replaces the traditional mute swap with the multifunctional Motion button, a characteristic lacking from the iPhone 15. So, you get to remap the important thing to execute customized shortcuts, together with conditional duties that adapt to your location, time of day, and different components. You’ll be able to even have it provoke Visible Intelligence, a perk curiously lacking on the succesful iPhone 15 Professional fashions.
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Talking of chips, the iPhone 16e is the primary to pack Apple’s C1 modem. Whereas this will likely sound like an insignificant tidbit aimed toward geeks, it truly might affect informal customers’ day by day lives. Due to its improved energy effectivity, the iPhone 16e boasts the longest battery life amongst 6.1-inch iPhones. In keeping with Apple’s claims, the iPhone 15 and 16e can play video on a single cost for as much as 20 hours and 26 hours, respectively.
One other noteworthy iPhone 16e perk you received’t discover on the iPhone 15 is the Audio Combine characteristic. With this utility, you’ll be able to management the audio of your video footage to spotlight a particular speaker or ambient noise. Coupled with wind noise discount, you’ll be able to create better-sounding content material with out essentially counting on skilled microphones.
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What’s lacking: Insignificant iPhone 16e no-shows
It goes with out saying that the pricier iPhone 15 additionally packs some options which are excluded from the 16e variant. Nevertheless, they’re arguably not well worth the above-mentioned trade-offs and $100 upcharge.
Maybe probably the most noticeable omission is the Dynamic Island, which retains Dwell Actions seen always. As a substitute, you can merely test the Notification Heart or Lock Display screen in your iPhone 16e.
One other iPhone 16e absentee is the Extremely Huge lens, which permits the 0.5x zoom on the iPhone 15. This lets customers seize extra topics or components throughout the digital camera’s body. Whereas a helpful addition, it’s hardly important, and lots of customers not often reap the benefits of it.
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Within the video division, the iPhone 15 helps the Motion and Cinematic modes. The previous stabilizes shaky movies, whereas the latter provides a depth of area to your footage for topic isolation. Each options are helpful—I personally depend on them—however selecting the extra inexpensive iPhone 16e means going with out them.
In any other case, the iPhone 15 provides the U2 Extremely Wideband chip for Precision Discovering and the mmWave know-how for superior connectivity. Nonetheless, the iPhone 16e provides normal 5G and Discover My performance, so that you shouldn’t be lacking out on a lot.
A extra notable con is the dearth of embedded magnets, which means the iPhone 16e doesn’t natively assist MagSafe and is restricted to Qi wi-fi charging. It additionally misses out on the colourful shade choices and solely is available in white and black. Happily, MagSafe circumstances can treatment each flaws on the iPhone 16e.
Verdict: Apple ought to low cost or discontinue the iPhone 15
Contemplating the professionals and cons—and factoring within the value distinction—the iPhone 16e clearly provides extra worth for much less cash. Whereas the iPhone 15 does have a number of unique options, they merely don’t evaluate to the iPhone 16e’s future-proof A18 processor. As Apple rolls out extra AI-powered instruments with iOS 19 and past, the iPhone 15 will solely turn into much less related, because it received’t assist any of them.
In the event you’re not trying to spend $799 on an iPhone 16, the $599 iPhone 16e is the apparent selection. At $699, I can’t suggest the iPhone 15 to a single class of shoppers. Apple ought to have both dropped its value to $499 or discontinued it fully.
For extra recommendation about which iPhone to purchase check out our iPhone comparability chart the place we evaluate each iPhone, or learn our iPhone shopping for information. We additionally evaluate the iPhone 16e and iPhone 16.
We additionally share: The place to get the very best iPhone 16, Plus, Professional, and Professional Max offers within the U.S. and The place to get the very best iPhone 16, Plus, Professional, and Professional Max offers within the U.Okay.
