iPhone 16e vs iPhone SE 3 (2022): A new bar for budget-buyers?

Almost three years have passed since Apple's affordable iPhone last got an upgrade so the iPhone 16e is a well overdue addition.

If you jumped on the budget-friendly bandwagon last time around, there are a few things you'll want to know before you make a final decision about whether an upgrade to the new device makes sense for you or whether to buy the iPhone 16e on a plan out right.

While the 2022 iPhone SE had a single-lens 12MP setup on the back, its 2025 counterpart raises the stakes with a beefier 48MP sensor. On paper, that promises to be a pretty significant leap forward for those inclined to use it for photography.

What's more, the new model will benefit from better internal hardware in a similar way. Plus it now has an integrated 2x telephoto lens which will go some way to bridging the gap between the iPhone 16e and the rest of the family. In other words: the newer iPhone 16e offers up better camera performance than its predecessor.

Although earlier incarnations of the iPhone SE have echoed the look and feel of "pre-notch" devices like the iPhone, the new iPhone 16e is the most modern take on the budget-friendly handset to date. Specifically, it's said to borrow from the iPhone 14 when it comes to design.

The new iPhone 16e offers an edge-to-edge display with thin bezels and no home button. It is also be the first to use an OLED panel instead of an LCD one and while it doesn't feature the Dynamic Island it still has a notch, and the Action Button.

Compared to the old iPhone SE, this promises to be a significant upgrade for budget buyers eyeing the new device. For the most part, the 2022 model recycled the design language of its 2020 counterpart. It featured an older 4.7-inch Retina HD screen a single Lightning port and a Touch ID-enabled Home Button.

Performance is the another area where the new iPhone 16e has a clear edge over its predecessor.

The 2022 version of the iPhone SE featured an A15 Bionic processor. Its successor of a different name features the same A18 Bionic processor found in the current iPhone 16. The latter is the more recent of the two, which means it benefits from the advancements that Apple have made when it comes to their own house-brand silicon over the time since 2022.

The iPhone SE 2025 has 8GB of RAM, which is both a significant upgrade on the 4GB found in its predecessor and enough power to support the Apple Intelligence features found in the most recent iPhones.