Before you rush to pick up the newly launched iPhone 16e, it’s worth taking a moment to weigh your options. Let’s be real: Apple’s latest handset is made for bargain hunters. For £200 less, it packs much of the same hardware as the iPhone 16 (£799), including support for AI features (known as Apple Intelligence), but with some clear trade-offs. That dated notch on the top of the screen, those chunky borders, and the lone camera on the back? They’re not doing it any favours.
In fact, they scream “budget phone”— and trust us, people can tell. Nowadays, the number of cameras on the back is a status symbol: three or four? Premium. Two? Fair game. One? Sorry, that just doesn’t cut it - especially when the asking price is £599.
But what if we told you that for the same price as the iPhone 16e (or even less), you could snap up a flagship? The catch? These phones might be a year old, or secondhand, or refurbished. But hey, refurbished just means it's been given a second life, right?.
As any savvy bargain hunter knows, it's always worth shopping around for a better deal. To save you some time, we’ve rounded up four alternatives to the iPhone 16e that not only offer more bang for your buck but might even snag you a few compliments at work or school.
In case you missed it, Apple’s latest is supposed to be an affordable iPhone 16. What that means is it features the innards of last year’s model and the looks of an iPhone 14 (though that single camera on the rear is a relic from the days of Apple’s last low-cost release, 2022’s iPhone SE).
Here’s the key info to know about the iPhone 16e:. For slightly less than Apple’s latest, you can get a refurbished iPhone 15 Pro with three superior cameras and premium titanium sides (versus aluminum on the 16e). In fact, with some digging, you can probably find it for just over £500 on eBay or Facebook Marketplace (just be sure to check the battery health is between 80-90 per cent and there are no big scratches or cracks on the front and back).
Like the 16e, the 15 Pro also supports Apple Intelligence and comes with a USB-C charging port. Plus, it’s slated for at least five to seven more years of software updates, so it could last until 2030 at the latest. And, you get a host of neat little extras here, including support for faster MagSafe wireless charging, higher brightness, and a 120Hz refresh rate (the 16e is limited to 60HZ). The stellar display, combined with the ray-tracing support in the A17 Pro chip, also means it’s better for gaming on the go (especially if you plan on playing console-grade titles).
Therefore, if you’re dead set on an iPhone that costs significantly less than £800, this is the model we recommend (as long as you don’t mind buying refurbed or second-hand). It’s honestly crazy that you can get a brand-new Galaxy S24 for the same price as the iPhone 16e. Last year’s flagship comes with three quality cameras on the back (including a dedicated ultra-wide and zoom lens), and a 120HZ display with a dazzling 2,600 nits peak brightness. Samsung’s phone can also record video in up to 8K, while the iPhone tops out at 4K Dolby Vision.
With Galaxy AI in the tank, you probably won’t miss Apple Intelligence, either. When it landed, the customised Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip inside the S24 was the fastest around, and it still holds up a year later. The seven years of software updates you get as standard is the icing on the cake.
Until the Samsung Galaxy S25 arrived this year, the Pixel 9 was in a league of its own when it came to AI. Along with all the photography tricks packed into the dual-camera system, like the ability to magically add you to group shots, Google’s flagship features a built-in AI assistant you can chat to in the vein of Alexa or Google Assistant. And because it’s multimodal, you can interact with Gemini using images, text or your voice. There’s just one big caveat: the most advanced version of the AI costs £18.99 per month in the UK as part of a Google One subscription.
Under the hood, the Pixel 9 packs a whopping 12GB of RAM, while most flagships (including the iPhone 16e) come with 8GB by default. Its 6.3-inch OLED display is slightly larger than the iPhone 16e’s, with a smooth 60–120Hz refresh rate and a lustrous peak brightness of 2,700 nits. Finally, if you want to get noticed, the Pixel 9’s vibrant green and pink colour options pop next to the relatively muted black and white shades of the iPhone 16e.
The OnePlus 12 boasts the biggest screen of all the phones on this list — at 6.82 inches, it’s almost as large as the iPhone 16 Pro Max. The OLED display is silky smooth with a 120Hz refresh rate, and extremely bright, making it a dream for gaming, streaming, and general browsing.
Like the Samsung Galaxy S24, the OnePlus 12 is all about sheer power. It blazes through everyday tasks, makes photo and video editing a breeze, and tackles even the most demanding mobile games at max settings with ease. Design-wise, the curved edges give it a sleek look, while the circular camera bump on the back (which houses three Hasselblad-tuned lenses) definitely helps it to stand out.
