Apple said the new 16e is powered by its own A18 processor – the same chip that powers the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus – and has the same 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR display as the 16.
Running Apple’s latest software – iOS 18 – alongside the A18 means the 16e can run Apple Intelligence, the suite of artificial intelligence tools that until now was only accessible to iPhone users with a 16 or a 15 Pro.
But it does include the Action Button, also found in the iPhone 16 range, which can instantly open a favourite feature instantly, and can be used to launch Visual Intelligence, Apple’s image-based AI search tool for finding out more about subjects and objects spotted through the camera.
However, the iPhone 16e does not support the “floating” Dynamic Island at the top of the screen which houses the front-facing camera and can also show small snippets of information, which is found across the rest of the 16 range.
However, this short of the dual camera system available on the next cheapest iPhone, the 16, which as well as the two-in-one camera also has a 12-megapixel ultra-wide lens.
