Apple’s Most Affordable $599 iPhone 16e Sports a 48MP Fusion Camera

Feb 19, 2025

Jeremy Gray

Two smartphones are displayed. The one in the back shows the rear side with a single camera and an Apple logo. The one in front displays a bubble-like design on its screen. Both phones have a sleek design with rounded edges.

After months of rumors, Apple’s newest “affordable” iPhone model has arrived. It’s not the iPhone SE 4 people expected, but instead the iPhone 16e, unifying growing Apple’s iPhone family.

The iPhone 16e promises “powerful capabilities at a more affordable price.” The new phone starts at $599, $200 less than the standard iPhone 16 and $170 more than the last iPhone SE model’s launch price in 2022. (https://petapixel.com/2022/03/08/apple-launches-the-new-iphone-se-smartphone/)

The new smartphone pairs Apple’s existing powerful A18 chip with the all-new Apple C1, Apple’s first in-house cellular modem. Given its A18 chops, the iPhone 16e, as expected, fully embraces Apple Intelligence, the company’s personal intelligence system.

The iPhone 16e’s A18 chip provides full compatibility with Apple Intelligence

Compared to the iPhone SE (third generation), the A18 chip is 40% faster for CPU and GPU tasks. The iPhone 16e is also much more efficient, promising up to 26 hours of video playback versus 15 hours on its predecessor.

From a design perspective, the iPhone 16e looks much different than the iPhone SE. Gone are the top and bottom bezels and home button, replaced by a large 6.1-inch display with a notch. The 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR OLED screen promises crisp text, vibrant colors, and good HDR performance.

Two iPhones are displayed, one in front of the other. The front phone shows a spherical abstract design on its screen. Both phones are silver and have a minimalist design with visible side buttons. — Goodbye, home button; hello, notch.

Other notable design tweaks include a USB-C port, the implementation of Face ID (since there is no home button for Touch ID anymore), and the inclusion of an Action Button, which users can customize to provide one-tap access to select features, including opening the camera.

Close-up of a smartphone being charged with a white USB-C cable. The phone screen is on, displaying a spherical pattern with dark and light gradients. The edge of the phone has a sleek, metallic finish. — With the iPhone 16e replacing the iPhone SE in Apple’s iPhone lineup, the Lightning port is officially gone.

The iPhone 16e is also more robust than the iPhone SE. The aluminum phone has a Ceramic Shield on the front and is IP68-rated.

Tiny phone enthusiasts may lament the enlarging of Apple’s most affordable smartphone model. The iPhone 16e is negligibly more diminutive than the standard iPhone 16, making it much larger than the iPhone SE (third gen). The iPhone SE has a 4.7-inch display and is 138.4 millimeters tall (5.5 inches), 67.3 millimeters (2.7 inches) wide, and 7.3 millimeters (0.3 inches) thick. The iPhone 16e, on the other hand, is 146.7 by 71.5 by 7.8 millimeters (5.8 by 2.8 by 0.3 inches).

Two white smartphones stacked horizontally. The top phone shows the back with a single rear camera and Apple logo. The bottom phone displays the screen with colorful reflections. Both devices have side buttons and a sleek, modern design.

From a photographic perspective, the iPhone 16e ditches some of the camera modules found on Apple’s other current smartphones. While the iPhone 16e sports just a single rear camera, Apple bills it as a “2-in-1 camera system” thanks to the 48-megapixel Fusion image sensor. The camera has an “integrated 2x telephoto,” which is a fancy way of saying that Apple digitally converts the 48MP wide camera (26mm f/1.6 equivalent) into a 12MP telephoto (52mm f/1.6 equivalent).

Two smartphones are shown from the back, one white and one black. Both have a single rear camera and an Apple logo in the center. They are positioned side by side, with the black phone slightly overlapping the white one.

Its one image sensor performs double duty using Apple’s very effective virtual zoom technology. If it is as performant on the iPhone 16e as on Apple’s other Fusion camera-equipped smartphones, the iPhone 16e’s telephoto “camera” should be pretty impressive.

Person with short hair, wearing a white ribbed top, is lying on a pink carpet. They are resting their head on one hand and smiling at the camera. The room has ornate pink wallpaper and a chandelier. — The iPhone 16e has Apple’s 48MP Fusion Camera

Two people walk along the crest of a white sand dune under a clear blue sky. The surface of the dune has gentle ridges, adding texture to the scene. One person wears a green shawl, and the other is in a blue jacket. — With the Fusion Camera, photographers can capture 12MP 2x telephoto shots that promise “optical quality” zoom.

A person with long dark hair smiles in a selfie. They wear a bright pink top and a dangling earring. The background features an arched hallway with wooden beams and a hanging lantern. — The front-facing camera is upgraded, too, up from 7 to 12 megapixels. There’s also a new faster (f/1.9 versus f/2.2) lens.

A person with short curly hair smiles while sitting indoors, bathed in warm sunlight. They are wearing a patterned shirt, and the background includes a large window with natural light streaming in. — Portrait Mode

Person in a light blue suit poses casually in a warmly lit architectural alcove with adobe walls. There's a wooden ceiling above and a window casting light to the left. A night sky and desert scene are visible in the background.

Three women sitting in a red convertible, smiling and looking at the camera. Behind them is a neon sign that reads "Roy's Motel Cafe" with a star. The background shows a clear sky and a desert landscape.

The iPhone 16e also has video chops, capable of recording 4K video with Dolby Vision HDR at up to 60 frames per second. The smartphone also supports Spatial Audio recording and utilizes machine learning algorithms to improve audio recording quality.

Compared to the iPhone SE, the 16e’s imaging pipeline is a significant step up. The iPhone SE had a single 12-megapixel main camera and did not record Dolby Vision video.

An iPhone screen showing a photo of a person standing on large rock formations under a clear blue sky. The home screen widgets include Notes, a calendar with event reminders, and apps with green icons. — iPhone 16e ships with Apple’s latest operating system, iOS 18

“iPhone 16e packs in the features our users love about the iPhone 16 lineup, including breakthrough battery life, fast performance powered by the latest-generation A18 chip, an innovative 2-in-1 camera system, and Apple Intelligence,” says Kaiann Drance, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide iPhone Product Marketing. “We’re so excited for iPhone 16e to complete the lineup as a powerful, more affordable option to bring the iPhone experience to even more people.”

iPhone 16e Pricing and Availability

The iPhone 16e will be available in two matte finishes — black and white — and comes in 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB storage capacities. The iPhone 16e will start at $599, and preorders begin this Friday, February 21. The iPhone 16e will be available the following Friday, February 28.

Image credits: Apple