Apple iPhone 17e vs iPhone 16e
Here we compared two mid-range smartphones: the 6.1-inch Apple iPhone 17e (with Apple A19) that was released on March 2, 2026, against the Apple iPhone 16e, which is powered by Apple A18 and came out 1 year and 1 month before. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.
Select the amount of RAM to evaluate performance and value for money more precisely
Key differences
Reasons to consider the Apple iPhone 17e
- 41% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (2272K versus 1612K)
- The phone is 1 year and 1 month newer
- 10% faster in single-core GeekBench 6 test: 3595 and 3281 points
Review
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Performance
CPU and memory performance (apps, system)
Gaming
Capabilities for playing modern games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
Scores with a red asterisk (*) are approximate and may change in the future as we gather more data.
Select your primary usage scenario to get a more accurate NanoReview Score
Value for money (Beta)
Tests and specifications
Comparison table of technical specifications and testsDisplay
| Type | OLED | OLED |
| Size | 6.1 inches | 6.1 inches |
| Resolution | 1170 x 2532 pixels | 1170 x 2532 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 19.5:9 | 19.5:9 |
| PPI | 460 ppi | 457 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 60 Hz | 60 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | No | No |
| Max rated brightness | 800 nits | 800 nits |
| Max rated brightness in HDR | 1200 nits | 1200 nits |
| HDR support | Yes, Dolby Vision | Yes, Dolby Vision |
| Screen protection | Ceramic Shield 2 | Ceramic Shield |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 87.1% | 87.1% |
| Display features | - DCI-P3 | - DCI-P3 |
| RGB color space | 99.8% | 99.9% |
| PWM | 60 Hz | 60 Hz |
| Response time | 4 ms | 10 ms |
| Contrast | ∞ Infinity | ∞ Infinity |
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 146.7 mm (5.78 inches) | 146.7 mm (5.78 inches) |
| Width | 71.5 mm (2.81 inches) | 71.5 mm (2.81 inches) |
| Thickness | 7.8 mm (0.31 inches) | 7.8 mm (0.31 inches) |
| Weight | 169 g (5.96 oz) | 167 g (5.89 oz) |
| Waterproof | IP68 | IP68 |
| Rear material | Glass | Glass |
| Frame material | Metal | Metal |
| Colors | White, Black, Pink | White, Black |
| Fingerprint scanner | No | No |
| Repairability | Average (2.79/5) | Average (2.79/5) |
| Drop resistance | Very good (B) · 180 drops | Good (C) · 90 drops |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | Apple A19 | Apple A18 |
| Max clock | 4260 MHz | 4040 MHz |
| CPU cores | 6 (2 + 4) | 6 (2 + 4) |
| Architecture | - 4 cores at 2.6 GHz: - 2 cores at 4.26 GHz: |
- 4 cores at 2.42 GHz: Sawtooth - 2 cores at 4.05 GHz: Everest |
| Manufacturing | TSMC | TSMC |
| Lithography process | 3 nanometers | 3 nanometers |
| Neural processor (NPU) | Neural Engine | Neural Engine |
| Graphics | 4 core Apple GPU | 4 core Apple GPU |
| GPU shading units | 640 | 640 |
| GPU clock | 1620 MHz | 1490 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~2073.6 GFLOPS | ~1907 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Compute Score (GPU)
| Compute Score (GPU) | 31620 | 24041 |
| Single-core score | 3595 | 3281 |
| Multi-core score | 9245 | 8035 |
AnTuTu Benchmark 11
| CPU | 694087 | 485100 |
| GPU | 750153 | 445832 |
| Memory | 238765 | 185536 |
| UX | 589170 | 496320 |
| Total score | 2272175 | 1612788 |
| Samples | [2 tests] | [5 tests] |
3DMark Steel Nomad Light
| Stability | - | 82% |
| Graphics test | 13 FPS | 9 FPS |
| Graphics score | 1752 | 1226 |
3DMark Solar Bay
| Graphics test | 31 FPS | 21 FPS |
| Section 1 | 34 FPS | 26 FPS |
| Section 2 | 31 FPS | 21 FPS |
| Section 3 | 25 FPS | 15 FPS |
| Graphics score | 8032 | 5507 |
Recent User Tests
Apple iPhone 17e
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 📘 2026-09-14 (kpvas) | AnTuTu 11 | 2134388 |
| 📘 2026-06-10 (Cocoon) | AnTuTu 11 | 2272175 |
| 📘 2026-06-03 (Cosgun) | AnTuTu 11 | 2060838 |
| 📘 2026-05-31 (Cosgun) | Geekbench 6 CPU | 3595 / 9245 |
Apple iPhone 16e
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 📘 2026-03-11 (Matviy) | AnTuTu 11 | 1600106 |
| 📘 2026-02-27 (iPhone user) | AnTuTu 11 | 1591246 |
| 📘 2026-02-10 (Virtuose) | AnTuTu 11 | 1721718 |
| 📘 2026-01-14 (Glib) | AnTuTu 11 | 1656396 |
| 📘 2026-01-13 (киря) | AnTuTu 11 | 1612788 |
Memory
| RAM size | 8 GB | 8 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR5X | LPDDR5X |
| Channels | 4 | 4 |
| Storage size | 256 GB | 128 GB |
| Storage type | NVMe | NVMe |
| Memory card | No | No |
Software
| Operating system | iOS 26.3 (Can be upgraded to iOS 27) | iOS 18.3 (Can be upgraded to iOS 27) |
| OS size | 20 GB | 24 GB |
| OS updates | 7 years | 7 years |
| Security updates | 7 years | 7 years |
Battery
| Capacity | 4005 mAh | 4005 mAh |
| Max charge power | 25 W | 25 W |
| Battery type | Li-Ion | Li-Ion |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | Yes (15 W) | Yes (7.5 W) |
| Reverse charging | - | No |
| Bypass charging | No | No |
| Fast charging | Yes (59% in 30 min) | Yes (57% in 30 min) |
| Full charging time | 1:34 hr | 1:50 hr |
| Battery cycles | 1000 cycles | 1000 cycles |
| Web browsing | 11:40 hr | 11:59 hr |
| Watching video | 16:33 hr | 15:01 hr |
| Gaming | 06:37 hr | 05:04 hr |
| Standby | 135 hr | 127 hr |
General battery life
Smartphones With Long Battery Life (87th and 112th place)
Main camera
| Matrix | 48 megapixels | 48 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 8064 x 6048 | 8064 x 6048 |
| Zoom | Digital | Digital |
| Flash | Dual LED | Dual LED |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| 8K video recording | No | No |
| 4K video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| 1080p video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| Slow motion | 240 FPS (1080p) | 240 FPS (1080p) |
| Lenses | 1) Standard: 48 MP |
1) Standard: 48 MP |
| Camera features | - Bokeh mode | - Bokeh mode |
| Image resolution | 48 MP | 48 MP |
| Aperture | f/1.6 | f/1.6 |
| Focal length | 26 mm | 26 mm |
| Sensor | - | Sony IMX972 |
| Sensor size | 1/2.55" (≈ 0.39 inch) | 1/2.55" (≈ 0.39 inch) |
| Pixel size | 0.7 micron | 0.7 micron |
| Autofocus | Phase autofocus | Phase autofocus |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
Selfie camera
| Megapixels | 12 megapixels | 12 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 4032 x 3024 | 4032 x 3024 |
| Aperture | f/1.9 | f/1.9 |
| Focal length | 23 mm | 23 mm |
| Sensor | CMOS | Sony IMX714 |
| Sensor size | 1/3.6" (≈ 0.28 inch) | 1/3.6" (≈ 0.28 inch) |
| Pixel size | 1 micron | 1 micron |
| Autofocus | Phase autofocus | Phase autofocus |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
| Video resolution | 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS | 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS |
| Depth sensor (TOF 3D) | Yes | Yes |
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) | Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) |
| Wi-Fi features | - Dual Band - Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
- Dual Band - Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
| Bluetooth version | 5.3 | 5.3 |
| Bluetooth features | LE | LE |
| USB type | USB Type-C | USB Type-C |
| USB version | 2 | 2 |
| USB features | - Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG |
- Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG |
| DisplayPort | No | No |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS, NAVIC | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS, NAVIC |
| NFC* | Yes | Yes |
| Infrared port | No | No |
| Number of SIM* | 1 | 1 |
| Type of SIM card | Nano | Nano |
| Multi SIM mode | Standby | Standby |
| eSIM support* | Yes | Yes |
| Hybrid slot | No | No |
| 5G support | Yes | Yes |
Sound
| Speakers | Stereo | Stereo |
| Headphone audio jack | No | No |
| FM radio | No | No |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes | Yes |
Speakers test
Max loudness
Other
| Category | Mid-range | Mid-range |
| Announced | March 2026 | February 2025 |
| Release date | March 2026 | February 2025 |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $599 | $599 |
| Sensors | - Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Face recognition sensor |
- Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Face recognition sensor |
| Bundled charger | Not included | Not included |
Further details
Notes on iPhone 16e:
- The smartphone doesn’t have a cinematic mode like the higher-end models in the series.
*Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.
Conclusion
These smartphones have a lot in common, but we would recommend the Apple iPhone 17e. It has a better display, performance, and gaming.
Cast your vote
Total votes: 440