Technologies

iPhone 16E vs. iPhone SE (2022): How Apple’s Budget Phones Compare

The iPhone 16E packs plenty of new features but also carries a higher price tag. Here’s how the phones stack up.

Apple’s latest budget phone, the iPhone 16E is finally out, three years after the launch of the third-generation iPhone SE. That’s a relatively long time for mobile developments to evolve — and for the sticker price to rise alongside those improvements.

The 2022 iPhone SE had a $429 starting price, and the iPhone 16E starts at a notably higher $599. Apple has removed the older, cheaper iPhone SE from its store, so you’ll have to buy it secondhand or head to a third-party seller to get your hands on one. You can check out a list of the best iPhone 16E deals here.

So, what improvements will you find on the iPhone 16E, and how does it compare with its predecessor? Here’s everything you need to know.

Display and build

While the 2022 iPhone SE had a 4.7-inch LCD display, the iPhone 16E levels things up with a 6.1-inch OLED display (still with a 60Hz refresh rate, though; sorry). With the 16E, you still won’t get some features found on Apple’s pricier flagship phones like Dynamic Island or a Camera Control button, but you will get an Action button.

Perhaps the biggest design change is that, with the switch to a full front screen, Apple has scrapped the home button on the iPhone 16E, opting instead for Face ID to match the rest of its current phones. The 16E has also been upgraded to a USB-C port, spelling the end for Lightning. Neither phone has a headphone jack.

Both the iPhone SE and iPhone 16E have aluminum frames, with the larger size of the 16E giving it a bit more weight: 167 grams, versus the SE’s 144g. The iPhone SE has an IP67 rating for water resistance, while the 16E bumps that to an IP68 rating.

The iPhone SE comes in black, white and Product RED. The iPhone 16E comes in black and white.

Camera comparison

The iPhone SE and iPhone 16E each have one rear camera: a 12-megapixel wide camera on the SE and a 48-megapixel wide on the 16E. The 16E also upgrades the front-facing camera from 7 megapixels to 12 megapixels.

Both phones shoot 4K video at 60 frames per second.

Battery and charging

Apple has been touting improved battery on the iPhone 16E, which the company says can support up to 26 hours of video playback, versus 15 hours on the iPhone SE. That longer battery life is largely due to the iPhone 16E packing Apple’s first-ever 5G modem, called the C1. The company calls it the «most power-efficient modem ever in an iPhone.»

Both phones support 20-watt wired charging and 7.5-watt wireless charging.

Processor, Apple Intelligence and storage

The 2022 iPhone runs on the A15 Bionic chip, while the iPhone 16E is powered by the A18 chip — just like the $799 iPhone 16. That means Apple’s latest lower-priced phone can also support Apple Intelligence, just like the iPhone 16 lineup and the iPhone 15 Pro models. It also supports Emergency SOS and satellite connectivity, so you can message emergency services and your loved ones, even when you don’t have a cellular connection.

While the iPhone SE comes with 64GB, 128GB, or 256GB of storage, the iPhone 16E offers a larger 512GB storage option, as well as 128GB and 256GB options. Neither phone has expandable storage.

Check out the spec chart below for more details on each phone.

iPhone 16E vs. iPhone SE (2022)

	Apple iPhone 16E	Apple iPhone SE (2022)
Display size, tech, resolution, refresh rate	6.1-inch Super Retina XDR OLED display; 2,532×1,170 pixels; 60Hz refresh rate	4.7-inch LCD; (1,334×750 pixels); 60Hz
Pixel density	460ppi	326ppi
Dimensions (inches)	5.78 x 2.82 x 0.31 in.	5.45 x 2.65 x 0.29 in.
Dimensions (millimeters)	146.7 x 71.5 x 7.8 mm	138.4 x 67.3 x 7.3 mm
Weight (grams, ounces)	167g (5.88 oz.)	5.09 oz.; 144g
Mobile software	iOS 18	iOS 15
Camera	48-megapixel (wide)	12-megapixel (wide)
Front-facing camera	12-megapixel	7-megapixel
Video capture	4K at 60fps	4K
Processor	A18	Apple A15 Bionic
RAM/storage	128GB, 256GB, 512GB	64GB, 128GB, 256GB
Expandable storage	No	No
Battery	Up to 26 hours video playback, 21 hours streamed video playback, 90 hours of audio playback. 20W wired charging, 7.5W Qi wireless charging	Battery NA (20W wired charging — charger not included), 7.5W wireless charging
Fingerprint sensor	No, Face ID	Home button
Connector	USB-C	Lightning
Headphone jack	No	None
Special features	Action button, Apple C1 5G modem, Apple Intelligence, Ceramic Shield, Emergency SOS, satellite connectivity, IP68 resistance	5G-enabled; supports 25W wired fast charging; Water resistant (IP67); dual-SIM capabilities (nano-SIM and e-SIM); wireless charging
US price starts at	$599 (128GB), $699 (256GB), $899 (512GB)	$429 (64GB), $479 (128GB), $579 (256GB)
UK price starts at	£599 (128GB), £699 (256GB), £899 (512GB)	£419 (64GB), £469 (128GB), £569 (256GB)
Australian price starts at	AU$999 (128GB), AU$1,199 (256GB), AU$1,549 (512GB)	AU$749 (64GB), AU$829 (128GB), AU$999 (256GB)

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for June 9, #463

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle No. 463 for June 9.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Todays NYT Strands puzzle features a bunch of mysterious words. Some are a bit difficult to unscramble so if you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: What you see isn’t what you get

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Hiding in plain sight

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

CALL, CALLS, FALL, FALLS, SAME, SEAM, LAND, ROSE, COVE, CANE, CANES, FLUME, FLUMES, DIGS, MEAL, COLA, CARD, CASE

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

MASK, CLOAK, COVER, FACADE, DISGUISE, CAMOUFLAGE

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is FALSEFRONT. To find it, start with the F that’s two rows over from the far left and two letters down. Wind around into a question mark.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for June 9, #729

Here are some hints and the answers for Connections for June 9, No. 729.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Do you play the NYT Spelling Bee? If you do, you should be able to ace the purple category in today’s NYT Connections puzzle. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group, to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Control-C.

Green group hint: Don’t wait till the last minute.

Blue group hint: Pals to plan a heist.

Purple group hint: Think another NYT online game.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Keyboard shortcut commands.

Green group: Secure in advance.

Blue group: Crime organization.

Purple group: Spellling Bee ranks minus a letter.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is keyboard shortcut commands. The four answers are paste, print, quit and save.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is secure in advance. The four answers are book, order, request and reserve.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is crime organization. The four answers are crew, family, ring and syndicate.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is Spelling Bee ranks minus a letter. The four answers are genus, goo, mazing and slid. (Genius, good, amazing and solid.)

Technologies

I Made Google Translate My Default on iPhone Before a Trip and It Saved Me More Than Once

Google Translate supports far more languages than Apple’s app, and it’s easy to make the switch.

If you’re traveling overseas this summer, the Google Translate app can come in handy to quickly translate a road sign or conversation. The latest Google Translate update allows you to pick the app as your default translation app for Apple iPhones and iPads running iOS and iPadOS 18.4 and later. Previously, you were limited to the built-in Apple option.

Google began leveraging AI to boost Google Translate’s offerings, adding 110 languages last year to increase its total support for 249 languages. Compare that to Apple Translate, which supports 19 languages. Neither Google nor Apple responded to a request for comment.

Both apps offer voice and text translation, including a camera feature that lets you instantly translate by pointing your camera at text. Both also allow you to use translation features without an internet connection, which can come in particularly handy when traveling to more remote locations.

After using both, I found that the Google Translate picked up speech a little quicker so I didn’t have to constantly repeat myself, and the audio pronunciations were a little easier to understand than on Apple Translate. I switched to Google Translate as the default on my iPhone, and here’s how you can, too.