iPhone 16 vs iPhone SE 2022: It's worth paying the extra buck
Intro
With the iPhone 16 now available for over a month, Apple’s latest release brings subtle design changes and a handful of upgrades across the board. The company also used its launch event to spotlight upcoming AI-driven features, which are set to roll out in phases throughout the first half of next year.
On the other hand, the iPhone SE (2022) remains Apple’s only budget option, despite its dated design that harks back to 2017. However, its impressive performance—especially for its price—still holds up. Starting at $479 for the 128GB model, the SE comes in $320 cheaper than the iPhone 16.
While the price gap might seem tempting, the difference in user experience between these two models is stark. The iPhone 16 offers a far more modern and refined experience, making the SE a tough sell for most users today, despite its budget-friendly appeal.
While the price gap might seem tempting, the difference in user experience between these two models is stark. The iPhone 16 offers a far more modern and refined experience, making the SE a tough sell for most users today, despite its budget-friendly appeal.
This revision improves the flow and adds a more thoughtful comparison, acknowledging that the SE still has value but making it clear why the iPhone 16 is the more appealing choice in today’s market.
iPhone 16 vs iPhone SE (2022) differences:
| iPhone 16 | iPhone SE (2022) |
|---|---|
| Larger and heavier: 147.6 x 71.6 x 7.8 mm, 170 g | Smaller and more compact: 138.4 x 67.3 x 7.3 mm, 144 g |
| A design that's in with the times | An extremely outdated design with large top and bottom bezels |
| Does not have a home button; unlocks using FaceID | Has a home button in the bottom middle; unlocks with TouchID (fingerprint scanner) |
| More durable with higher scratch and water resistance | Glass front and back panels crack and scratch much more easily; water resistance is slightly lower |
| Vastly more powerful A18 Bionic chipset (designed with on-device AI in mind) | Still capable but significantly less impressive A15 Bionic chip (no on-device AI support) |
| Will support Apple Intelligence and new on-device AI features | Won't support any of the upcoming AI features |
| Comes with an ultra wide camera; has much higher image quality and powerful camera features | One camera; image quality is okay for the price, but a far cry from what modern iPhones can do |
| Great sounding speakers | Speakers do the job but are far from being called great |
| OLED high-resolution display with great contrast and brightness levels | Display is not only small, but also low resolution and does not get very bright |
| Some of the greatest battery life on an iPhone | Abysmal battery life |
| Same 20W wired charging, but much faster wireless charging speeds: 25W via MagSafe | Comes with 20W wired and 7.5W wireless charging |
Table of Contents:
Also read:
- Apple iPhone 16 Review: A Step Forward, But Not a Giant Leap
- iPhone 16 vs iPhone 14: All upgrades explained
- Apple iPhone SE 4 vs iPhone SE (2022): The best SE is yet to come
- iPhone SE 4 (2025) vs iPhone 16: Danger! Danger!
Design and Display Quality
Exactly what you would expect
The iPhone SE 2022 is the last compact iPhone you will have the chance to buy. | Image by PhoneArena"
The iPhone SE from 2022 still looks like it belongs in a museum, and that is especially true when you place it next to the iPhone 16. It is high time Apple updates the SE series to look closer to what you would expect from a modern mid-range phone, and to resemble the rest of the company's handsets that have come out in the last few years. Thankfully, that is said to happen next year during March.
Even though the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max come with slightly altered dimensions, the regular iPhone 16 remains the same size as its predecessor. In other words, the iPhone 16 is 147.6 x 71.6 x 7.8 mm (5.81 x 2.82 x 0.31 in), which is quite a bit larger than the 2022 iPhone SE's 138.4 x 67.3 x 7.3 mm (5.45 x 2.65 x 0.29 in).
You get that old-school iPhone 6-style curvy body with the SE, while the iPhone 16 is thicker and blockier. | Image by PhoneArena
Materials-wise, Apple has stuck to an aluminum frame with a glass back for the iPhone 16, which is what the iPhone SE (2022) is also made out of.
But there is a difference when we compare the durability between the budget iPhone and the new base flagship. The iPhone 16 comes with an IP68 rating, just like its predecessor, while the iPhone SE (2022) has a slightly less water-resistant IP67 rating.
The more significant differentiating factor, however, is that the SE does not come with Apple's Ceramic Shield display technology, which is famous for its higher durability against cracks and especially against scratches. In fact, the Apple introduced the 2nd generation of its Ceramic Shield glass with the iPhone 16, which the company states is 50% tougher.
It's also important to mention that the SE comes with the extremely outdated Lightning port, whereas the iPhone 16 has a USB-C port.
If you have more to choose from the iPhone 16 colors than you do with the iPhone SE. While the SE comes in Midnight, Starlight and Red, the iPhone 16 comes in Pink, Teal, Ultramarine, and Black.
It's funny how the iPhone SE 2022 looks like you are playing a YouTube video on it. That's how weird and outdated those thick bezels are. | Image by PhoneArena
Needless to say, you will have a much larger and better-looking display if you opt for an iPhone 16 instead of the iPhone SE (2022). The SE is still rocking that bezelishious 4.7-inch screen with a massive chin and forehead at the bottom and top sides of the front panel. The display is not even full HD (1080P), let alone OLED.
In contrast, the iPhone 16's display is 6.1 inches with 1179 x 2556 pixel resolution. Just like its predecessor, it features a contrasty OLED panel that got as bright as 1070 nits in our display tests vs the 670 nits of the SE from 2022.
What is absolutely a joke, however, is the iPhone 16's 60Hz refresh rate, which is the same as the display on the iPhone SE. Frankly, the only similarity these two phones should have is the Apple logo at the back, but for some reason Apple has refused to increase the display refresh rate on its non-Pro flagships yet for another year.
Modern phones have come a long way when it comes to display brightness, and most of them are at the very least usable in bright sunny conditions. The SE from 2022 is clearly lacking in this area though, and we definitely felt that during the comparison.
Lastly, a big difference between these two iPhones is the fact that the iPhone 16 is unlocked via FaceID, whereas the iPhone SE (2022) uses TouchID as a biometric to confirm your identity. Although, it would have been awesome if Apple made it so the new Camera Control key could function as the latter.
Performance and Software
SE is still not bad, just leagues behind
The iPhone 16 is undoubtedly more capable in every way, but the SE is surprisngly still a very powerful. | Image by PhoneArena
When it came out in 2022, the third generation of the iPhone SE was one of, if not the most powerful phone in its class thanks to the A15 Bionic chipset. Well, some time has passed since then and even though it is still a capable piece of silicon, the A18 Bionic that comes with the iPhone 16 is massively more capable in comparison.
One of the major differences between the A15 and the A18 besides the the power gap is that the latter has special hardware designed to enable the new Apple Intelligence features. Of course, the bummer here is that these new AI features will come in waves and are not immediately available when you purchase an iPhone 16.
The iPhone 16 has double the RAM of the SE, rocking 8GB this year because of the on-device AI features which require it. Additionally, the SE has outdated connectivity hardware, with Bluetooth 5.0 vs 5.3 on the iPhone 16, which affects the use of wireless accessories such as headphones. The newer Bluetooth versions have stronger signal stability and hier transfer speeds, and they are more power efficient.
Both phones have the same minimum 6 years of software updates that we have come to expect from Apple, but given the iPhone 16 is a newer model, it will last you further down the line by about 2 years.
Frankly, we expected an even more stark difference in performance, considering that the A15 Bionic was released in 2021, whereas the A18 inside the iPhone 16 is three years older. Still, the difference in performance is more than visible, especially when it comes to graphics.
Camera
It's not even close
You can barely tell that the SE has a camera, which might be the preference for some, compared to the massive camera module on the iPhone 16. | Image by PhoneArena
Apple really stepped up its game once it went from 12MP to a 48MP main camera last year with the iPhone 15 series. The 2022 SE had one of the best cameras on a mid-range phone when it came out, but it simply cannot match what the iPhone 16 is capable of.
There's also the fact that the SE has only one 12MP camera at the back and a pretty bad and outdated 7MP front camera at the front. In comparison, the iPhone 16 comes with a 48MP main and 12MP ultrawide cameras at the back and a 12MP selfie camera embedded in the display.
What's more, the 12MP ultra wide camera on the iPhone 16 is has a faster lens with an aperture of f/2.2 (vs f/2.4 on the predecessor) and larger pixels, allowing for more light to come in and therefore better low-light performance.
Let's not also forget that, just like the iPhone 15, the iPhone 16 takes 24MP images by default with the main camera, which have a ton of more detail vs the 12MP ones coming from the iPhone SE (2022).
And then we have the other iPhone 16 camera upgrades, like the support for Macro Mode, or the new Camera Control button. Camera Control allows users to operate the iPhone 16's cameras through a dedicated physical button, and since it is both touch and pressure sensitive it enables different functions depending on how you swipe and the amount of pressure you apply to it. It even works with third-party apps that utilize your camera.
Main Camera
Generally speaking, the iPhone 16 offers better dynamics, more natural colors, and higher resolution/detail. That being said, we are pleasantly surprised to see that the iPhone SE from 2022 still takes decent-quality pictures, albeit a bit overly saturated and contrasty.
Selfies
The same differences we saw when comparing the main cameras are also present with the selfie ones. Still, the SE takes a good selfie, provided that it has plenty of light.
Battery Life and Charging
Larger body = more battery
The main reason why no one should buy the iPhone SE 2022. | Image by PhoneArena
Apple has increased the battery capacity of the iPhone 16 to 3,561 mAh and added a more power efficient A18 processor. The iPhone SE (2022) has a much smaller 2,018 mAh battery.
The iPhone 16 comes with the same 20W of charging that the iPhone SE (2022) has. But the Wireless charging speeds have been increased to 25W via MagSafe, which is much more than the 7.5W of the SE.
The iPhone 16 is also capable of 15W wireless charging via Qi2 chargers, as well as 4.5W of reverse wireless charging that can be used to juice up accessories like the AirPods.
PhoneArena Battery and Charging Test Results:
As you can see from our battery life tests, the iPhone SE from 2022 is absolutely abysmal, and it is far from reliable. Unless you are using it solely for phone calls, video calls, and surfing the web, it is not a viable option. The iPhone 16, on the other hand, is not among the best phones when it comes to battery life, but it will last you for most of the day with regular use.
Specs Comparison
It is a night and day difference with the iPhone 16 vs iPhone SE (2022) spec sheets, reflecting everything we have mentioned above.
| iPhone 16 | iPhone SE (2022) | |
|---|---|---|
| Size, weight | 147.6 x 71.6 x 7.8 mm, 170 g | 138.4 x 67.3 x 7.3 mm, 144 g |
| Screen | 6.1" OLED 60Hz | 4.7" OLED 60Hz |
| Processor | A18 3nm | A15 Bionic 5nm |
| RAM, Storage | 8/128GB 8/256GB 8/512GB | 4/64GB 4/128GB 4/256GB |
| Cameras | 48MP main 12MP ultra - 12MP front | 12 MP main - - 7MP front |
| Battery | Unclear yet | 2,018mAh |
| Charging | USB-C 20W wired (possibly more) 25W wireless (with MagSafe) | Lightning 20W wired 7.5W wireless (no MagSafe) |
- You can also use PhoneArena's tool to compare iPhone models.
Quite literally, there is almost no similarity between the two phones' spec sheets. The benefits of the standard iPhone 16 flagship over the much older iPhone SE budget option are more than obvious here, with more RAM, battery, screen, better cameras and higher charging speeds. The only benefit of the SE is its compact size, which is hardly worth it considering the tiny display.
One similarity that is absurd and ridiculous, however, is the fact that both phones come with a 60Hz display refresh rate. That is something that perfectly fits the SE, but is definitely not something you would expect from a flagship phone in 2024 such as the iPhone 16.
Summary
This was a weird but illuminating comparison. | Image by PhoneArena
So, it is no secret that these are two drastically different phones, but we are using the stark differences to highlight that it is high time Apple updates its more affordable SE series too. This might end up happening in the near future, as the iPhone SE 4 is expected to come out in March 2025, with changes that will make it a much more viable option.
For now though, the iPhone 16 is looking like a total treat if you have the cash and you are willing to spend it. That said, maybe you won't have to pay a premium to get a good user experience once the new SE comes out, so our recommendation is that you wait it out if you want to spend less money on a brand new iPhone.
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