iPhone 16e vs Galaxy S24 FE: Don't make a mistake
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Intro
The iPhone 16e is here and being Apple's new entry-level iPhone at a price of $600, it clashes directly with Samsung's Galaxy S24 FE.
Both have powerful hardware and both support AI, but they are also very different. The iPhone 16e is a small phone with a 6.1-inch screen, while the Galaxy S24 FE is much bigger with a 6.7-inch display.
Another obvious difference is that the iPhone only has one camera on its back, while the S24 FE has three rear cameras.
Which one is the better phone for you?
iPhone 16e vs Galaxy S24 FE differences:
| iPhone 16e | Galaxy S24 FE |
|---|---|
| Smaller 6.1" size | Bigger 6.7-inch size |
| Lighter at just 167 g | Heavier with a weight of 213 g |
| 60 Hz refresh rate | Faster, 120 Hz refresh rate |
| Faster A18 chip | Slightly slower Exynos 2400e chip |
| 8 GB RAM | 8 GB RAM |
| Only one 48MP wide camera | Triple-camera setup with a wide, ultra-wide, and 3x telephoto camera |
| Battery life: 26 hours of video playback 90 hours audio | Battery life: 28 hours video playback 81 hours audio |
| Slower charging with a cable (20W) | 25W wired charging speed |
| Slower wireless charging (7.5W) | 15W wireless charging |
| Starts at $600 | Starts at $649.99 |
Table of Contents:
Design and Size
Do you want a small or a big phone?
The iPhone 16e has your typical iPhone design from the last few years — flat sides, rounded corners, a flat screen, they kind of all look the same since the launch of the iPhone 12.
The S24 FE is also quite ordinary with a similar look, just in a bigger, stretched out 6.7-inch size.
Having flat sides on a phone increases its durability, so it's great having that on both of these phones. They are IP68 rated for water and dust protection too, which is nice (and kind of expected).
The iPhone has one extra button, though — the Action button on the top left side. It's programmable so you can set it to act like a mute key, or to start your camera, or really any app you want. This is one of Apple's better hardware ideas and we wish there was something similar on the Galaxy too.
The Galaxy, however, has the advantage of color. The iPhone is only available in two colorways, a white and a black one, while with the Galaxy you can pick between Blue, Graphite,, Gray, Mint and Yellow.
Display Differences
With the smaller body size comes a smaller display too. The iPhone 16e gets a 6.1-inch screen size vs a 6.7-inch size on the Galaxy.
The sad part about the iPhone is that it only runs at 60Hz, which appears a bit choppy when scrolling, while the Galaxy runs at 120Hz, so when you scroll and swipe everything looks buttery smooth.
The iPhone is also rated for peak brightness of 1,200 nits, which is much dimmer than the 1,900 nits you can get with the S24 FE. This makes the Galaxy easier to use outdoors.
As for biometrics, you have Face ID on the iPhone and an optical fingerprint reader on the Galaxy. Both work fine, we prefer Face ID, but that really boils down to personal preference and both work fine.
Performance and Software
Both are fast, but the iPhone ranks higher in benchmarks
One of the big advantages of the iPhone 16e is that it uses Apple's latest A18 chip, while the Galaxy runs on a decent, but not quite as fast Exynos 2400e chipset.
For daily tasks, this shouldn't be a concern as both devices run fine, and actually it's the lack of a high-refresh rate on the iPhone that you notice more.
However, when push comes to shove and when you look at benchmarks, the Appel chip does perform better.
Both phones come with 8 GB of RAM, which is the minimum for AI functions these days.
The AI battles are just starting to heat up, but the short of it is that both phones can correct your writing with AI, generate AI images and both have AI-powered photo manipulation tricks.
We're still waiting for a more powerful Siri on the iPhone, though, while the Galaxy already runs on the latest and greatest version of Google's Gemini.
For storage, the Fan Edition begins at 128GB, and same on the iPhone.
But what about software updates? Samsung has committed to 7 years of major OS upgrades and security patches, and while that sounds great, it's been months and the S24 FE still hasn't received the latest One UI 7 update. Latest rumors say that update will only arrive in May! What good are those software update promises if takes months for these updates to arrive?
On the iPhone, you can expect five to six years of iOS updates, and at least you know those updates arrive the same day that Apple launches them, no delays.
Camera
Three versus one
There is no going around it: the Galaxy S24 FE is the more versatile camera with three lenses on its back, a main, an ultra-wide and a 3X telephoto one, while the iPhone 16e only has a single rear camera.
Well, at least Apple uses the same 48 MP sensor as in more expensive phones and we know that this camera can capture great photos and it has industry-leading video quality.
The Galaxy, however, will be better in zoom and have the versatility of that ultra-wide shooting angle.
If you need that longer zoom and a bit more versatility, the Galaxy would be the better camera choice, but if you want the best quality out of the main camera, the iPhone might have the upper hand.
Stay tuned for a more detailed camera comparison between these two coming next week.
Battery Life and Charging
The iPhone 16e raises the bar for small phone battery life
The Galaxy S24 FE being a bigger phone has a beefire 4,700 mAh battery, but Apple claims that the iPhone 16e has the best battery life ever on a 6.1-inch iPhone, which is an impressive achievement.
So which battery lasts longer: the one on the Galaxy S24 FE or the one on the iPhone 16e?
Here are the official numbers by Samsung and Apple: for offline video playback, the Galaxy S24 FE is rated at 28 hours, a bit longer than the 26 hours on the iPhone 16e. However, for audio playback, the Galaxy is rated for 81 hours, while the iPhone has 90 hours, so it pulls ahead.
We are yet to do our in-house battery tests, so check back in a couple of weeks if you want even more detail about the battery life situation on these two.
As far as charging goes, the Galaxy is a tiny bit faster as it supports 25W charging via a cable vs 20W on the iPhone.
However, there is no MagSafe on this iPhone 16e! It still supports wireless charging via the Qi standard, but at slow, 7.5W speeds. The Galaxy can do 15W wireless (no magnets on it either).
Summary
Get the iPhone 16e if you prefer a smaller phone and if you value great battery life in a tiny form factor. Also, it's an iPhone with iOS and the Apple ecosystem, which is another selling point.
Get the Galaxy if you want a bigger phone, with a bigger screen and you value a more versatile camera system with an ultra-wide and telephoto lenses. Also, if you want smooth 120Hz scrolling, only the Galaxy has that.
Which one would you pick and why?
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