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 |
| Does not support 5G mmWave | Supports 5G mmWave |
Table of Contents:
Design and Size
Do you want a small or a big phone?
The iPhone 16e looks tiny next to the S24 FE. | Image by PhoneArena
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.
The cameras of the S24 FE protrude more in comparison. | Image by PhoneArena
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
The iPhone notch returns. | Image by PhoneArena
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 worst part about the iPhone 16e is arguably its display. Of course, nobody expected it to be capable of anything more than a 60Hz refresh rate, but we also didn't expect it to have such poor brightness levels. Compared to the S24 FE, the iPhone 16e can be tough to use in bright conditions.
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 have different strong points
One of the big advantages of the iPhone 16e is that it uses Apple's latest A18 chip. That said, the iPhone 16e's version of the A18 has one less GPU core than the iPhone 16, leaving it with a 15% decrease in graphics performance, but still as capable as an iPhone 15. The Galaxy also runs on a flagship processor, Samsung's Exynos 2400e chipset.
For daily tasks, both phones are more than capable enough, which is also true for more intense applications. Actually, if there is any noticable difference it stems from the lack of a high-refresh rate on the iPhone than anything else.
As for memory, both phones come with 8 GB of RAM, which is the minimum for this price point these days, as most are now expected to have AI features that depend on high memory. For storage, the Fan Edition begins at 128GB, and same is true on the iPhone 16e.
Based on the benchmark results we got during our tests, it is clear that the iPhone 16e and its A18 chip offer much better CPU performance. The situation flips when it comes to the GPUs, though, with the S24 FE having a substantial lead in raw graphical power.
On the AI front, the 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.
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 Samsung's software support promises if it 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 something aesthetically pleasing about having just one camera on the back of your phone, like the good old days. But, of course, that also means you have less options when using the camera system. | Image by PhoneArena
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. The iPhone 16e, on the other hand, only has a single rear camera.
PhoneArena Camera Score:
With an ultra-wide and a telephoto camera missing, the iPhone 16e sits significantly behind the Galaxy S24 FE in our camera scoring system. Even the one camera that it has doesn't manage to reach the same scores as the main 50 MP snapper on the S24 FE.
Needless to say, if you are looking for a new photo to upgrade your camera experience, the S24 FE will do a much better job at that.
Something that's noticeable in all of the photos—the iPhone 16e doesn't balance the darker and brighter areas as well as the S24 FE. The images always come off underexposed on the 16 e in comparison to Samsung's mid-ranger.
The 16e appears to have higher contrast when shooting with its selfie camera here. Also, it has more of the image in focus, whereas the S24 FE has a shallower depth of field, with the focus falling mainly on the subject closest to the camera.
If you will find the lack of secondary cameras annoying on the iPhone it will most likely be during video recording. Not having the flexibility of adapting to your needs and surroundings by changing the focal length really limits you when are recording.
Main Camera
Something that's noticeable in all of the photos—the iPhone 16e doesn't balance the darker and brighter areas as well as the S24 FE. The images always come off underexposed on the 16 e in comparison to Samsung's mid-ranger.
Selfies
The 16e appears to have higher contrast when shooting with its selfie camera here. Also, it has more of the image in focus, whereas the S24 FE has a shallower depth of field, with the focus falling mainly on the subject closest to the camera.
More Camera Samples
Video Quality
As for the difference in image quality, the two seem to be pretty close at first glance. Most obvious here is that the iPhone favors a warmer white balance, making the whole image appear yellowish.
Battery Life and Charging
The iPhone 16e raises the bar for small phone battery life
The iPhone 16e uses USB-C, just like all other recent Apple devices. | Image by PhoneArena
The Galaxy S24 FE, being the larger phone, has a beefy 4,700 mAh battery. But Apple claims that the iPhone 16e has the best battery life ever on a 6.1-inch iPhone thanks to its 3,961 mAh battery.
So which battery lasts longer: the one on the Galaxy S24 FE or the one on the iPhone 16e?
Well, as you will see from our battery life tests, the S24 FE does come out on top, but not by much.
It's truly impressive that Apple has managed to squeeze out so much battery life out of a phone that's around 18% smaller and about 27% lighter than the Galaxy s24 FE. Our estimated battery life for the 16e is 6 hours and 4 minutes, which is not that behind the 6 hours and 20 minutes we gave the S24 FE.
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.
| iPhone 16e | Galaxy S24 FE |
|---|---|
| Video Playback: 26 hours | Video Playback: 28 hours |
| Video Streaming: 21 hours | Internet Usage Time(Wi-Fi/LTE): 21 hours |
| Audio Playback: 90 hours | Audio Playback: 81 hours |
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
The S24 FE gives you much bang for your buck, but the iPhone 16e is not a bad option either. | Image by PhoneArena
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 if you already own other Apple products.
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, the Galaxy can give you that, unlike the iPhone.
Which one would you pick and why?
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