Phone comparison · UK prices · October 2026
iPhone 17e or iPhone 16e: which should you buy?
The short answer
The iPhone 17e leads on battery life. The iPhone 16e doesn't pull clearly ahead on anything we compare. The iPhone 17e costs £100 more than the iPhone 16e.
Comparing 2 phones
iPhone 17eOverall score 77/100
iPhone 16eOverall score 75/100
What the extra money buys
The iPhone 17e costs £100 more than the iPhone 16e.
You get: faster charging by cable and faster wireless charging.
You give up: nothing in the specs we compare.
Worth it if you want faster charging by cable and faster wireless charging. Keep the money if those extras don’t matter to you.
Differences in daily life
Battery and charging
Best: iPhone 17eThe iPhone 17e charges faster by cable (15 W vs 8 W on the iPhone 16e), so it tops up quicker with a compatible charger.
It also charges faster without a cable (15 W vs 8 W on the iPhone 16e), so cable-free top-ups are quicker.
Screen
EvenBoth have similar sharpness (460 ppi and 457 ppi), close enough not to matter much day to day.
Speed
EvenBoth have similar benchmark results, close enough not to matter much day to day.
Size and weight
EvenBoth have similar weights (169 g and 167 g), close enough not to matter much day to day.
Still can't decide?
One quick question, one tap each.
Scores
| Score | iPhone 17e | iPhone 16e |
|---|---|---|
| Battery | 57 | 53 |
| Screen | 71 | 71 |
| Camera | 68 | 70 |
| Speed | 91 | 87 |
| Toughness | 95 | 92 |
| Connections and extras | 77 | 77 |
| Overall | 77 | 75 |
How these scores are made: Each score is calculated from the maker's published specs and benchmark results, using one fixed formula for every phone. We have not tested these phones in the hand. How we score phones
Specs side by side
Display
- Resolution
- 1170 × 2532 pixels1170×2532 pixels
- Refresh rate
- N/AN/A
- PPI
- 460457
- Screen-to-body ratio
- ≈ 86 %87.1 %
- Display features
- Capacitive Touchscreen, HDR10, Multi-touch displayCapacitive Touchscreen HDR10 Multi-touch display
- Screen protection
- Anti-reflective coating, Ceramic Shield 2 Glass, Mohs level 5Ceramic Shield Glass, Mohs level 4
Core Specifications
- Chipset
- Apple A19Apple A18
- Fabrication Technology
- 3 nm3 nm
- CPU max frequency
- 4.26 GHz4040 MHz
- Microarchitecture
- 2x 4.26 GHz – Performance cores, 4x 2.60 GHz – Efficiency cores2x 4.04 GHz – Performance cores 4x 2.0 GHz – Efficiency cores
- GPU
- Apple A19 GPU (5 cores)Apple A18 GPU
- Storage
- 256GB, 512GB128GB, 256GB, 512GB
- Expandable Storage
- NoN/A
Software
- Operating System
- iOS 26.3, Upgradable to iOS 26.5iOS 18.3, Upgradable to iOS 18.6
Main Camera
- Matrix
- 48 MP48 MP
- Video Resolution
- 2160p @ 24/25/30/60 fps, 1080p @ 25/30/60/120/240 fps2160p @ 24/25/30/60 fps 1080p @ 25/30/60/120/240 fps
- Video Features
- 3D (spatial) audio, Dolby Vision HDR, Optical Image Stabilization (OIS), Stereo Sound RecDolby Vision HDR, Optical Image Stabilization (OIS), Stereo Sound Rec
- Features
- High Dynamic Range (HDR), PanoramaHigh Dynamic Range (HDR) Panorama
- Lenses
- 48 MP, ƒ/1.6, 26 mm (Wide angle), 0.7 μm, 1/2.55" Sensor size - Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) - PDAF48 MP , ƒ /1.6, 26 mm ( Wide-angle ), 0.7 μm , 1/2.55" Sensor size - PDAF
Selfie camera
- Matrix
- 12 MP12 MP
- Lenses
- Single camera: 12 MP, ƒ/1.9, 23 mm (Wide angle), 1.0 μm, 1/3.6" Sensor size12 MP , ƒ /1.9, 23 mm ( Wide-angle ), 1.0 μm , 1/3.6" Sensor size - PDAF
- Video Resolution
- 2160p @ 24/25/30/60 fps, 1080p @ 25/30/60/120 fps2160p @ 24/25/30/60 fps 1080p @ 25/30/60/120 fps
- Video Features
- 3D (spatial) audio, Dolby Vision HDR, Stereo Sound RecHDR, Stereo Sound Rec
- Features
- Dolby Vision HDR, High Dynamic Range (HDR)Dolby Vision HDR High Dynamic Range (HDR)
General
- Announced
- Monday, 02 March 2026Wednesday, 19 February 2025
- Released
- Wednesday, 11 March 2026Friday, 28 February 2025
Battery
- Wired charging power
- 15 W7.5W
- Wireless charging power
- 15 W7.5W
- Fast charging support
- Yesno
- Features
- MagSafe wireless charging, Qi2 wireless charging, Wired charging from 0-50% in 30 minutes (as advertised)Qi wireless charging, Wired charging from 0-50% in 30 minutes (official specs),
Battery Life Test
- Browsing
- N/A13:08 hh:mm
- Video watching
- N/A8:56 hh:mm
- Playing games
- N/A7:41 hh:mm
Design
- Weight
- 169 g167 g
- Resistance cert. meaning
- Dust-tight and water-resistant (submersible up to 6m for 30 minutes)Dust and water-resistant (withstands high-pressure water jets; submersible up to 6m for 30 minutes)
Network
- SIM cards
- Dual SIM (Nano-SIM + eSIM + eSIM), Dual SIM (eSIM + eSIM)Dual SIM
- Network Type support
- 5G, LTE, HSPA5G, LTE (CA), HSPA
- Network_5G bands
- n1, n2, n3, n5, n7, n8, n12, n14, n20, n25, n26, n28, n29, n30, n38, n40, n41, n48, n53, n66, n70, n71, n75, n77, n78, n795G: n1 (2100), n2 (1900), n3 (1800), n5 (850), n7 (2600), n8 (900), n12 (700), n14 (700), n20 (800), n25 (1900), n26 (850), n28 (700), n29 (700), n30 (2300), n38 (2600), n40 (2300), n41 (2500), n48 (3500), n53 (2500), n66 (2100), n70 (2000), n71 (600), n75 (1500), n76 (1500), n77 (3700), n78 (3500), n79 (4700 MHz)
- Network_4G bands
- b1, b2, b3, b4, b5, b7, b8, b12, b13, b14, b17, b18, b19, b20, b25, b26, b28, b29, b30, b32, b34, b38, b39, b40, b41, b42, b48, b53, b66, b71LTE: b1 (2100), b2 (1900), b3 (1800), b4 (1700), b5 (850), b7 (2600), b8 (900), b12 (700), b13 (700), b14 (700), b17 (700), b18 (800), b19 (800), b20 (800), b25 (1900), b26 (850), b28 (700), b29 (700), b30 (2300), b32 (1500), b34 (2000), b38 (2600), b39 (1900), b40 (2300), b41 (2500), b42 (3500), b48 (3800), b53 (2500), b66 (1700), b71 (600 MHz)
Connectivity
- WiFi support
- Yes (Wi-Fi 6)Yes ( Wi-Fi 6 )
- USB ports
- USB Type-C 2.0USB Type-C 2.0,
Multimedia
- Audio type
- Stereo speakersN/A