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iPhone 14 vs. iPhone 16e Buyer's Guide: Should You Upgrade?

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Upon the launch of the iPhone 16e, Apple discontinued the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus. Despite arriving two and a half years apart, the iPhone 16e actually borrows a large number of features from the iPhone 14. Many iPhone 14 users may now be considering an upgrade to Apple's latest iPhone, so is it worth it?

iPhone-16e-Feature-1.jpg

The iPhone 16e's frame is the same shape and size as that of the iPhone 14, and it also carries over its notch, display, and more. Yet there are 35 notable differences between the devices. Here's everything that's different between the iPhone 14 and iPhone 16e:

iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus (2022)iPhone 16e (2025)
Aluminum chassis with squared-off edgesAluminum chassis with contoured edges
Glossy glass backColor-infused frosted glass back
6.1- or 6.7-inch display6.1-inch display
Available in Yellow, Blue, Purple, (PRODUCT)RED, Starlight, and MidnightAvailable in White and Black
Ring/Silent switchAction button
12-megapixel main camera with ƒ/1.5 aperture48-megapixel main camera with ƒ/1.6 aperture
24- and 48-megapixel super-high-resolution photos
12-megapixel Ultra Wide camera
0.5x or 1x optical zoom options1x or 2x optical zoom options
Sensor-shift optical image stabilizationOptical image stabilization
Smart HDR 4Smart HDR 5
Macro photography
Night mode and Night mode portraitsImproved Night mode and Night mode portraits
Cinematic mode for recording videos with shallow depth of field (up to 4K Dolby Vision at 30 fps)
Action mode
Improved audio quality on phone calls
Wind noise reduction
Audio Mix
Stereo recordingSpatial Audio and stereo recording
A15 Bionic chip with 5-core GPUA18 chip with 4-core GPU
Apple Intelligence support
Visual intelligence
Qualcomm Snapdragon X70 modemApple C1 modem
mmWave 5G connectivity
Thread connectivity
Ultra Wideband chip for Precision Finding
Precision Finding for Find My friends
20- or 26-hour battery life26-hour battery life
Lightning portUSB-C port
MagSafe wireless charging up to 15W with 20W adapter or higher
Setting to prevent charging above 80%
Battery manufacture date, first use, and cycle count information in Settings
Compatible with MagSafe cases, wallets, wireless chargers, and more
Now discontinuedStarts at $599
Released September 2022Released March 2025


The iPhone 16e represents a good move for iPhone 14 users, with significant enhancements such as the Action button, 48-megapixel camera, A18 chip, Apple Intelligence support, Visual intelligence, and much longer battery life. However, the iPhone 14 should continue to be useable for a while longer. As a result, it may be better to wait for when the iPhone 16 drops in price upon the launch of the iPhone 17 lineup if you want a more substantial upgrade, or even a future "iPhone 17e" model.

The only substantial losses when upgrading from the iPhone 14 to the iPhone 16e are the Ultra Wide camera, MagSafe connectivity, mmWave 5G connectivity, the Ultra Wideband chip, and fewer color options. If you feel these features are vital, you should consider purchasing an iPhone 16 instead of an iPhone 16e, although this will add to the price. The iPhone 15 is also a good option, since it offers all of these features that are missing on the iPhone 16e, but at the expense of features like Apple Intelligence support and prolonged battery life.

Article Link: iPhone 14 vs. iPhone 16e Buyer's Guide: Should You Upgrade?
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/guide/iphone-14-vs-iphone-16e/
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One thing worth noting, while the 16e doesn’t support MagSafe charging it does still support wireless charging via qi chargers. Might be worth adding to the chart for clarity. It took a little digging before I bought my 16e because I don’t care about MagSafe but I do care about wireless charging.
 
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mzeb said:
One thing worth noting, while the 16e doesn’t support MagSafe charging it does still support wireless charging via qi chargers. Might be worth adding to the chart for clarity. It took a little digging before I bought my 16e because I don’t care about MagSafe but I do care about wireless charging.
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I really wanted MagSafe capabilities and was hesitant at first when 16e came out. I was upgrading from a 12 Pro, but didn’t need all the features. I end up getting a great MagSafe case and it works perfectly fine. All my previous chargers were MagSafe so it was a must.
 
A key difference is that the 14 has 6 GB RAM vs 8 GB RAM on the 16e. This along with the A18 is why the 16e supports Apple Intelligence.

It’s true that Apple Intelligence currently is not usable and, even in the future, may suck. However this does not change the fact that at some point Apple will likely drop support for phones that don’t support Apple Intelligence. For this reason the 16e is likely to be supported for a longer time.

Regarding MagSafe: almost all iPhone users put the phone in a case — I’d say at least 90% of users have a case. This means that the MagSafe feature built-into the phone is almost never used. If you are using MagSafe, you are using the magnets in your case not the phone. And the 16e works fine with a magnet case, basically just like any MagSafe phone.

MagSafe is a case feature, not a phone feature and I wouldn’t be surprised if Apple drops it for the 17, maybe keeping it on the 17 Pro only.
 
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I feel like anyone considering the 16E vs. other iPhones is better off comparing with the 14 Pro than the base 14. Looking at Swappa, it seems you can get the 14 Pro or even Pro Max for a decent discount (starting at $359/369) vs. their price for a 16E (probably used) of $399.
 
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Timpetus said:
I feel like anyone considering the 16E vs. other iPhones is better off comparing with the 14 Pro than the base 14. Looking at Swappa, it seems you can get the 14 Pro or even Pro Max for a decent discount (starting at $359/369) vs. their price for a 16E (probably used) of $399.
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I agree. I rather take a used or refurbished 14 Pro or 14 Pro Max than to buy the 16e. Gets the bang for my bucks is how I see it. I can always download ChatGPT app on my phone if I want to access AI. That's a no-brainer.
 
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diskrete said:
A key difference is that the 14 has 6 GB RAM vs 8 GB RAM on the 16e. This along with the A18 is why the 16e supports Apple Intelligence.

It’s true that Apple Intelligence currently is not usable and, even in the future, may suck. However this does not change the fact that at some point Apple will likely drop support for phones that don’t support Apple Intelligence. For this reason the 16e is likely to be supported for a longer time.

Regarding MagSafe: almost all iPhone users put the phone in a case — I’d say at least 90% of users have a case. This means that the MagSafe feature built-into the phone is almost never used. If you are using MagSafe, you are using the magnets in your case not the phone. And the 16e works fine with a magnet case, basically just like any MagSafe phone.

MagSafe is a case feature, not a phone feature and I wouldn’t be surprised if Apple drops it for the 17, maybe keeping it on the 17 Pro only.
Click to expand...
Those with an iPhone 14, especially the Pro variants, have an extra 2-3 years before needing to upgrade.

iPhone 12: consider it unless you can hold off 5-6 months
iPhone 13: hold until September
iPhone 14: wait for iPhone 18
 
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diskrete said:
It’s true that Apple Intelligence currently is not usable and, even in the future, may suck. However this does not change the fact that at some point Apple will likely drop support for phones that don’t support Apple Intelligence. For this reason the 16e is likely to be supported for a longer time.
Click to expand...
Lack of RAM has almost always been the reason for dropping OS support for Apple devices in the past - Apple has always been penny pinching there. Same thing will happen with the 6gb phones.

Otoh, we were lucky that Apple thought they'd need AI so now everything starts at 8 or 16gb (still barely the bare minimum for Macs, imho), while usable AI on Apple devices is not here yet. Unfortunately, when and if it ever works, 8GB will already be too little. As soon as that happens, those phones will become obsolete too.
 
UltimaKilo said:
Those with an iPhone 14, especially the Pro variants, have an extra 2-3 years before needing to upgrade.

iPhone 12: consider it unless you can hold off 5-6 months
iPhone 13: hold until September
iPhone 14: wait for iPhone 18
Click to expand...

I'd be surprised if the 17 will be a significant update to the 13. Sure, it'll have a slightly better (but still not that good) camera, a slightly better screen, a CPU that's faster than the still more than sufficient fast one from the 13, more RAM, an additional button, newer uwb-chip and usb-c. That's not nothing, but it's not like going from the 3gs to the 4.

I know a few people who upgraded from the 13 to the 16pro but were disappointed because it mostly cost a lot of money while the minor improvements didn't compensate for the disadvantage of added weight and size for them.
 
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Unami said:
I'd be surprised if the 17 will be a significant update to the 13. Sure, it'll have a slightly better (but still not that good) camera, a slightly better screen, a CPU that's faster than the still more than sufficient fast one from the 13, more RAM, an additional button, newer uwb-chip and usb-c. That's not nothing, but it's not like going from the 3gs to the 4.

I know a few people who upgraded from the 13 to the 16pro but were disappointed because it mostly cost a lot of money while the minor improvements didn't compensate for the disadvantage of added weight and size for them.
Click to expand...
I wouldn't have upgraded from the 13 to 16, because that's just not a big enough jump for most people, unless you really need the RAM and significant camera improvements. I will say, the battery life is also better.

However, the 13 Pro to 17 Pro might be more dramatic. Of course, if all you do is emails and surf web, the 13 could last you longer, especially if you get a battery replacement.
 
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