He iPhone 16E He arrived at the stores a few weeks ago to renew the iPhone SE line, the terminals of Apple's economic range, with its camera as one of the most controversial points. However, there are several things that you have to know about this section that will probably change your way of seeing it.
Sebastiaan de With, developer of the popular Halide camera app, has thoroughly examined the technology of the 16E iPhone, as usual with each new Apple device, comparing it with that of its older brothers.
How is the iPhone 16E camera
At first glance, the three devices seem to have the same main camera of 48 megapixels, But when deepening the specifications, the differences begin to become evident. While the iPhone 16 Pro includes a lens with opening F/1.78, both the iPhone 16 and the 16E opt for a broader opening of F/1.6. However, the big difference lies in optical stabilization: The 16E iPhone does not have a sensor-shifta key technology to improve sharpness in low light conditions.
Apple has made a peculiar decision with the 16E iPhone camera: it has combined the most advanced image processor offered by the A18 chip with an older and smaller sensor. This has important consequences in photographic experience. For a start, The 16E iPhone does not have macro modenor allows to capture space photos or videos, leaving aside one of the most innovative functions of the new iPhone. In addition, night mode have been eliminated in portraits and cinematic mode or action mode recording. Nor has support for Professional formats such as Poraw.
In the image tests carried out by of with, the iPhone 16E showed a trend towards warmer colors and a narrower field of vision compared to the iPhone 16 Pro. The most noticeable difference appeared in low light environments, where the lack of stabilization and the smallest sensor translated into a loss of obvious detail. When taking photos in 2x, the image processing was less attractive and more “aggressive”, harming the final quality of the images.
Good camera but with limitations
Despite these limitations, by with ensures that the 16E iPhone continues to offer an image quality comparable to that of previous models such as the iPhone 14 Pro. In fact, it emphasizes that the noise and texture of its images give it a special character that could attract some users.
This analysis makes it clear that the 16E iPhone is not up to its older brothers in terms of photography, but it is not completely behind. His camera, although more limited, is still able to offer good results In most situations.
In short, Apple has played its cards with the 16E iPhone betting on a camera that, although modern in its processing, is based on an older hardware. It remains to be seen if users will accept it as an interesting alternative or if their limitations will condemn it to be in the background within the company's catalog.
