iPhone 16e Pre-booking Opens in Nepal: Is The Hate Justified?

The wait is over! Apple’s new iPhone 16e, launched on February 28, is now open for pre-booking in Nepal.

The iPhone 16e is the more affordable sibling of the iPhone 16, sharing the same overall design. What’s more? The iPhone 16e is set to take the place of the iPhone SE as Apple’s new budget-friendly option.

Ready for the deep dive? Let’s explore the iPhone 16e’s specs.

ALSO READ: Apple iPhone Price in Nepal (April 2025 Updated)

iPhone 16e Overview

Design

The iPhone 16e replaces the 3rd-gen iPhone SE. So, comparisons are natural.

Right off the bat, the phone features a single camera like the iPhone SE, but is much bigger than the iPhone SE and has a boxier design with a flat aluminum frame.

The old SE had thick bezels and a front fingerprint sensor, making it clear it was the budget iPhone. The 16e ditches all that for Face ID and a notch, giving it a more modern look.

The iPhone 16e’s boxy design and the switch from the classic Ring/Silent switch to the new Action button bring it visually in line with the standard iPhone 16. That’s probably why Apple named it the iPhone 16e instead of iPhone SE 4th-gen, like the iPhone SE 3rd-gen.

In terms of durability, the 16e also matches the iPhone 16 with an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance—another notable upgrade over the previous SE model.

The iPhone 16e is only available in Black and White, which might feel underwhelming for users hoping for a bit more personality in their device.

Display

The iPhone 16e has a 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR OLED display with a 60Hz refresh rate. The display has a 2532 x 1170 pixels resolution (~457 ppi). This marks a significant leap from the iPhone SE’s 326 ppi LCD panel.

Interestingly, the display specs on the iPhone 16e are identical to those of the standard iPhone 16, so you can expect a similar display quality as well.

However, there is a slight compromise when it comes to brightness. The iPhone 16e offers up to 800 nits of typical max brightness and 1,200 nits peak brightness for HDR content—noticeably lower than what the iPhone 16 delivers, which may impact visibility under direct sunlight or in high-brightness environments.

ALSO READ: iPhone 16 Price in Nepal (April 2025 Updated)

Hardware

The iPhone 16e has the new A18 chip with 3nm process technology. According to Apple, the new chip offers performance improvements and power efficiency. The 16-core Neural Engine is twice as fast as A16 Bionic when running machine learning models.

Similarly, the 6-core CPU is 30% faster and has two performance and four efficiency cores.

In terms of storage, it comes in the usual three variants: 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB.

Although the iPhone 16e features the A18 chip, it’s a slightly binned version with a 4-core GPU instead of the standard 5-core found in the iPhone 16. This could result in a modest dip in graphical performance, but I’m just speculating here.

Camera

The improvement in the iPhone 16e’s camera department, compared to iPhone SE, is also huge, featuring a 2-in-1 camera system with a 48MP camera that supports a 2x optical zoom. The camera supports up to 4K video recording at 60fps in Dolby Vision.

Because it only has one rear camera, the iPhone 16e can’t take spatial photos or videos for Apple Vision Pro.

However, it does support spatial audio, so you can enjoy immersive sound with AirPods, Apple Vision Pro, or a surround sound system.

On the front, there is a 12MP selfie camera that can shoot up to 4K 60fps.

ALSO READ: Samsung Galaxy S25 Price in Nepal (April 2025 Updated)

Battery and OS

Apple does not officially specify the battery capacity. However, Apple says the battery can last up to 26 hours of video playback, which is 4 hours longer than the iPhone 16.

This is a huge improvement as we only see the Pro or Plus variant get a higher battery. Seeing this on the cheapest iPhone of 2025 is a good thing. What’s not a good thing is the exclusion of MagSafe charging. The phone only supports Qi wireless charging.

Apple claims a 50% charge in 30 minutes using a 20W adapter paired with a USB-C charging cable.

However, the smartphone runs iOS 18.3 out of the box. You only get to enjoy the AI feature after updating the phone to the latest iOS version.

Apple Intelligence

The iPhone 16e also gets the highly acclaimed Apple Intelligence.

iOS 18 introduces systemwide Writing Tools that allow users to rewrite, proofread, and summarize text across apps like Mail, Notes, and third-party platforms. Audio can also be recorded, transcribed, and summarized in Notes and Phone apps.

Siri gains a more natural communication style, with richer language understanding, context retention, and a new glowing design around the screen edge. Apple Intelligence helps prioritize notifications and emails.

Users can search photos and videos with natural language and remove distractions in photos with the new Clean Up tool.

Additional Apple Intelligence features will roll out later this year and in the months following.

iPhone 16e Price in Nepal and Availability

The iPhone 16e price in Nepal is Rs. 1,17,100 (128GB), Rs. 1,35,900 (256GB), and Rs. 1,73,700 (512GB). The phone is available for pre-book via authorized stores.

The iPhone 16e is the cheapest iPhone with an A18 chip. With support for Apple Intelligence, it is likely becoming the only choice for users, especially those holding onto older iPhones, who want to experience the latest AI features without spending flagship-level money.

And it’s probably also why the phone is outperforming the initial sales of the iPhone SE (3rd generation), despite getting so much hate from tech reviewers.

However, for us Nepalese users, the phone might not be quite as appealing due to its current pricing. The 16e feels less like a budget-friendly option and more like a premium compromise, making alternatives, like the Samsung S25, more tempting.

What do you think about the iPhone 16e? Let us know in the comments below!