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

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?

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 edges

Aluminum chassis with contoured edges





Glossy glass back

Color-infused frosted glass back





6.1- or 6.7-inch display

6.1-inch display





Available in Yellow, Blue, Purple, (PRODUCT)RED, Starlight, and Midnight

Available in White and Black





Ring/Silent switch

Action button





12-megapixel main camera with ƒ/1.5 aperture

48-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 options

1x or 2x optical zoom options





Sensor-shift optical image stabilization

Optical image stabilization





Smart HDR 4

Smart HDR 5





Macro photography







Night mode and Night mode portraits

Improved 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 recording

Spatial Audio and stereo recording





A15 Bionic chip with 5-core GPU

A18 chip with 4-core GPU







Apple Intelligence support







Visual intelligence





Qualcomm Snapdragon X70 modem

Apple C1 modem





mmWave 5G connectivity







Thread connectivity







Ultra Wideband chip for Precision Finding









Precision Finding for Find My friends





20- or 26-hour battery life

26-hour battery life





Lightning port

USB-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 discontinued

Starts at $599



Released September 2022

Released 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.Related Roundup: iPhone 16eBuyer's Guide: iPhone 16e (Buy Now)Related Forum: iPhoneThis article, "iPhone 14 vs. iPhone 16e Buyer's Guide: Should You Upgrade?" first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums