iPhone 16e camera — can a single camera still work in 2025?

Apple’s reveal of the iPhone 16e comes with many surprises, both good and bad. It’s obviously a much improved phone overall than the prior iPhone SE 2022 it’s spiritually replacing in Apple’s lineup.

But one thing I’m still having trouble overlooking is how it’s repping a single rear camera lens.

In 2025, the iPhone 16e feels like an outlier in a sea of mid-range phones that have embraced dual-camera setups. It really has a lot to prove, and if it can, it could redefine what it takes to be in the best camera phone conversation.

As much as I’m a skeptic about the single 48MP camera on the back of the iPhone 16e, I only need to remind myself about my past experiences with all prior iPhone SE models.

I’m going to break down everything there is to know about the iPhone 16e camera, so you have a better understanding of whether or not it’s right for you.

iPhone 16e cameras specs comparison

What’s apparent in the camera specs table above is that single main camera on the back of the iPhone 16e. Compared to a couple of its direct rivals, the Pixel 8a and OnePlus 13R, Apple’s new iPhone lacks the utility of the other two phones.

For example, the Pixel 8a features a 13MP ultrawide camera that offers a 120-degree field of view — making it a lot easier to capture sprawling landscapes or getting more of your friends into the scene without the need to step back.

Additionally, the OnePlus 13R is one of those rare mid-rangers that’s accompanied by a triple camera array. Its 50MP telephoto camera with 2x optical zoom is largely specialized for shooting portrait photos, but it’s still capable of drawing incredible detail at 4x zoom.

iPhone 16e: All about the main camera

Trying to compare the 3-year old camera in the iPhone SE 2022 to the new iPhone 16e isn’t really a fair comparison, since Apple’s upgraded the iPhone 16e with a 48MP fusion camera. Apple refers to it as a 2-in-1 camera system due to how it can use the middle portion of the center to effectively give it optical quality at 2x zoom.

This isn’t the first time Apple has done this, as the prior iPhone 15 and iPhone 16 leaned heavily on this technique with their main cameras to effectively offer the same 2x optical quality zoom. In contrast, the iPhone SE 2022’s 12MP camera is only capable of doing your typical digital zoom.

Another point about the iPhone 16e’s camera is that it has a f/1.6 aperture, which is better than the iPhone SE 2022’s f/1.8 one. And paired with a proper night mode and support for Apple’s Photonic Engine, this should result in a dramatic improvement under low light.

This was the biggest eyesore in my 200 photo shootout between the Pixel 8a and iPhone SE 2022. You can see the difference in the photos above.

Meanwhile, the Pixel 8a and OnePlus 13R’s main camera have apertures of f/1.89 and f/1.8 respectively — so it’ll be really interesting to see how the iPhone 16e stacks up against them in challenging lighting conditions.

Selfies are only going to get better

Here’s another area where the iPhone 16e greatly benefits over the previous iPhone SE 2022. That’s because it features upgraded 12MP TrueDepth camera.

I suspect the improvements will be noticeable right away, given how it’s paired with a faster f/1.9 aperture lens. All of this makes it a much more formidable selfie camera against the 7MP (f/2.2) selfie camera of the iPhone SE 2022.

Video recording with more dynamic range

I didn’t expect the iPhone 16e to be much of a video shooter, and that’s sort of accurate when I look at all the video modes it supports.

Just as before with the iPhone SE 2022, the iPhone 16e shoots in 4K at 24 fps, 25 fps, 30 fps, or 60 fps. However, the big improvement here is that it shoots in Dolby Vision video. This should result in more dynamic range (HDR) videos by boosting the clip’s contrast, color and brightness.

Both the Pixel 8a and OnePlus 13R also match these supported video recording modes, so it’s a much more even playing field here.

However, it’s worth pointing out what the iPhone 16e lacks. You don’t get cinematic, macro, and action modes. Furthermore, it doesn’t offer Spatial Video recording either

At least the iPhone 16e features slo‑mo video capture support in 1080p at 120 fps or 240 fps, just like the iPhone SE 2022 and iPhone 16.

Outlook

I really don’t expect dedicated telephoto cameras in phones at this price range. There are exceptions, like the OnePlus 13R, but it’s still hard to compete without a separate ultrawide camera.

An ultrawide lens is one of those nice-to-have features when a situation presents itself and only adds more utility, but otherwise I think the iPhone 16e’s main camera will undeniably show it’s nothing to scoff at.

However, it’s only getting harder each year to convince people that one camera is just enough. I get how you can effectively offer telephoto by cropping into the sensor, which at this point most phones can do assuming they have a large enough sensor, but from a utility standpoint the iPhone 16e’s already at a disadvantage functionally.

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