Apple iPhone 16e vs Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon)

Compared 2 smartphones : Apple iPhone 16e Manufactured in February, 2025, with display 6.1 with chipsetApple A18, vs Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon), Manufactured in October, 2023 with chipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. Below are specs, tests, pros and cons for each device

Key Differences

Device key advantages
Reasons to choose Apple iPhone 16e
  • Higher pixel density: 457ppi
  • Lighter design: 167g vs 209g
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon)
  • Larger display: 6.4in
  • Higher refresh rate: 120Hz
  • Higher battery capacity: 4500mAh vs 4005mAh
  • Supports newer USB: 3.2 vs 2
  • Supports DisplayPort
  • Fingerprint scanner

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 8/128 GB
- 8/256 GB
- 8/512 GB
- 8/128 GB
- 8/256 GB

Review

Key Specs Apple iPhone 16e and Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon)
Display
Color accuracy, sharpness & brightness
Camera
Main & front camera tests
Performance
App & system performance
Games
3D gaming performance
Battery
Battery life, charging speed & type
Connectivity
Connectivity features
NanoReview Score
Overall score by NanoReview
Adjust each parameter’s importance to find the best match for you.
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Function
Importance (Weight)
Display:
Camera:
Performance:
Gaming:
Battery:
Connectivity:
Higher weight means greater impact on NanoReview score.

Tests & specs

Specs & test comparison

Display

Display quality comparison
Type OLED Dynamic AMOLED
Size 6.1 in 6.4 in
Resolution 1170x2532 pixels 1080x2340 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.5:9 19.5:9
Pixel density 457 ppi 403 ppi
Refresh rate 60 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No Yes (60-120 Hz)
Max brightness 800 nits 1450 nits
HDR support Yes HDR10 Yes HDR10+
Screen-to-body ratio 87.1 % 83.2 %
Features DCI-P3 - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Apple iPhone 16e
804 nits
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon)
982 nits

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 146.7 mm (5.78 in) 158 mm (6.22 in)
Width 71.5 mm (2.81 in) 76.5 mm (3.01 in)
Thickness 7.8 mm (0.31 in) 8.2 mm (0.32 in)
Weight 167 g (5.89 oz) 209 g (7.37 oz)
Water resistance IP68 IP68
Cooling system n/a Vapor chamber
Back panel Glass Glass
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - White
- Black
- White
- Black
- Green
- Purple
Fingerprint sensor No Yes In-Display
Screen-to-body ratio
Apple iPhone 16e
87.1 %
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon)
83.2 %

Performance

Testing Apple iPhone 16e and Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon) In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Apple A18 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1
Max Frequency 4040 MHz 3000 MHz
CPU Cores 6 (2 + 4) 8 (1 + 3 + 4)
Architecture - 4/2.42 (Sawtooth)
- 2/4.05 (Everest)
- 4/1.8 (Cortex-A510)
- 3/2.5 (Cortex-A710)
- 1/3 (Cortex-X2)
Process TSMC Samsung
Transistor Size 3 nm 4 nm
Neural Processor Neural Engine Hexagon
Graphics Apple A18 GPU Adreno 730
GPU Cores 640 1024
GPU Frequency 1490 MHz 818 MHz
FLOPS 1907 GFLOPS 1675.3 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Apple iPhone 16e
3281
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon)
1549
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Apple iPhone 16e
8035
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon)
3718
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)32811549
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)80353718
Geekbench Compute (GPU)24041n/a
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Apple iPhone 16e
1405699
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon)
1203840
CPU366516337597
GPU460423448766
Memory225901183031
UX352859234446
NanoReview Score14056991203840

Memory

RAM
RAM Size 8 GB 8 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5X LPDDR5
Memory Frequency n/a 3200 MHz
Channels 4 4
Storage
Storage Capacity128 GB- 128 GB
- 256 GB
Storage TypeNVMeUFS 3.1
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS iOS 18.3 (Upgradeable to iOS 18.5) Android 13 (Upgradeable to Android 14)
UI Skin n/a One UI 6.1

Battery

Volume 4005 mAh 4500 mAh
Max Charging Power n/a 25 W
Battery Type Li-ion Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes (7.5 W) Yes
Reverse Charging No Yes (Wireless)
Fast Charging Yes (57% in 30 min) Yes (58% in 30 min)
Full Charge Time 1:50 h 1:10 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Apple iPhone 16e
23:16
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon)
20:15
Web Browsing09:21 h07:09 h
Video Playback12:57 h10:02 h
Games04:57 h04:27 h
Standby Mode119 h118 h

Main camera

Matrix 48 MP 50 MP
Photo resolution 8064x6048 pixels 8160x6120 pixels
Zoom Digital Optical, 3x
Flash Dual LED LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K Recording No Up to 24FPS
4K Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
Slow Motion 240 fps (1080p) 960 fps (720p)
Wide-angle lens n/a 123 °
Lenses count Standard: 48 MP Standard: 50 MP
Telephoto: 8 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP
Features Bokeh effect - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
Main lens
Matrix48 MP50 MP
Aperturef/1.6f/1.8
Focal length26 mm23 mm
SensorSony IMX972Samsung S5KGN3
Sensor size1/2.551/1.57
Pixel size0.7 μm1 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrixn/a8 MP
Aperturen/af/2.4
Focal lengthn/a76 mm
Sensorn/aHynix Hi847
Sensor sizen/a1/4.4
Pixel sizen/a1 μm
Stabilizationn/aDigital
Ultra-wide lens
Matrixn/a12 MP
Aperturen/af/2.2
Focal lengthn/a13 mm
Sensorn/aSamsung S5K3L6
Sensor sizen/a1/3
Pixel sizen/a1.12 μm
Stabilizationn/aDigital
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Apple iPhone 16e
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon)
124
Video quality
Apple iPhone 16e
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon)
131
Overall camera score
Apple iPhone 16e
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon)
127
Bokehn/a50
Previewn/a67
Zoomn/a123

Front camera

Matrix 12 MP 10 MP
Photo resolution 4032x3024 pixels 3648x2736 pixels
Aperture f/1.9 f/2.4
Focal length 23 mm 26 mm
Sensor Sony IMX714 Samsung S5K3J1
Sensor size 1/3.6 1/3
Pixel size 1 μm 1.22 μm
Autofocus Phase autofocus No
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 2160p (4K) at 60 fps 2160p (4K) at 60 fps
TOF 3D sensor Yes No

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) Wi-Fi 6E (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
- Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version 5.3 5.3
Bluetooth features LE LE
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 2 3.2
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
- Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
DisplayPort No Yes
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS
- NAVIC
- GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*12
SIM TypeNanoNano
SIM ModeDual SIM StandbyDual SIM Standby
eSIM Support *YesYes
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G BandsGSM/EDGE 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHzGSM850, GSM900, DCS1800, PCS1900
3G BandsUMTS/HSPA+ 850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHzUMTS B1 (2100), B2 (1900), B4 (AWS), B5 (850), B8 (900)
LTE Bands*LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B14/B17/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B29/B30/B32/B34/B38/B39/B40/B41/B42/B48/B53/B66/B71)LTE (B/B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B17/B20/B26/B28/B66)
LTE categoryn/a20
5G SupportYesYes

Sound

Speakers n/a Stereo
3.5 mm Jack No No
FM Radio No No
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced February, 2025 yr October, 2023 yr
Release Date February, 2025 yr October, 2023 yr
Launch Price ($) n/a 599
MSRP ($) 599 n/a
Sensors - Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Face Sensor
- Barometer
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
Charger Included No No

Note

Apple iPhone 16e:

The smartphone doesn’t have a cinematic mode like the higher-end models in the series.

Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon):

The Galaxy S23 FE is available in the USA with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor, whereas other countries receive a version with the Exynos 2200. The base (128 GB) storage utilizes a UFS 3.1 memory type, whereas the higher-tier 256 GB variant is equipped with UFS 4.0. Models are available with a single SIM card, dual SIMs, or dual SIMs plus eSIM (depending on the market).

* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

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