Apple iPhone 16e vs Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon)

Compared 2 smartphones : Apple iPhone 16e Manufactured in February, 2025, with display 6.1 with chipsetApple A18, vs Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon), Manufactured in March, 2026with chipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. 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
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon)
  • Larger display: 6.3in
  • Higher refresh rate: 120Hz
  • Higher battery capacity: 4300mAh vs 4005mAh
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5.4 vs 5.3
  • 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
- 12/256 GB
- 12/512 GB

Review

Key Specs Apple iPhone 16e and Samsung Galaxy S26 (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 6.3 in
Resolution 1170x2532 pixels 1080x2340 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.5:9 19.5:9
Pixel density 457 ppi 411 ppi
Refresh rate 60 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No Yes (1-120 Hz)
Max brightness 800 nits n/a
HDR support Yes HDR10 Yes, HDR10+
Touch Sampling Rate n/a 240 Hz
Screen-to-body ratio 87.1 % 90.9 %
Features DCI-P3 - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Apple iPhone 16e
804 nits
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon)
n/a

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 146.7 mm (5.78 in) 149.6 mm (5.89 in)
Width 71.5 mm (2.81 in) 71.7 mm (2.82 in)
Thickness 7.8 mm (0.31 in) 7.2 mm (0.28 in)
Weight 167 g (5.89 oz) 167 g (5.89 oz)
Water resistance IP68 IP68
Cooling system n/a Vapor chamber
Back panel Glass Glass
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - White
- Black
- White
- Black
- Blue
- Pink
- Purple
Fingerprint sensor No Yes, In-Display
Screen-to-body ratio
Apple iPhone 16e
87.1 %
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon)
90.9 %

Performance

Testing Apple iPhone 16e and Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon) In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Apple A18 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5
Max Frequency 4040 MHz 4740 MHz
CPU Cores 6 (2 + 4) 8 (2 + 6)
Architecture - 4/2.42 (Sawtooth)
- 2/4.05 (Everest)
- 6/3.63 (Oryon Gen 3 Performance)
- 2/4.61 (Oryon Gen 3 Prime)
Process TSMC TSMC
Transistor Size 3 nm 3 nm
Neural Processor Neural Engine Hexagon
Graphics Apple A18 GPU Adreno 840
GPU Cores 640 1536
GPU Frequency 1490 MHz 1200 MHz
FLOPS 1907 GFLOPS 3686.4 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Apple iPhone 16e
3281
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon)
3378
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Apple iPhone 16e
8035
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon)
11097
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)32813378
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)803511097
Geekbench Compute (GPU)24041n/a
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Apple iPhone 16e
1405699
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon)
3586464
CPU3665161039672
GPU4604231390228
Memory225901419821
UX352859736743
NanoReview Score14056993586464

Memory

RAM
RAM Size 8 GB 12 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5X LPDDR5X
Memory Frequency n/a 5300 MHz
Channels 4 4
Storage
Storage Capacity128 GB256 GB
Storage TypeNVMeUFS 4.1
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS iOS 18.3 (Upgradeable to iOS 18.5) Android 16
OS Size n/a 31.6 GB
UI Skin n/a One UI 8.5

Battery

Volume 4005 mAh 4300 mAh
Max Charging Power n/a 25 W
Battery Type Li-ion Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes (7.5 W) Yes (15 W)
Reverse Charging No Yes, (Wireless)
Fast Charging Yes (57% in 30 min) Yes
Full Charge Time 1:50 h n/a
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Apple iPhone 16e
23:16
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon)
n/a
Web Browsing09:21 hn/a
Video Playback12:57 hn/a
Games04:57 hn/a
Standby Mode119 hn/a

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 Yes (Up to 30 fps)
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) 240 fps (1080p)
Wide-angle lens n/a 120 °
Lenses count Standard: 48 MP Standard: 50 MP
Telephoto: 10 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP
Features Bokeh effect - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix48 MP50 MP
Aperturef/1.6f/1.8
Focal length26 mm24 mm
SensorSony IMX972Samsung ISOCELL S5KGN3
Sensor size1/2.551/1.56 (0.64)
Pixel size0.7 μm1 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrixn/a10 MP
Aperturen/af/2.4
Focal lengthn/a67 mm
Sensorn/aSamsung ISOCELL S5K3K1
Sensor sizen/a1/3.94 (0.25)
Pixel sizen/a1 μm
Stabilizationn/aOptical
Ultra-wide lens
Matrixn/a12 MP
Aperturen/af/2.2
Focal lengthn/a13 mm
Sensorn/aSony IMX564
Sensor sizen/a1/2.55 (0.39)
Pixel sizen/a1.4 μm
Stabilizationn/aDigital

Front camera

Matrix 12 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution 4032x3024 pixels 4000x3000 pixels
Aperture f/1.9 f/2.2
Focal length 23 mm 26 mm
Sensor Sony IMX714 Samsung S5K3LU
Sensor size 1/3.6 1/3.2 (0.31)
Pixel size 1 μm 1.12 μm
Autofocus Phase autofocus Phase autofocus
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 7 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be)
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 5.4
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, DP 1.2
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS
- NAVIC
- GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*11
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 (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B14/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B29/B30/B38/B39/B40/B41/B48/B66/B71)
5G SupportYesYes

Sound

3.5 mm Jack No No
FM Radio No No
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced February, 2025 yr February, 2026 yr
Release Date February, 2025 yr March, 2026 yr
MSRP ($) 599 899
Sensors - Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Face Sensor
- Hall Sensor
- Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- 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.

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

Results

After analyzing the data, we consider Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon) the clear winner in this comparison.

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