Head to head
Apple iPhone 17 ProvsApple iPhone 16e
The short answer
Choose the iPhone 17 Pro for peak brightness, more base storage, battery life per charge and faster wireless charging. Choose the iPhone 16e for lower weight. The iPhone 16e is £500 cheaper at UK RRP (£599 against £1,099). Apple publishes no date for either; its record with retired iPhones points to 2032–2036 for both, our estimate, not Apple’s.
- Released
- 2025-09-19endoflife.date, retrieved 2026-08-19
- Price
- £1,099Apple UK store, retrieved 2026-08-19
- Security updates until
- Not published by the makerendoflife.date — iPhone, retrieved 2026-08-19
- Released
- 2025-02-28endoflife.date, retrieved 2026-08-19
- Price
- £599Apple Newsroom UK — iPhone 16e launch, retrieved 2026-09-22
- Security updates until
- Not published by the makerendoflife.date — iPhone, retrieved 2026-08-19
4 wins for iPhone 17 Pro1 win for iPhone 16e7 gaps borderline1 difference you won’t notice£500 apart at RRP
Verdict: iPhone 17 Pro ahead on 4 rows, iPhone 16e on 1 row
On the makers’ figures and the named third-party sources, the iPhone 17 Pro wins on peak brightness (3,000 nits against 1,200 nits), storage (base) (256 GB against 128 GB), battery per charge (47 h against 41 h) and wireless charging (25 W from the maker against 7.5 W from GSMArena); the iPhone 16e wins on weight (167 g against 204 g). 7 gaps are borderline, differences most people would not notice: display size (6.3 in against 6.1 in) for the iPhone 17 Pro, typical brightness (1,000 nits against 800 nits) for the iPhone 17 Pro, HDR peak brightness (1,600 nits against 1,200 nits) for the iPhone 17 Pro, RAM (12 GB against 8 GB, both from GSMArena) for the iPhone 17 Pro, claimed video playback (31 h against 26 h) for the iPhone 17 Pro, fast charging (40 W against 20 W) for the iPhone 17 Pro and Geekbench 6 (CPU, multi-core) (8,770 against 7,217, both from Geekbench Browser) for the iPhone 17 Pro. The difference in battery capacity is below the threshold you would notice. Both state the same battery lifespan. The other 35 rows have no threshold or no direction to judge by, so nobody wins them.
True to scale
Outlines from each maker’s published dimensions, drawn to scale. Corner rounding is our drawing convention, not a measurement.
Specifications
A win is marked only where the figures can be ranked and the gap is one you could notice. A row the site has no threshold for says whether the two differ, and that it is not ranking them. = marks the same figure on both, ≠ not ranked a difference with no ranking. Every figure carries its source.
Body
Display
Platform
Memory
Camera
Battery
Connectivity
Benchmarks
2 attributes neither phone has a sourced figure for
Google Mobile Services · AnTuTu benchmark. Rows appear as sources are cited — a gap in our data, not a statement about either phone.
Questions
Is the iPhone 17 Pro better than the iPhone 16e?
On the figures, neither is better overall: the iPhone 17 Pro wins on peak brightness, 3,000 nits (Apple UK) against 1,200 nits (Apple Support UK), storage (base), 256 GB (Apple UK) against 128 GB (Apple Support UK), battery per charge, 47 h against 41 h (both EU energy label) and wireless charging, 25 W (Apple UK) against 7.5 W (GSMArena); the iPhone 16e wins on weight, 167 g (Apple Support UK) against 204 g (Apple UK). Every other row is borderline, too close to notice, or not ranked.
Which has the better battery?
The iPhone 17 Pro, by a gap you’d notice: battery per charge, 47 h against 41 h (both EU energy label). The iPhone 17 Pro is ahead, narrowly: claimed video playback, 31 h against 26 h (both Apple UK), a borderline gap most people would not notice. The iPhone 16e is ahead on paper, but not by a gap you’d notice: battery capacity, 4,005 mAh against 3,998 mAh (both GSMArena).
Which is lighter?
The iPhone 16e, by a gap you’d notice: weight, 167 g (Apple Support UK) against 204 g (Apple UK).
Which has the brighter screen?
The iPhone 17 Pro, by a gap you’d notice: peak brightness, 3,000 nits (Apple UK) against 1,200 nits (Apple Support UK). The iPhone 17 Pro is brighter, narrowly: typical brightness, 1,000 nits (Apple UK) against 800 nits (Apple Support UK), a borderline gap most people would not notice. The iPhone 17 Pro is brighter, narrowly: HDR peak brightness, 1,600 nits against 1,200 nits (both Apple UK), a borderline gap most people would not notice.
Which gets updates for longer?
Apple publishes no date for either; its record with retired iPhones points to 2032–2036 for both, our estimate, not Apple’s. Sources: Apple’s record from endoflife.date and Apple security releases.
Which is cheaper?
The iPhone 16e is £500 cheaper at UK RRP (£599 against £1,099). Prices from iPhone 17 Pro: Apple UK store; iPhone 16e: Apple Newsroom UK.
Other comparisons
The pairs a buyer of either phone would also weigh. Any two phones in the catalogue can be compared from the chooser.