Head to head
Nothing Phone (3)vsApple iPhone 16e
The short answer
Choose the Nothing Phone (3) for the larger screen, peak brightness, more base storage, battery capacity, battery life per charge, battery lifespan and faster charging. Choose the iPhone 16e for lower weight. The iPhone 16e is £100 cheaper at UK RRP (£599 against £699). The Nothing Phone (3) gets security updates until July 2032; Apple publishes no date for the iPhone 16e, and its record with retired iPhones points to 2032–2036, our estimate, not Apple’s. On that estimate neither clearly gets them for longer.
- Released
- 2025-07-15GSMArena — Nothing Phone (3) specifications, retrieved 2026-08-20
- Price
- £699Nothing UK store — Phone (3), retrieved 2026-08-20
- Security updates until
- 2032-07-15Nothing UK — Phone (3), retrieved 2026-08-20
- 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
7 wins for Nothing Phone (3)1 win for iPhone 16e2 gaps borderline0 differences you won’t notice£100 apart at RRP
Verdict: Nothing Phone (3) ahead on 7 rows, iPhone 16e on 1 row
On the makers’ figures and the named third-party sources, the Phone (3) wins on display size (6.67 in against 6.1 in), peak brightness (4,500 nits against 1,200 nits), storage (base) (256 GB against 128 GB), battery capacity (5,150 mAh from the maker against 4,005 mAh from GSMArena), battery per charge (56.38 h against 41 h), battery lifespan (1,400 cycles against 1,000 cycles) and fast charging (65 W against 20 W); the iPhone 16e wins on weight (167 g against 218 g). 2 gaps are borderline, differences most people would not notice: RAM (12 GB from the maker against 8 GB from GSMArena) for the Phone (3) and wireless charging (15 W from the maker against 7.5 W from GSMArena) for the Phone (3). Both state the same typical brightness. The other 37 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
3 attributes neither phone has a sourced figure for
Google Mobile Services · AnTuTu benchmark · DXOMARK camera score. Rows appear as sources are cited — a gap in our data, not a statement about either phone.
Questions
Is the Nothing Phone (3) better than the iPhone 16e?
On the figures, neither is better overall: the Nothing Phone (3) wins on display size, 6.67 in (Nothing UK) against 6.1 in (Apple Support UK), peak brightness, 4,500 nits (Nothing UK) against 1,200 nits (Apple Support UK), storage (base), 256 GB (Nothing UK) against 128 GB (Apple Support UK), battery capacity, 5,150 mAh (Nothing UK) against 4,005 mAh (GSMArena), battery per charge, 56.38 h against 41 h (both EU energy label), battery lifespan, 1,400 cycles against 1,000 cycles (both EU energy label) and fast charging, 65 W (Nothing UK) against 20 W (Apple Support UK); the iPhone 16e wins on weight, 167 g (Apple Support UK) against 218 g (Nothing UK). Every other row is borderline, too close to notice, or not ranked.
Which has the better battery?
The Nothing Phone (3), by a gap you’d notice: battery per charge, 56.38 h against 41 h (both EU energy label). The Nothing Phone (3), by a gap you’d notice: battery capacity, 5,150 mAh (Nothing UK) against 4,005 mAh (GSMArena).
Which is lighter?
The iPhone 16e, by a gap you’d notice: weight, 167 g (Apple Support UK) against 218 g (Nothing UK).
Which has the brighter screen?
The Nothing Phone (3), by a gap you’d notice: peak brightness, 4,500 nits (Nothing UK) against 1,200 nits (Apple Support UK). Both state 800 nits for typical brightness (Nothing UK and Apple Support UK).
Which gets updates for longer?
The Nothing Phone (3) gets security updates until July 2032; Apple publishes no date for the iPhone 16e, and its record with retired iPhones points to 2032–2036, our estimate, not Apple’s. On that estimate neither clearly gets them for longer. Sources: dates from Nothing UK; Apple’s record from endoflife.date and Apple security releases.
Which is cheaper?
The iPhone 16e is £100 cheaper at UK RRP (£599 against £699). Prices from Nothing Phone (3): Nothing 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.