iPhone 16e’s preliminary benchmark indicates reduced GPU performance

Apple Unveils iPhone 16e: A New Entry with Compromises

Apple’s latest release, the iPhone 16e, is positioned at a price point of $599, yet it comes with notable sacrifices. A significant change in this iteration is the reduction of GPU cores from five to four in the modified A18 chip, a distinction made in comparison to the A18 found in the iPhone 16.

Performance Insights from Early Benchmarks

Initial graphics benchmarks for the iPhone 16e have begun surfacing online, revealing that the decrease in GPU cores may have impacted its graphical performance. This device, identified as “iPhone 17, 5″and operating on iOS 18.3.1, achieved a Geekbench Metal score of 24188. This finding, first highlighted by MySmartPrice, indicates a performance drop of approximately 13% compared to the scores of its counterparts, the iPhone 16 (27669) and iPhone 16 Plus (27772).

iPhone 16e Geekbench 6 Metal — Image via Geekbench

Everyday Usability Versus Benchmark Scores

Despite the lower GPU count, users may not see a significant impact during day-to-day operations. The binned A18 chip’s 6-core GPU configuration allows Apple to assert that the 4-core version retains the capability to deliver impressive graphics performance. According to Apple, this setup is more than sufficient for “stunning graphics performance, ”enhancing mobile gaming by enabling support for demanding AAA titles and hardware-accelerated ray tracing, which improves lighting and reflections.

RAM and Battery Life Considerations

Benchmarking results have also confirmed that the iPhone 16e is equipped with 8GB of RAM, aligning with earlier speculations regarding its memory structure. Additionally, this amount of RAM meets the minimum requirement for operating Apple Intelligence, as confirmed by Executive Johny Srouji in a prior announcement.

As for battery life, Apple boasts an impressive 26 hours of video playback, surpassing the iPhone 16 by four hours and significantly extending the use time compared to previous models like the iPhone SE 3 and SE 2, by as much as 12 hours.

Availability and Anticipation

The iPhone 16e is slated for pre-order starting February 21 at 5 AM PST, with official availability set for February 28. As more users get their hands on the device, further insights into the implications of its reduced GPU count on graphics-intensive tasks and general usage performance will come to light.

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