iPhone SE vs iPhone 16e: screen size and viewport
The iPhone SE lays web pages out at 375 × 667 CSS px with a pixel ratio of 2; the iPhone 16e at 390 × 844 with 3. The iPhone 16e is 15 px wider and 177 px taller.
The two screens side by side
Specs compared
| Spec | iPhone SE | iPhone 16e | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Viewport, portrait (CSS px) | 375 × 667 | 390 × 844 | −15 px wide, −177 px tall |
| Device pixel ratio | 2 | 3 | −1 for the iPhone SE |
| Physical resolution | 750 × 1334 | 1170 × 2532 | iPhone 16e: 196% more pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 16:9 | 19.5:9 | iPhone 16e is taller |
| Visible height, portrait, with browser bars | ~559 px | ~667 px | −108 px for the iPhone SE |
| Landscape width (CSS px) | 667 px | 844 px | −177 px for the iPhone SE |
| Visible height, landscape | ~325 px | ~340 px | −15 px for the iPhone SE |
| First released | 2020 | 2020 | same year |
| Engine in MobileCheck | WebKit (Safari) | WebKit (Safari) | same engine |
CSS px are the units media queries see. Visible heights subtract the status bar and the Safari on iOS bars as set in our device profiles; real bar heights vary with settings and scrolling. The release year is that of the first model with each screen.
What this means for your layout
How the width difference affects your layout
The iPhone 16e is 15 CSS px wider (390 vs 375, 4% more). One common breakpoint falls between them: (min-width: 390px) (a common phone test width) matches the iPhone 16e but not the iPhone SE, so a rule written for that width applies on only one of the two.
In a 2-column card grid with 16 px page padding and 16 px gaps, each card is 171 px wide on the iPhone 16e and 163 px on the iPhone SE. Check that buttons, prices and long words still fit in the narrower one.
Pixel density and image sizes
The iPhone 16e has the denser screen: 3× against 2×. A full-width image (sizes="100vw") needs about 1170 px on the iPhone 16e and 750 px on the iPhone SE to look sharp.
With a srcset such as 640w, 828w, 1080w, 1290w, 1440w, 1640w, 2048w, the browser would normally pick the 828w file on the iPhone SE and the 1290w file on the iPhone 16e. Leave out the 1290w candidate and the iPhone 16e upscales a smaller file.
How much fits above the fold
On first load about 667 px of the page is visible on the iPhone 16e and 559 px on the iPhone SE: 108 px less (19%) on the iPhone SE, roughly 4 lines of 16 px body text at a 1.5 line height.
If your main button sits just above the fold on the iPhone 16e, it can end up below it on the iPhone SE. Keep the headline and the main action within the first 559 px, and size full-screen sections with 100svh rather than 100vh — see the 100vh problem on mobile.
Relative to its width, the iPhone 16e has the taller screen (16:9 vs 19.5:9), so the same content is laid out narrower but more of its length fits at once.
In landscape
Turned sideways, the iPhone SE is 667 px wide and the iPhone 16e 844 px; (min-width: 768px), (min-width: 840px) match only the iPhone 16e in landscape. The visible height drops to about 325 and 340 px, so a 64 px sticky header covers 20% and 19% of the screen — under the 25% at which MobileCheck flags fixed bars covering the page.
Same browser engine
Both are Apple devices, so both render with WebKit, the engine behind Safari. Engine quirks are the same; the differences above come from size and density alone. Chrome DevTools only emulates the size and still draws with Chromium, so check Apple devices in a WebKit browser — see how to test on an iPhone.
More about these devices
- iPhone SE viewport size — one screen for the iPhone SE (2nd/3rd gen) / 7 / 8
- iPhone 16e viewport size — one screen for the iPhone 12 / 13 / 14 / 16e
Or open the free check with the iPhone SE and the iPhone 16e preselected: full-page screenshots in WebKit, with problems such as small text and crowded buttons highlighted.
Related comparisons
- iPhone 14 vs Galaxy A54 — 390 vs 384 px wide, 3× vs 2.813×
- iPhone SE vs Galaxy A15 — 375 vs 384 px wide, 2× vs 2.813×
- iPhone 14 vs iPhone 15 — 390 vs 393 px wide, 3× vs 3×
- iPhone 14 vs iPhone 14 Plus — 390 vs 428 px wide, 3× vs 3×
- iPhone 13 vs iPhone 17 — 390 vs 402 px wide, 3× vs 3×
- iPhone 11 vs iPhone 12 — 414 vs 390 px wide, 2× vs 3×
Compare other devices → · All mobile viewport sizes →
Frequently asked questions
Is the iPhone SE screen bigger than the iPhone 16e?
In CSS pixels, which decide how much of a page fits, the iPhone 16e is larger: 390 × 844 against 375 × 667. The iPhone 16e has more physical pixels (1170 × 2532), which makes it sharper rather than roomier.
Do I need different CSS for the iPhone SE and the iPhone 16e?
Only if your breakpoints fall between 375 and 390 px: a min-width query at 390px applies to one and not the other. A fluid layout handles both without device-specific rules.
How much of a web page is visible on the iPhone SE vs the iPhone 16e?
About 375 × 559 CSS px on the iPhone SE and 390 × 667 on the iPhone 16e when a page first opens in portrait, after the status bar and Safari on iOS's bars. Bar heights are our device profiles' estimates.