Apple announces updates to its smartphone lineup every autumn, but the company often has a hard time keeping the details under wraps. Ahead of the official unveiling of the iPhone 17, we've already heard quite a few hints about what may be in store.

Both the iPhone SE and iPhone 16E have aluminum frames, with the larger size of the 16E giving it a bit more weight: 167 grams, versus the SE's 144g. The iPhone SE has an IP67 rating for water resistance, while the 16E bumps that to an IP68 rating. The iPhone SE comes in black, white and Product RED. The iPhone 16E comes in black and white.

Despite these two drawbacks, the Pixel 8a is a great iPhone 16e alternative if you want a compact phone and want to stay in the Android ecosystem. It delivers a clean Android experience and is backed by Google's promise of seven years of Android updates from its launch, so expect software support until 2031.