iPhone 16e camera only allowing 12/24MP photos

In order to take a 48mp, you need to choose ProRaw. I personally NEVER take photos at that resolution. It takes up a LOT of memory and for the average photo you take, you'll NEVER see a difference. It's not the number of pixels that makes the difference. It's the size of the pixels and in this regard, Apples system does an incredible job.

Read this about using ProRaw --> About Apple ProRAW - Apple Support

Servant of Cats may be right about not supporting Pro Raw. This link will help you get to 48mp --> Change advanced camera settings on iPhone - Apple Support

The iPhone 16e does not support Apple ProRAW.

The only setting at which the iPhone 16e could even theoretically offer 48 MP would be 1x, as the 2x setting is likely to be an exact crop (center 12 MP of the 48 MP on the sensor).

You're welcome!