Apple has launched the iPhone 17e, but its $599 price tag leaves some wondering if the company will ever deliver a truly budget-friendly phone. With the regular iPhone 17 costing only up to $200 more, is the 17e worth it?
We’ll help you decide if the iPhone 17E justifies its price. While it offers upgrades over the iPhone 16E, Apple also includes cost-saving features to keep it below flagship-tier pricing. Clarifying these trade-offs can highlight the phone’s real value.
Double The Storage At No Extra Cost.
Here are some things we like, with that in mind. Here’s what stands out about the iPhone 17E, along with some drawbacks. Stay tuned for our full review. The iPhone 17E still starts at $599, but we appreciate that Apple doubled the base storage from 128GB on the 16E to 256GB on the 17E without raising the price. This means you now get 256GB for $599, whereas last year you would have had to pay $699 for the same amount of storage with the 16E.
I often run out of space on a 128 GB phone, so getting more storage at no extra cost is a big deal. It’s rare for a phone company to be this generous, so it’s worth celebrating when it happens.
MagSafe
For the first time, every iPhone Apple sells now supports its magnetic wireless charging standard, which is exciting. The main benefit is that max doubles the wireless charging speed, so the iPhone 17E can charge at up to 15 W instead of the 7.5 W limit on the iPhone 16E.
The magnetic rings on the phone and charger help them align perfectly, making charging more efficient. Less energy is wasted as heat, so your phone charges faster and stays cooler. You can also easily attach the magnetic accessories and stands.
The iPhone 17E also supports G2 at 15W, so you can use more chargers and accessories, not just Apple-approved ones.
It’s Available In Pink Now
One issue with the iPhone 16E and earlier SE models was the lack of color options. Usually, you only get black, white, and sometimes a red version later. Now the iPhone 17E comes in light pink, which is a welcome change.
Now you can pick a light pink iPhone 17E, a welcome change from previous limited color choices. Additionally, the 17E uses the A19 chip the same as the iPhone 17 which has performed well in tests.
A More Durable Display
We haven’t tested the iPhone 17E yet, but if its performance matches the iPhone 17, especially in graphics, it’s promising. The 17E also gets Ceramic Shield 2, claimed to be 3x more scratch-resistant than the previous version.
The glass is so tough that Jerry Rig Everything, a well-known phone tester, only made light scratches at level 7 on the Mohs hardness scale. Most phone screens scratch at level 5 or 6, so Apple’s new formula is clearly better. This should be a big advantage for the iPhone 17e.
Does it mean you can skip a screen protector? Maybe not, but if you use your phone without one, you’ll probably have better luck than with the iPhone 16E.
Reasons to Skip
$599 is not cheap
There are a lot of great features here, including the extra storage, but it’s debatable whether this device is still worth $600, especially when you consider that the iPhone 17 offers a whole lot more for an extra $200 and can likely be found on a deal. If you look hard enough, mid-range phones like Google Pixel 10a, Samsung Galaxy A56, and the best cheap phones offer comparable features and performance for under $500.
Single Camera
It’s unusual to see a phone with just one camera lens these days, especially for $599. While you do get 2x optical zoom, users interested in taking a variety of photos may miss an ultra-wide camera or macro mode.
The camera lineup remains unchanged: a 48 MP main camera and a 12 MP front camera. Portraits benefit from subtle improvements in focus and background blur, but day-to-day use will feel mostly the same. Significant camera upgrades are missing this year.
There Aren’t Many Upgrades
It shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that a new phone runs; the experience is more or less identical to its predecessor, while the iPhone 17e offers more noticeable upgrades than the Pixel Xa. It still doesn’t have much new to offer. Typical upgrades like the A19 chipset and MagSafe, but for the most part, it seems to be offering a very similar package to last year.
We can’t fully compare the iPhone 17e until we test it and complete a review. On paper, Apple hasn’t done much to make the 17e stand out. The iPhone 16e may soon drop in price, so it may be worth saving money on that model before it sells out.
Outlook
There are plenty of reasons to be interested in the iPhone 17E, especially if you haven’t purchased a new iPhone in a very long time, compared to the iPhone SE or an older model like the iPhone 13. This phone offers a heck of a lot without many compromises.
But at the same time, it’s hard to get over the fact that Apple isn’t offering much that’s new, nor is it actually supplying a cheap, good-value iPhone as it did with the iPhone SE series. It may cost less than an iPhone 17, but the iPhone 17e still doesn’t feel like it has enough to warrant the $599 price tag.
We will only know whether there are more hidden upgrades once we’ve had a chance to fully review the phone.
