The iPhone 17e will support MagSafe, which was notably absent from the 16e.
Credit: Apple
The iPhone 17e will support MagSafe, which was notably absent from the 16e.
Credit: Apple
The 17e comes in three color options: black, white and pastel pink. It still includes a USB-C port, a notched display instead of a dynamic island, an action button, a 6.1-inch 60Hz OLED display without ProMotion or always-on support, and a 48-megapixel rear camera (which is still capable of taking 2x telephoto images by cutting a 24-megapixel chunk out of the middle of the image sensor).
The biggest problem with the iPhone 17e is still that it’s just $200 cheaper than the iPhone 17, which is an exceptionally robust version of Apple’s default phone. For that $200 you get a better main camera, a wide-angle lens, ProMotion support and a slightly larger 6.3-inch display with a dynamic island, and slightly faster graphics performance. But the 17e’s 256GB storage upgrade and new chip make it more attractive than the $699 iPhone 16, which also lacks a ProMotion display and only has 128GB of storage.
The new phone is part of a series of announcements Apple is planning ahead of a “special experience” event on Wednesday morning. The company also announced a new iPad Air with the M4 chip today and is also widely expected to introduce a new low-end iPad and a new MacBook that is significantly cheaper than the MacBook Air.
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