If you’ve been umming and ahhing about upgrading your iPhone, the 17e is Apple’s latest effort to convince you. And it is indeed compelling.
Apple’s most affordable new iPhone – announced quietly overnight – isn’t the compromise it used to be. All the features that you’d want from a flagship phone are still there
The iPhone 17e arrives at $999 with the same processor as the top of the range model; double the base storage of the model it replaces, and a camera system almost equal to its flagship iPhone 17 sibling.
How does it fit into the iPhone family?
At $999, the iPhone 17e is the most accessible way into a brand new iPhone right now. The iPhone 17 starts at $1,399, the iPhone Air at $1,799, the iPhone 17 Pro at $1,999, and the Pro Max at $2,199. The more you read about the 17e, you realise the deal you’re getting on a device that has a $400 gap between it and the iPhone 17 it now sits under.
Apple is targeting those who’ve been holding onto older phones and waiting for a reason to upgrade. If you’re on an iPhone 12, an iPhone SE (second- or third-generation), or even anything older, the gap in performance and features between what you have and the 17e is substantial.
In brief (and according to Apple), the 17e is up to 1.6 times faster in CPU performance than the iPhone 12; 1.9 times faster in graphics, and offers nine more hours of video playback. Against the iPhone SE third-generation, the numbers are similar: 1.5 times faster CPU, 1.8 times faster graphics, and 11 more hours of battery life.
The 17e isn’t trying to compete with its more expensive siblings. Instead, it’s looks to make one last pitch to users who have been waiting for the right deal to upgrade their older devices.
So what’s different, and what’s missing?
Same camera system as iPhone 17 (mostly)
The 17e uses the same 48MP Fusion camera system as the iPhone 17, which means two cameras in one: a standard wide shot and an optical-quality 2x zoom, both running through the same lens.
Portrait mode now recognises people, as well as dogs and cats automatically (important); saves depth information in the background, and lets you adjust the blur and focus point after you’ve taken the shot. Night mode handles low-light without you having to think about it, and video shoots in 4K Dolby Vision at up to 60 frames per second.
What’s omitted on the 17e is the Macro mode, which is the ability to get extremely close to a subject (think like a flower petal or the texture of fabric) and have it come out sharp. There are no Spatial Photos either, which is the format used by Apple Vision Pro for that three-dimensional viewing experience. On the video side, Cinematic and Action modes, which stabilises footage while you’re moving, are also absent.
The front camera is 12MP rather than the iPhone 17’s 18MP, and it doesn’t include Centre Stage, Apple’s feature that tracks your face and keeps you centred in the frame during video calls as you move around.
More storage as standard
Last year’s iPhone 16e started at 128GB out of the box. The 17e starts at 256GB, at the same $999 price. So that’s double the storage for the same price.
To put that into perspective, a single minute of 4K video takes roughly 400MB of space. Add on top of that all the photos, apps and music you’ll carry with you and you start to realise why more storage is important as standard.
The 17e also comes in a 512GB option if you shoot a lot of video, store your music library locally, or just prefer never thinking about storage again.
Slightly smaller screen, fewer features
The 17e has a 6.1-inch display. The iPhone 17 has a 6.3-inch display. In practice, that difference is barely two finger-widths of screen. You would notice it in a side-by-side comparison, but likely forget about it within a day of using either phone. For some people, this is a plus. Many phones are sizing themselves beyond what our hands can feasible use, especially if you’re someone with female anatomy. A slightly smaller phone is actually a welcome option for many people.
Some of the more notable omissions in the 17e come in the form of the “Dynamic Island”. It’s the small cutout at the top of the screen that is interactive with your notifications and live activities. Think things like a timer counting down, your Uber arriving, a song playing, or a flight status update. It expands and contracts depending on what’s relevant. On the 17e, that cutout is static. It’s just there. No interactivity.
The second omission is what Apple calls “ProMotion”. The iPhone 17’s display refreshes at up to 120 times per second, which makes scrolling feel unusually smooth and responsive. The 17e runs a standard 60Hz refresh rate. If you’ve never had ProMotion, you won’t miss it. If you’re coming from a phone that has it, the adjustment is noticeable for a few days, then forgettable.
Tougher than it looks
The 17e carries the same IP68 water resistance rating as the iPhone 17, which means it’s rated to handle submersion up to six metres for up to 30 minutes. Dropping it in a sink, a puddle, or a toilet is not a crisis.
The front glass is Ceramic Shield 2, the same protective layer used across the entire iPhone 17 family. Apple says it offers three times better scratch resistance than the previous generation. That’s a meaningful upgrade from the original Ceramic Shield on the 16e, and it puts the 17e on equal footing with the more expensive models in the range when it comes to everyday durability.
The frame is aerospace-grade aluminium, lightweight but solid. This is a phone built to last, which matters if you’re the kind of person who keeps a phone for three or four years. Apple consistently holds its resale value better than comparable Android devices, and a phone that stays scratch-free and functional longer is part of why.
