Apple’s newest smartphone launch is aiming low for price but high for performance, and you have one in your hands in just a week’s time. Preorders have begun for the iPhone 17e, Apple’s newest foray into the budget smartphone category at just $599. Apple’s re-entry into this category last year with the 16e was a big splash, and now the 17e follows hot on its heels with twice the memory and MagSafe-compatible charging.
Access to the high-end core features of the iPhone universe at an accessible entry price will likely send the iPhone 17e soaring off the shelves when it drops on March 11, so preordering now from Apple’s online store is a wise choice.
iPhone for Everyone
The 2025 release of the iPhone 16e caught many observers by surprise. Apple had taken a break from the entry-priced iPhone since the 2022 release of the last iPhone SE, and it was commonly believed they were vacating that space and concentrating on their market-leading iPhone Pro models. But the 16e was a big hit, and now the 17e comes one year later with numerous improvements over its predecessor model.
For starters, the iPhone 17e comes with 256GB of base storage, which is twice the amount the 16e provided, and can go as high as 512GB. The Apple C1X cellular modem is twice as fast as the iPhone 16e’s C1 version. But the headline for the iPhone 17e is that it’s MagSafe compatible, addressing the biggest negative mark against the non-MagSafe 16e. The 17e’s battery is good for up to 26 hours of video playback, and when recharged via hardwire it can go from the red zone to 50% in just 30 minutes.
The iPhone 17e’s A19 processor chip is one core shy of the A19 version which powers the iPhone 17, but the performance is still pure iPhone, which makes the $599 price tag a welcome sight.
Visual Feast
Of course, it could not have the iPhone name if it was anything less than spectacular in the visual department, and the iPhone 17e passes that test. The 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR display can peak at 1200 nits of brightness and moves at a solid 60Hz refresh rate. It’s protected by a Ceramic Shield 2 front cover, which provides three times the scratch resistance of the 16e. That screen will come in handy when you use the 48MP rear camera or the 12MP selfie camera for stills or videos, or when you use the upgraded modem for watching online videos.
The $599 preorders at Apple covers all three colors of the iPhone 17e — black, white, and soft pink — or you can bump the price to $799 if you want to max out the memory with the 512GB version, which also comes in the same 3 colors.