The Apple iPhone 17e has just been officially unveiled. Apple is promoting the new entry-level iPhone with the slogan "All the must-haves. All on iPhone." On paper, it does indeed offer more than last year's model, now offering 256 GB of storage instead of the previous 128 GB. The iPhone 17e now also supports MagSafe and can be charged wirelessly at up to 15 watts.
However, compared to the iPhone 17, the iPhone 17e makes far more compromises than one might initially expect. While the more traditional design with wider bezels and a notch instead of a punch-hole is obvious, this isn't true for all the differences between the two smartphones. To save costs, Apple has removed Thread and the Ultra Wideband chip. Without UWB, precise localization of an AirTag is no longer possible.
Shorter battery life and outdated display
Although the iPhone 17e's battery has a capacity of 4,005 mAh, which is 8.5% larger than that of the iPhone 17, the advertised battery life is still 22% shorter. This is likely a consequence of the outdated display, where Apple simply cuts too many corners. The 6.1-inch OLED panel is virtually identical in design to the display of the iPhone 13 from 2021; at a brightness of 800 nits, it is barely readable in bright daylight. By comparison, the display of the iPhone 17 shines almost four times as brightly at 3,000 nits.
The frame rate of only 60 Hz is also outdated. Since the frame rate cannot be intelligently adjusted to the content being displayed, the panel consumes more power. In addition, the iPhone 17e does not support an always-on display, thus lacking one of the most important convenience features of the iPhone 17.
More camera cost-cutting measures than camera features
The innovative 18 MP selfie camera of the iPhone 17 is replaced in the iPhone 17e by an outdated 12 MP front camera, and the 48 MP ultra-wide camera is removed entirely. While the 48 MP f/1.6 main camera is almost identical to the iPhone 17's camera, Apple has omitted in-body image stabilization in the iPhone 17e, meaning that only optical image stabilization is available, which is likely to affect image quality in low light conditions.
The touch-sensitive camera shutter button has also been removed. Even the Apple A19 chip isn't identical, as it only has four GPU cores in the iPhone 17e instead of five, which could result in a gaming performance decrease of up to 20%. The sheer number of compromises the iPhone 17e makes compared to the iPhone 17 in order to achieve a list price that is $200 lower means that the model is not a "good deal" for many customers.
The compromises made in terms of the display and cameras are particularly significant in practice. In addition to the outdated design, the differences between the iPhone 17 and the iPhone 17e in the following seven areas should be taken into account before making a purchase:
| Apple iPhone 17e | Apple iPhone 17 | |
|---|---|---|
| Processor | Apple A19 6-core CPU 4-core GPU | Apple A19 6-core CPU 5-core GPU |
| Display | 6.1-inch OLED 60 Hz 800 nits SDR 1.200 nits HDR – – Notch | 6.3-inch OLED 120 Hz 1.000 nits SDR 1.600 nits HDR 3.000 nits HBR Always-on Dynamic Island |
| Front camera | 12 MP f/1.9 Rectangular sensor | 18 MP f/1.9 Square sensor |
| Back cameras | 48 MP f/1.6 main camera (OIS) – | 48 MP f/1.6 main camera (OIS + IBIS) 48 MP f/2.2 ultra-wide-angle camera |
| Battery | 4.005 mAh MagSafe with 15W Up to 21h video streaming | 3.692 mAh MagSafe with 25W Up to 27h video streaming |
| Bonus features | – | Capture button |
| Wireless | Wi-Fi 6 Bluetooth 5.3 NFC 5G – – | Wi-Fi 7 Bluetooth 6 NFC 5G Thread UWB |
| Dimensions | 146.7 x 71.5 x 7.8 mm | 149.6 x 71.5 x 7.95 mm |
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