Apple iPhone 17e: Two-Minute Review
The Apple iPhone 17e isn’t a total reinvention of Apple’s budget iPhone — rather, it’s a refinement of the formula introduced by the Apple iPhone 16e. That phone did the heavy lifting by modernizing the design and retiring the Home button that defined the Apple iPhone SE (3rd generation); the 17e simply makes the package more compelling.Some of that freshness comes with a new Soft Pink color option alongside Black and White, but the bigger upgrades are under the hood. The iPhone 17e runs on Apple’s A19 chip and feels consistently fast in everyday use, and now starts with 256GB of storage — double the base capacity of its predecessor — while keeping the same $599 / £599 / AU$999 starting price.The camera setup remains simple, with just a single 48-megapixel rear lens, but Apple has improved what it can do. Portrait shots now benefit from smarter depth detection, letting you add the blur effect after taking the photo, and image processing still delivers the natural colors and reliability people expect from an iPhone.There are compromises, though. You won’t get the multiple cameras, high-refresh-rate display, or always-on screen found on pricier iPhones like the Apple iPhone 17 or Apple iPhone 17 Pro. If an ultra-wide camera matters to you, the iPhone 16 or iPhone 17 is a better option.But for anyone who simply wants a modern iPhone that doesn’t break the bank, the iPhone 17e delivers exactly that. It’s an especially easy upgrade if you’re coming from an iPhone SE, an iPhone 11, or anything older.
