Apple announces the i Phone 17e — here's what's new in the mid-range i Phone | Tech Radar

Overview

Apple announces the i Phone 17e — here's what's new in the mid-range i Phone

A modest upgrade, but at least there's no price hike

Details

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The i Phone 17e also costs the same as its i Phone 16e predecessor

Apple has announced the i Phone 17e, a new mid-range i Phone that's expected to be the first of several new launches this week.

The i Phone 17e replaces last year's i Phone 16e, which replaced the i Phone SE as the entry-level model in Apple's lineup. As expected, the new model is a pretty minor upgrade with new features including an A19 chipset and Mag Safe support.

While the changes are minimal, the good news is that the i Phone 17e costs the same as its predecessor (in the US, at least). The Apple Intelligence-ready phone starts at $599, and we're just confirming international pricing. Here's everything else we know.

The i Phone 17e could land ‘imminently’ – and with no price rise

Mag Safe and more: how likely are these i Phone 17e rumors?

The key upgrade in the i Phone 17e is its new A19 chip. Apple says its CPU is up to twice as fast as the A13 Bionic chip in the i Phone 11, although it didn't provide comparisons to the A18 in the i Phone 16e, suggesting that the gains there might be minimal.

The A19 is the same chip as the one you'll find in the i Phone 17, meaning the i Phone 17e is current with the latest generation of i Phones in terms of power. That means if performance is a key metric for you, it could be a tempting option.

That said, if you need the most raw power you can get, the i Phone 17 Pro and its A19 Pro chip will be more up your street.

Elsewhere, you'll find the Apple-made C1X modem, which is twice as fast as the C1 in the i Phone 16e, Apple says. The company has also eliminated the entry-level 128GB storage tier, so the i Phone 17e now starts with 256GB of storage without an accompanying price rise.

And Apple has upgraded the device's wireless charging, bringing its own Mag Safe standard into the mix. While the i Phone 16e was limited to Qi charging at up to 7.5W, the i Phone 17e's Mag Safe allows for 15W of wireless power and is compatible with Mag Safe cases, wallets and more.

As for the camera, this is largely the same as the i Phone 16e, albeit with the addition of Apple's "next-generation portraits with Focus and Depth Control."

The core design of the i Phone 17e has not changed from that of last year's i Phone 16e. You get a 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR display with an aluminum chassis and the Action button on one side, for instance.

The i Phone 17e could land ‘imminently’ – and with no price rise

Mag Safe and more: how likely are these i Phone 17e rumors?

However, there are a few notable adjustments. Apple has upgraded the front glass protection to the second-generation Ceramic Shield, which the company says brings "3x better scratch resistance than the previous generation and reduced glare."

There's a new color, too, which Apple dubs a "soft pink." It supplements the white and black shades from the i Phone 16e.

The limited external changes reveal that this is an update mainly focused on internal components, and so is not a groundbreaking change compared to the i Phone 16e. There are reasons to be interested in the i Phone 17e, but existing i Phone 16e users likely won't notice a huge difference.

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Mark is Tech Radar's Senior news editor. Having worked in tech journalism for a ludicrous 17 years, Mark is now attempting to break the world record for the number of camera bags hoarded by one person. He was previously Cameras Editor at both Tech Radar and Trusted Reviews, Acting editor on Stuff.tv, as well as Features editor and Reviews editor on Stuff magazine. As a freelancer, he's contributed to titles including The Sunday Times, Four Four Two and Arena. And in a former life, he also won The Daily Telegraph's Young Sportswriter of the Year. But that was before he discovered the strange joys of getting up at 4am for a photo shoot in London's Square Mile.

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Key Takeaways

Apple announces the i Phone 17e — here's what's new in the mid-range i Phone
A modest upgrade, but at least there's no price hike
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission
The i Phone 17e also costs the same as its i Phone 16e predecessor
Apple has announced the i Phone 17e, a new mid-range i Phone that's expected to be the first of several new launches this week