iPhone 17e review: Apple’s budget phone closes the gap
18/3/2026
Translation: Veronica Bielawski
Pictures: Florian Bodoky
Apple’s cheaper iPhone has moved closer to the base model. The iPhone 17e comes with a powerful chip and MagSafe – but cuts corners on the display and camera.
My first sense of déjà vu comes right after unboxing the iPhone 17e. Apple’s new entry-level phone looks almost identical to its predecessor, the iPhone 16e. It’s got the same shape and the same camera layout on the front and back. And again, Apple has left out the Dynamic Island this year.
But that’s where the similarities end. Apple has brought its budget phone («budget» relative to other iPhones) much closer to the 17 series’ base model compared to last year. Back then, the e-model felt much more like a budget version. With the iPhone 17e, the gap is noticeably smaller. It shares the iPhone 17’s A19 chip and offers similar battery life. To spot meaningful differences, you need to look more closely – which is why I didn’t test the iPhone 17e in isolation, but compared it with the iPhone 17 and the iPhone 16e.
The good old notch – and wider bezels
The iPhone 17e has an aluminium frame, glass back and clean lines. The device feels sturdy and comfortable to hold. Put the 17 and the 17e next to each other on a table and they look pretty similar. The side bezels on the 17e are a bit wider and the Dynamic Island is missing. The screen is also ever so slightly smaller, measuring 6.1 instead of 6.3 inches diagonally. For the display, Apple relies on the new Ceramic Shield 2, which is supposed to be three times more scratch-resistant than the previous generation. In daily use, that mainly translates into fewer micro-scratches stemming from your pants pocket.
The differences are clearer on the back: the iPhone 17e lacks an ultra-wide camera and the flash LED is a tad narrower. On the plus side, this makes the e-model less wobbly when you place it on a table.
Perhaps the biggest upgrade over the 16e is the inclusion of MagSafe. It was totally absent previously. This means you can use magnetic chargers and accessories with the iPhone 17e. And I quickly notice how practical that is in day-to-day life. In my car, it snaps magnetically onto the mount. On my desk, it docks onto the charger. In the evening, I just place it on my charging pad. That may sound trivial, but it makes a world of difference to me. The iPhone 17 has MagSafe too, of course, and with higher charging speeds.
Display: lower refresh rate
Apple has drawn a clear line between the two devices with the display. The iPhone 17e has an OLED display with a resolution of 2532 × 1170 pixels at around 460 ppi. Colours look vivid, the contrast is strong and blacks deep. The screen is nice during everyday use. With a peak brightness of up to around 1,200 nits, it remains easy to read outdoors. That being said, I could immediately see the difference when comparing it directly with the iPhone 17. The iPhone 17 supports ProMotion with a refresh rate of up to 120 hertz; scrolling through my playlists and swiping through social media feeds feels smoother. Meanwhile, the iPhone 17e only gives you the standard 60 Hz, and you can feel it. Animations are less fluid and movement looks choppier.
The difference in brightness is even more obvious. The iPhone 17 reaches a peak brightness of 3,000 nits. In direct sunlight, content is much easier to read on the iPhone 17 than on the 17e. Even so, the iPhone 17e’s display is solid. When I’m not comparing the two models directly, I barely even notice the difference during regular use. Apple has made significant improvements here over the previous generation. On the iPhone 16e, the display lagged further behind the iPhone 16 – especially in terms of peak brightness. On the 17e, a difference is still noticeable, but it feels less drastic.
Camera
The iPhone 17e relies on a fairly simple camera setup, but it delivers solid results. On the back, there’s a single 48-megapixel main camera with optical image stabilisation and an f/1.6 aperture. That’s the same setup as on the 17 – nominally. It lacks the iPhone 17’s ultra-wide camera, making for less flexibility when taking photos.
Standard shots taken with the main camera are usually sharp and full of detail. As is typical for Apple phones, the colours aren’t overly saturated, appearing quite natural. Especially in daylight, the photos strike a good balance between brightness, contrast and detail. The iPhone 17e lacks an optical zoom. Instead, it crops a section of image from the 48-megapixel sensor. That may sound like Apple just being stingy, but it actually works pretty well.
Apple’s HDR processing ensures that both bright and dark parts of an image are rendered clearly. This prevents shadows from looking too dark and bright areas such as the sky or lamps from blowing out. Another advantage of the iPhone 17 is its second camera, which may be better suited in some scenarios. In low light, image quality on the 17e also drops off more quickly, and it captures fewer details in very dark areas.
Apple has improved portrait mode processing, so the camera identifies subjects more reliably. This works particularly well when photographing people, and even animals and objects are usually recognised correctly. However, depth calculation can occasionally be less accurate than with the iPhone 17, as the 17e lacks the extra information provided by a second camera.
The front camera also delivers solid results. It has a resolution of 12 megapixels and produces sharp selfies with fairly natural skin tones. In good lighting, selfies look clear and detailed. Indoors or in low light, however, image noise increases. What’s also a shame is that the auto rotate feature is missing; on the iPhone 17, you can take horizontal selfies without having to hold the phone horizontally, thanks to the square sensor. I’d have appreciated the inclusion of that feature.
The processor
In terms of performance, the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17e are surprisingly close. Apple uses the same A19 chip in the iPhone 17e as in the iPhone 17. So what’s the difference? The 17e has one core less than the 17. In normal use, both devices feel fast. Apps launch instantly, animations run smoothly, even demanding apps barely trouble the iPhone 17e.
I only notice a difference when gaming. Graphics-heavy games stutter more often than on the pricier model.
No China-style charging power, but it’s enough
Battery performance on the iPhone 17e is solid. Apple claims it offers up to 26 hours of video playback. Going off my typical phone use, even an intensive day of photos, social media, navigation and streaming doesn’t push the iPhone 17e to its limits. With heavy use, I got the one-per-cent battery warning after 21 hours. Using a cable, the device charged to 57 per cent in 30 minutes. Those aren’t Xiaomi or Oppo numbers, but for an iPhone in this price bracket they’re perfectly acceptable. As usual, Apple doesn’t clearly specify the wattage.
With the MagSafe power adapter, the iPhone 17 reaches 25 watts, while the 17e makes do with 15 watts. If you charge your phone overnight anyway, it’s no matter.
In a nutshell
Really think about which iPhone you need
On the outside, hardly anything has changed compared with the previous gen. Under the hood, however, Apple has made noticeable improvements and brought the entry-level model closer to the iPhone 17. With the new A19 chip, the 17e delivers strong everyday performance that only falls slightly behind the pricier model in demanding tasks such as gaming. The battery life is also solid, easily lasting on heavy-use days.
The inclusion of MagSafe is a clear plus, making the device more practical in daily use. The display, however, draws a clear line: at 60 hertz, it visibly trails the iPhone 17 (and every other modern phone). The camera delivers solid results, but offers less flexibility due to the lack of an ultra-wide lens. Overall, the iPhone 17e isn’t a classic budget model, but a well-balanced device with good performance and thoughtfully weighed out compromises.
Pro
- A19 chip – excellent for the price
- Solid battery life
- Good camera for the price
Contra
- Outdated 60-hertz display
- Somewhat ugly wide bezels
- Annoying notch (at least in my opinion)
- Only one camera lens
Header image: Florian Bodoky
I've been tinkering with digital networks ever since I found out how to activate both telephone channels on the ISDN card for greater bandwidth. As for the analogue variety, I've been doing that since I learned to talk. Though Winterthur is my adoptive home city, my heart still bleeds red and blue.
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