iPhone 17e evaluation: A formidable balancing act

Value When Reviewed

$599

Finest Costs At present: Apple iPhone 17e

$599

Apple wanted to get this one proper.

Beginning at $599, Apple’s “e” telephones are, by far, the most affordable iPhones it sells, and as such, signify many potential prospects’ finest solution to enter the Apple ecosystem. They’re additionally Apple’s probability to enter the funds telephone market, albeit on the higher finish. However regardless of the MacBook Neo, Apple hasn’t at all times executed a superb job of delivering iPhone worth at cheaper price factors.

Final yr’s iPhone 16e was, for my part at the very least, a little bit of a catastrophe. It was $170 costlier than the iPhone SE it nominally changed, whereas providing a characteristic set hampered by an extended checklist of limitations, from the slower processor and single rear digital camera lens to the dearth of MagSafe and any colour choices aside from black and white.

However hopes had been excessive that Apple had discovered from that failure. The iPhone 17e is not any cheaper than its predecessor and nonetheless has a really fundamental digital camera, however it beneficial properties MagSafe, a 3rd colour, and a sooner processor. The MacBook Neo confirmed that Apple can do funds laptops, however will the 17e present it could actually do funds smartphones too?

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iPhone 17e design: Sensible, if a bit old style

Apple’s coverage with the iPhone SE line was to recycle the chassis design of older handsets, and that largely continues with the 16e and 17e. What you’re primarily getting right here, at the very least externally, is an iPhone 14. It’s a slim, engaging telephone that feels good within the hand, however in comparison with current fashions there are some old style touches.

So meaning a notch on the high of the display reasonably than the later and extra helpful Dynamic Island, and a 6.1-inch show with thick bezels reasonably than the 6.3-inch, thin-bezel iPhone 17. There’s additionally no Digital camera Management. On the plus facet the 17e, just like the 14, is just 7.8mm thick, in comparison with the iPhone 17’s 7.95mm, however I sincerely doubt you’ll discover that. I actually didn’t.

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There are some necessary variations from the 14, nevertheless. You get the Motion button, which arrived with the iPhone 15 Professional in 2023 and sits on the left edge above the quantity controls. It replaces the mute swap and may merely be used for a similar process, however might be reprogrammed to do different capabilities as an alternative. Good to have the choice, though personally I discover the mute operate indispensable and go away it because the default virtually on a regular basis.

Certainly one of a number of quibbles with the iPhone 16e was that it got here, for no apparent motive aside from upsell cruelty, in simply two colours: black and white. The 17e, pleasingly, will get a 3rd Tender Pink choice. Much less pleasingly, it’s one of many least vivid makes an attempt at that colour in tech historical past: the emphasis could be very a lot on the smooth, not the pink. It might be beneficiant to name it “cherry blossom” and extra correct to name it a “blushing off-white.” If you’d like your iPhone in pink, that is pink, however solely barely, and in some gentle it appears downright white. If you happen to actually desire a pink iPhone, you’re going to need to put money into a case with a a lot bolder hue.

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iPhone 17e show: Good however not nice

The 17e has an excellent-quality show, and at first look I assumed it might be one of many product’s crowning glories.

Theres loads of visible actual property (the display measures a diagonal 6.1 inches, far bigger than the 4.7-inch iPhone SE), with the identical super-sharp 460ppi pixel density as even the iPhone 17 Professional at just about the identical decision, in addition to a P3 colour gamut. Video games, motion pictures, and TV reveals, Instagram posts, YouTube movies… every thing appears vibrant and sharp on the 17e’s display. Multitouch gestures are fast and responsive. And whereas I didn’t threat any particularly harmful assessments, the 17e’s display picked up exactly zero scratches throughout my time with it, whereas Apple’s testing affords reassurance that the 2nd-gen Ceramic Protect will guarantee it collects only a few sooner or later.

Positive sufficient, for nearly everybody who’s prone to be fascinated by an iPhone 17e, the display will do you proud. In comparison with the Third-gen SE, the 14, or the 16e, the standard will in each manner be both the identical or higher than what you’re used to. It’s provided that you’re coming to the 17e from one thing costlier, such because the iPhone 17, that you just’ll discover any points. However why would anybody do this?

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Nicely, they may do it in the event that they’re a telephone reviewer. I got here to the 17e from the iPhone 17, and was stunned by the variety of small annoyances. Going again from the Dynamic Island to the notch saved complicated my muscle reminiscence—after I needed to leap again to the highest of webpages, I typically missed the right place to faucet on the high of the display— and it’s appreciably extra of a hindrance to the enjoyment of films particularly. I wasn’t actually conscious of the dearth of ProMotion (critical players usually tend to discover this), however I very a lot missed the 17’s always-on show, and located it oddly irritating having to attend even a fraction of a second to get up the display. Visibility can be a bit weaker when utilizing the system outside.

As I say, these annoyances ought to solely be noticeable to reviewers and people who downgrade their telephone for monetary or accident-related causes. Nevertheless it’s value realizing the methods during which your expertise may enhance in the event you had been in a position to spare a bit extra cash.

iPhone 17e digital camera: A manageable weak spot

The iPhone 16e’s largest weak point was its digital camera setup, which makes it disappointing to find that just about nothing has modified in that division. The 17e nonetheless has solely a single (customary) digital camera lens on the rear in comparison with two on the 17 and three on the 17 Professional, and whereas Apple has executed its finest to work round this obstacle, the expertise isn’t fairly the identical.

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Of the 2 misplaced lenses, the extra worrying is the ultrawide, which is on each 17 and 17 Professional. With out this, there’s no 0.5x anti-zoom, a splendidly useful choice for panorama pictures. You additionally lose the macro mode for higher rendition of close-ups.

The largest loss, nevertheless, is the 17e’s incapability to do “correct” Portrait images, by which I imply utilizing a second lens; as an alternative, the bokeh impact is created with software program trickery, and it isn’t fairly nearly as good. In many of the Portrait images I took, it was attainable to seek out at the very least one level the place the telephone acquired confused concerning the fringe of the topic’s clothes or hair and smudged the boundary between the 2. These are usually very minor errors, nevertheless, and never apparent except the viewer is particularly in search of them.

The shortage of the iPhone 17 Professional’s telephoto is much less of a difficulty, however it does imply a considerably weaker total zoom. Optical zoom tops out at 2x reasonably than 8x, and even the 2x is created by cropping reasonably than switching to a distinct lens. In apply, the 2x zoom is ok, since 48MP is greater than sufficient element to maintain a bit cropping, however long-distance images isn’t actually an choice right here or on the iPhone 17.

So the weaknesses of the digital camera setup are nonetheless there. Nevertheless it stays the case that for almost all of your photographic wants, the iPhone 17e shall be advantageous. Portraits are greater than satisfactory, even when landscapes are extra of a problem; the 2x zoom is completely advantageous, though it’s a disgrace to not have something greater than that; and due to Sensible HDR 5, the 17e did a superb job of dealing with difficult lighting situations. Even with a shiny gentle supply straight behind the topic, it was nonetheless in a position to seize an inexpensive quantity of element and colour constancy, and one would hope that more often than not, the telephone’s proprietor will compose pictures reasonably extra sensibly.

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And in relation to the simpler pictures that make up 90 % of an iPhone digital camera’s duties, the 17e carried out admirably, delivering vibrant, colourful pictures with loads of element. It could not have an important digital camera, however it does have a digital camera that’s greater than ok for many customers more often than not.

Efficiency: Binned however sensible

Efficiency-wise, the iPhone 17e has a powerful spec checklist for the value: a processor from the most recent A19 era, together with 8GB of RAM. In truth, it could possibly be argued that the 17e is too highly effective. In my 16e evaluation, I complained that the inclusion of a latest-gen chip and 8GB of RAM (a feat achieved, presumably, to be able to make the system appropriate with Apple Intelligence) meant unpalatable compromises in different areas.

It’s value mentioning that the A19 chip on this telephone isn’t fairly as innovative as its era alone may indicate. Firstly it’s an A19, as on the iPhone 17, reasonably than an A19 Professional, as on the iPhone 17 Professional, 17 Professional Max, and Air. And secondly it’s not even fairly the identical because the A19 within the iPhone 17, as a result of Apple chosen binned variations of that processor to save cash. This implies the chips failed manufacturing assessments in some minor manner and consequently have one fewer operational GPU core.

Binned chip or not, the iPhone 17e was snappy and responsive all through testing, regardless of which app I ran. Even in devoted benchmarks, that are far tougher than real-world use, it delivered glorious efficiency. When it comes to pure processing velocity, its scores had been (as we’d count on) virtually similar to the iPhone 17, nicely forward of the iPhone 16e, and really near the iPhone Air.

In graphics assessments, the dearth of that additional core turns into obvious, however efficiency was nonetheless sturdy: someplace between the 16 and the Air, and typically coming surprisingly near the latter.

If you’d like the perfect efficiency on paper, the iPhone 17 Professional is clearly the mannequin to choose. However in the true world, you’ll battle to note a distinction between the 5 iPhones which Apple at the moment sells: like its costlier siblings with their additional cores, the 17e does every thing requested of it at a powerful velocity.

The primary motive to pay extra for a non-binned A19 or A19 Professional (or for a telephone, just like the iPhone 17 Professional, which has 12GB of RAM) is for the sake of future-proofing. The apps of the approaching months and years will steadily grow to be extra demanding because the {hardware} accessible to run them grows extra succesful; the 17e will begin to battle, significantly on high-end video games, video-editing apps and the like, a yr or two sooner than 17 Professional. However in the event you solely intend to make use of the telephone for fundamental duties, you’ll get sick of its digital camera setup or diminishing battery life lengthy earlier than efficiency turns into a difficulty.

iPhone 17e Battery efficiency: Stable, not spectacular

There’s a chunky battery contained in the 17e, clocking in at a capability of 4,005mAh. That’s the identical because the 16e, and greater than the iPhone 17 (3,692mAh) and Air (3,149mAh). So we needs to be anticipating terrific battery life, proper? Not so quick.

Battery life isn’t merely a operate of battery capability. The iPhone Air has a tiny battery by current requirements however performs moderately nicely in benchmarks as a result of Apple’s engineers devoted a lot effort to creating the parts work extra effectively. So good a job did they do, in actual fact, that the Air lasts longer than the 17e within the Geekbench 4 battery take a look at.

The iPhone 17e managed a stable however unspectacular 14 hours and 14 minutes: a way forward of the 16e (13 hours, 38 minutes) and a way behind the Air (14 hours, 40 minutes). The Professional fashions are manner off within the distance.

Whether or not this considerably mediocre efficiency is a matter for you will depend on what you propose to do with the 17e and the way a lot of your time is spent away from an influence provide. Keep in mind that the Geekbench 4 take a look at, whereas reliably constant for phone-to-phone comparisons, just isn’t essentially reflective of real-world utilization and tends to be much more demanding.

In apply, I discovered that the telephone comfortably made it by means of a single day’s use, ending up with wherever from 25 % to 50 % of remaining cost after I went to mattress. (If you happen to plan to do a whole lot of gaming, remember that this tends to burn by means of the 17e’s reserves extra quickly than different actions.) Because the battery well being declines over the lifetime of the telephone, these numbers will go downwards, so hold that in thoughts too.

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As for charging, right here comes the one largest piece of fine information this evaluation will comprise: the iPhone 17e helps MagSafe. This can be a massively appreciated improve meaning you’ll be able to wirelessly cost the telephone with out having to fret a few) putting it on the charging puck’s candy spot or b) ensuring you don’t unintentionally nudge it off. The magnets will pull it into the right placement and maintain it there securely, and I couldn’t be happier with the added comfort this brings. (If this looks like an overreaction, learn this piece about my frustration with the 16e’s lack of MagSafe.)

This can be a funds telephone we’re discussing right here, so in fact, it’s not all excellent news. For unknown causes, Apple selected to equip the 17e with a slower model of MagSafe than is frequent on different current iPhones; it’s capped at a most charging velocity of 15W, in comparison with 25W on the iPhone 17 and 17 Professional, 22W on the iPhone 16 and 16 Professional, and 20W on the iPhone Air. I ran some assessments and found that this implies the iPhone 17e takes round an hour longer than the iPhone 17 to cost from zero to full capability.

Is that this supreme? No. If Apple supplied to ship spherical a group of engineers to improve my iPhone 17e to 25W MagSafe at no cost, would I settle for? After all. However is that this a catastrophe? Completely not. Wi-fi charging is all about comfort. At any time when velocity is a precedence, you should use a cable.

As I clarify in a separate article, the inclusion of 15W MagSafe strikes me as a really wise compromise: precisely the form of wise compromise that was lacking from the iPhone 16e. Having no MagSafe in any respect was annoying and added pointless friction to a standard motion. Having 25W MagSafe is a luxurious that’s good to have in a couple of conditions, however largely received’t make any distinction. This, I feel, was a superb choice.

iPhone 17e Value: Sudden generosity

MagSafe is an enormous deal, however so is Apple’s choice to double the beginning storage. We now get 256GB for $599, and that could possibly be a game-changer. The 16e’s 128GB storage was advantageous, however we advisable upgrading to 256GB, particularly with Apple Intelligence consuming up a superb chunk of it. In order that’s primarily a $100 value reduce. However now you’ll have to spend $200 to bump the storage:

• iPhone 17e (256GB): $599/£599
• iPhone 17e (512GB): $799/£799

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Do you have to purchase the iPhone 17e?

When Apple introduced the iPhone 17e, my first thought was that it was too just like final yr’s disappointing 16e. The worth (nonetheless a shade increased than I’d like) and digital camera setup (nonetheless reasonably fundamental) haven’t modified in any respect, and for a lot of funds telephone patrons, these shall be two of a very powerful standards. Different negatives, resembling MagSafe assist and the vary of colour choices, have modified, however with limitations–specifically, the velocity of MagSafe and the insipidity of the pink end.

However with time and familiarity, I’ve grown fonder of the iPhone 17e. Upon reflection, MagSafe’s charging velocity is way much less necessary than its comfort, and having even 15W MagSafe is a significant improve. The beginning value would be the similar, however you now get twice the storage as final yr, and the step up from 128GB to 256GB is a crucial, even game-changing one. Whenever you add within the sooner (albeit binned) A19 chip and improved scratch resistance, this turns into a worthwhile improve on what I felt was a misguided predecessor.

That is an inexpensive telephone with many good factors (terrific efficiency, engaging design, respectable battery life, and naturally some great benefits of iOS) and several other noteworthy compromises, such because the notch, the dearth of an always-on show, and the cameras. However at the very least, in distinction to the iPhone 16e, they’re largely the correct compromises. It appears like choices had been made for the advantage of the shopper, reasonably than the corporate that made them.

If images is your high precedence, look elsewhere. In any other case, this is able to make a stable selection for somebody upgrading from an older handset such because the iPhone 12 or 13, switching from Android, or shopping for their first smartphone.

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