In summary:
- Macworld reports that Apple’s iPhone 17e launches March 11 with MagSafe charging, A19 chip, and 256GB storage for $599, replacing the discontinued 16e.
- Key improvements include 15W MagSafe charging, Ceramic Shield 2 with 3x better scratch resistance, and next-generation portrait camera features with adjustable focus.
- However, the device uses a binned A19 chip with only 4-core GPU compared to standard models, limiting its performance capabilities.
Apple today announced the iPhone 17e, a follow-up to last year’s iPhone 16e with a number of useful improvements, to kick off its ongoing “big week” of product announcements.
As expected, the 17e has been upgraded to support Apple’s MagSafe charging technology, rectifying the 16e’s most painful shortcoming. This means that, provided you have a compatible charger, your phone will be securely held in the charging sweet spot by a ring of magnets.
MagSafe would normally mean significantly faster wireless charging speeds too: the 16e is capped at 7.5W, whereas recent iPhones can wirelessly charge using MagSafe at up to 22W or even 25W. Unfortunately the iPhone 17e has not been given access to the full extent of MagSafe’s powers in this regard, and has a limit of 15W. That’s the same as MagSafe on the iPhones 12 through 15, and remains an improvement on the 16e, but is still disappointing.
Here’s a summary of the various wireless charging speeds of recent iPhones, compiled helpfully by Macworld contributor and charging expert Simon Jary:
- iPhone 8-11: (Qi) 7.5W
- iPhone 12-15: (MagSafe and Qi2) 15W
- iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro: (MagSafe and Qi2.2) 22W
- iPhone 16 Plus and iPhone 16 Pro Max: (MagSafe and Qi2.2) 25W
- iPhone 17 series (except 17e): (MagSafe and Qi2.2) 25W
- iPhone Air: (MagSafe and Qi2.2) 20W
- iPhone 16e: (Qi) 7.5W
- iPhone 17e: (MagSafe and Qi2) 15W
It was also expected that the 17e would get a new processor, as this is a standard upgrade for almost every refresh of almost every Apple product. The iPhone 16e came with an A18 chip; the 17 has an A19, which, according to Apple, “delivers exceptional performance for everything users do.” Of course that depends on the user and their needs, and it’s important to point out that, just like last year, Apple has chosen to use “binned” units of the chip in order to save money.
Binned chips have failed manufacturing tests in some minor way and don’t have the full complement of cores. Whereas the A19 in the iPhone 17 has a 5-core GPU, the 17e’s A19 has just a 4-core GPU, so performance won’t be quite as good. It’s unlikely to be all that noticeable for most people, however.
Welcome upgrades
Moving away from these predicted upgrades, Apple has thrown in a couple of bonus enhancements. One is twice the starting storage for the same price. The entry-level iPhone 16e cost $599 and came with 128GB of storage. This year’s baseline 17e also costs $599 but comes with 256GB, essentially a $100 price cut. (Storage still tops out at a maximum of 512GB, so there are only two pricing tiers this year, rather than three.)
Apple also says scratch resistance is 3x better than on the 16e thanks to Ceramic Shield 2 on the 6.1-inch, although that’s difficult to assess without in-depth testing. And although the cameras are still disappointingly few in number—one on the front and one on the back—the wording for the portrait mode has been updated from “Portrait mode with Depth Control” (the same as on the iPhone 12) to “Next-generation portraits with Focus and Depth Control” (same as on the iPhone 17). This appears to highlight the fact that you can change the focus point.
Finally, the iPhone 17 gets a new color finish. Whereas the 16 came in a sadly limited choice of white or black, the 17e is also available in a delicate shade Apple calls Soft Pink.
The iPhone 17e starts at $599 and takes the place of the 16e, which has been discontinued. It will become available to pre-order on Wednesday March 4 at 6:15 a.m. PT, and goes on sale on March 11.
Author: David Price, Editor, Macworld
David has been writing about technology for well over two decades, and got on board the Apple hype train when covering the original iPhone launch in 2007. He is an enthusiastic Apple Watch evangelist and feels that the HomePod is misunderstood.