Apple has kicked off a week of new product reveals, and it started with the announcement of the iPhone 17e. This is the cheapest model of the iPhone 17 lineup, as it starts at $599. That’s $200 less than the previous cheapest model, which makes it appealing to anyone who doesn’t want to spend a fortune on a new phone. And it still shares many features with the standard iPhone 17, which we recommend as the best phone for most people. It’s available for preorder now (see it at Verizon), and it releases March 11. Read on for the details.
Preorder iPhone 17e
- Get it at Apple
- Get it at Best Buy
- Get it at AT&T
- Get it at Verizon
- Get it at T-Mobile
- Get it at Walmart
The iPhone 17e joins a lineup comprised of the baseline iPhone 17 (which starts at $799), iPhone Air ($999), iPhone 17 Pro ($1099), and iPhone 17 Pro Max ($1199). It’s available in three colors: black, white, and a new soft pink.
It’s mostly a spec bump over the 16e, but it has MagSafe charging at 15W, which I can attest is super useful. Regarding those bumped specs, it starts with double the storage (256GB) and has the iPhone 17’s A19 chip — though with fewer cores. It also has a new C1X cellular modem, which Apple says is twice as fast as the previous modem.
Compared to the standard iPhone 17, the 17e is a little smaller, with a 6.1-inch display as opposed to a 6.3-inch one. It doesn’t have the lozenge-shaped Dynamic Island, which can display useful information in some circumstances. The cameras, while better than the 16e’s, generally aren’t as good as the rest of the 17 series’ cameras, nor does it have a dedicated camera button. It does, however, have the action button above the volume controls that you can program to your liking: mute, flashlight, even Shortcuts operations if you’re a technophile.
It has a Super Retina XDR display with OLED technology, as well as FaceID to unlock the phone and enter passwords. It’s splash, water, and dust resistant. The display has Ceramic Shield 2, which Apple says offers 3x better scratch resistance than the previous generation, along with reduced glare. It also has satellite features for when you’re outside of cell coverage: Emergency SOS, Roadside Assistance, Messages, and Find My via satellite.
In other words, if you’re looking for a perfectly suitable new iPhone 17 that costs the least amount possible, this is it. You get a lot of phone for your money, including full Apple Intelligence capabilities (assuming Apple ever releases the features it announced over a year ago and still hasn’t shipped). You can find full details about the iPhone 17e in Apple’s announcement post.
Chris Reed is a commerce editor and deals expert for IGN. He also runs IGN's board game and LEGO coverage. You can follow him on Bluesky.
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