The iPhone 17e doesn’t reinvent Apple’s budget iPhone, but it meaningfully refines the formula introduced with the iPhone 16e. With the A19 chip, double the starting storage at 256GB, and the long-awaited addition of MagSafe — all for the same starting price — the 17e feels like a more complete and modern member of the iPhone lineup.
The iPhone 17E borrows other features from the $829 baseline iPhone 17. The budget option packs the same A19 chip (albeit with a four-core GPU instead of five), an action button and a 48-megapixel main camera. It starts with 256GB of storage, making that $599 price more enticing -- even if it's arguably pushing the limits of what's considered a "budget" phone. But the fact that I have to double-check whether I'm reaching for the iPhone 17E or the 17 is surely a good sign that the gap between the two is narrowing -- and in the right direction.
This is actually a minimum viable iPhone in a way that the 16E was not. But the benefits gained by stepping up to the regular 17 — starting with a better, more useful screen, and a more versatile camera — are more significant than the $200 price difference implies, and if you have the means, I think you should take that step. The regular iPhone 17 is still the one to buy.
By introducing the iPhone 17e just a year after the iPhone 16e, Apple is closing some gaps. Before, the company would only roll out a new entry-level iPhone every few years, with the iPhone 5c (2013), iPhone XR (2018) and iPhone SE (2016, 2020, 2022) all having two to four years between their releases. But Apple is getting into an annual groove now, and having renamed the device to integrate better with the rest of the iPhone lineup, Apple is making a clear statement: It cares about the midrange now.
The $599 Apple iPhone 17e is an excellent follow-up to last year's already-good iPhone 16e. For the same price, you get a faster A19 processor, quicker MagSafe charging, improved camera processing, more efficient 5G radio performance, and double the base storage (256GB). It's a great option for first-time phone users, those who want a basic smartphone, and those upgrading from older models, like the iPhone 11 or iPhone 12. Seasoned iPhone users who want more than the basics, will likely want to pay the extra $200 for the iPhone 17's more flexible camera system, longer battery life, better display, and faster wireless speeds. It remains our Editors' Choice, and the best iPhone for most people.
The iPhone 17e is still a little overpriced compared to the competition, but I think it's a perfectly fine choice for anyone who wants to buy a basic iPhone without going through the used market.
Across several days of testing, 5G cellular reception was strong, and battery life was long. I ran Speedtest a few times, at different locations in Center City Philadelphia, and each time got download speeds above 500 Mbps and upload speeds around 40–50 Mbps. Apple’s in-house C1X modem is simply great.
[...]Overigens was er ook maar weinig mis met de naam SE, waren alle 3 uitstekende telefoons. [...]
Vroeger stond SE echt nog voor Special Edition.
Het grootste pluspunt is iOS, dat ontzettend fijn in gebruik is, lang wordt bijgewerkt en naadloos samenwerkt met andere Apple-producten. Ook het compacte formaat is prettig. Dat neemt niet weg dat de iPhone 17e waarschijnlijk voor niemand een goede koop is.
Dat alles laat ook zien dat naamgeving nooit echt logisch geweest is. van iOS 18 gaan we ineens naar 26.Van een iPhone gaan we naar de iPhone 3G omdat er 3G connectiviteit is, en dan besluiten we maar de 3 in een 4 te veranderen voor het volgende model. De iPhone 2? onbestaande.Van een iPhone 8 gaan we dan maar naar een iPhone X, en in plaats van een iPhone XI doen we dan toch maar een 11.Als voorganger van een SE hadden we dan maar de 5C.
Een redelijk negatieve review op Tweakers (Dennis de Vries).
En voor iets meer dan 700 euro kun je ook Android-telefoons kopen die op bijna elk vlak rondjes rennen om Apples nieuwe iPhone.
Gast
