Apple iPhone 17e review: Incremental upgrade

In mid-March, Apple's most affordable A19-powered handset, the iPhone 17e, hit stores in India.

It comes in two storage options-- 256GB and 512GB-- with prices starting at Rs 64,900.

Design, build quality and display

The iPhone 17e retains design elements of the predecessor. When kept side-by-side, it is very hard to distinguish between the two. It features a single camera sensor with an LED flash on the back.

Apple iPhone 17e.

The iPhone 17e comes in a lightweight compact form factor featuring an aerospace-grade aluminium-based frame. It has the same flat mid-frame with curved corners and offers a nice grip for the fingers to hold the device firmly.

On the front, the display has a thick, uniform bezel around the edges and the trademark notch at the top, which houses the FaceID security system and the 12MP FaceTime camera.

Apple iPhone 17e.

It also features an IP68 splash, water, and dust resistant rating, meaning the device can survive an accidental fall in a water body like a swimming pool for close to six metres (around 19.6 feet) for close to 30 minutes.

Further, the display is protected by the Ceramic Shield 2, which is touted to be the sturdiest screen guard of any smartphone in the industry.

Also, Apple offers cover case accessories (have to be purchased seperately). They come in vibrant colours such as black, anchor blue, light moss, vanilla, bright guava, and soft pink in addition to black. They are really sturdy and protects the device from cracking during a fall on hardsurface. Thanks to raised lips around the edges, the display doesn't easily get damaged if it drops flat on the floor.

Apple iPhone 17e with Apple MagSafe covercase.

Add to that, they support MagSafe wireless charging. Users need not have to remove the cover when charging the iPhone 17e on the wireless charger pad.

With the iPhone 17e, Apple has introduced a new soft pink colour option in addition to the standard black and white variants.

It also features an action button at the top of the volume rockers on the left side of the frame. It can be programmed to launch the user's favourite apps such as Shazam, switch between silent or ring modes, turn on/off the torch, summon Siri, translate languages and do more.

Apple iPhone 17e.

It comes with a single physical SIM slot and supports up to eight e-SIMs. This comes in handy for an overseas trip to get cheaper cellular plans, instead of buying a burner phone.

The iPhone 17e sports a 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR OLED display, the smallest among the iPhone 17 series.

It supports Dolby Vision and offers up to 1,200 nits peak HDR brightness and 60Hz refresh rate. It is good for consuming multimedia content on OTT apps and watching videos on social media platforms indoors. Unlike the standard 17 and premium 17 Pro models, it lacks an anti-reflective coating to reduce glare for better content visibility on the screen outdoors.

The FaceID sensor is very efficient in all light conditions. It quickly recognises the face and unlocks the screen, with a very low false rejection rate.

Apple iPhone 17e.

Eco-friendly iPhone

The iPhone 17e is made with 30 per cent recycled content, including 85 per cent recycled aluminium in the enclosure and 100 per cent recycled cobalt in the battery. It is manufactured with 55 per cent renewable electricity, like wind and solar, across the supply chain. And, the paper packaging is 100 per cent fibre-based and can be easily recycled.

Performance

It is powered by the Apple A19 chipset with a 6-core CPU, 4-core GPU with Neural Accelerators, and 16-core NPU. It has one GPU core less, compared to the original iPhone 17.

That said, you won't find any noticeable change in performance. It supports all popular generative Artificial Intelligence apps in addition to Apple Intelligence features. It works fast and delivers smooth performance.

With hardware-accelerated ray tracing capability, the iPhone 17e delivers an immersive gaming experience.

The device runs iOS 26 and comes with several value-added features, including Live Translation in Messages, FaceTime, Phone, and AirPods. Also, it supports Visual intelligence and Call Screening. The latter can screen calls from unknown numbers and automatically ask the reason for calling, while Hold Assist can hold on the line until a live agent is available.

Apple iPhone 17e.

With a full charge, the iPhone 17e can deliver a full day of battery life under normal usage with mixed use of Wi-Fi and Cellular internet. However, if you are fully reliant on the cellular network internet, you may need a powerbank in the evening, to last till you retire to bed.

The iPhone 17e supports fast charging. It can go from zero to 50 per cent in around 30-35 minutes and reach the 100 per cent mark under 75 minutes.

Also, the iPhone 17e supports MagSafe and Qi2 fast wireless charging, a first for an iPhone e series. It supports 15W wireless charging speed, compared to 7.5W on iPhone 16e.

Apple iPhone 17e.

Another big upgrade we see in the iPhone 17e is the Apple C1X cellular modem. It is up to 2x faster than C1 in iPhone 16e and matches the speed of iPhone Air. Also, C1X uses 30 per cent less energy than the modem in the iPhone 16 Pro, to deliver long all-day battery life.

Like the predecessor, iPhone 17e also comes with a couple of potential-life saving features-- Crash Detection and Satellite connectivity.

Once the device detects a severe crash, it displays a 20-second countdown to determine whether it was a false alarm. And, if the user doesn't respond, it will automatically call the local emergency response team and also share the location GPS details for faster rescue.

And, iPhone 17e owners can send messages via satellite to seek emergency help when there is no cellular network or Wi-Fi service nearby.

It can help with roadside assistance as well. This service is currently available in select regions including the US, Canada and Europe.

Apple iPhone 17e's camera sample.

Photography

The iPhone 17e features a new 48MP Fusion camera. By default, it can capture 24MP resolution with good details. Users can bump up the resolution to 48MP for sharper photos.

Apple iPhone 17e's camera sample.

It takes HDR (high dynamic range) photos with subjects such as human faces that retain real skin tones and ensure bright highlights, rich midtones, and deep shadows across the frame.

Apple iPhone 17e's camera sample.

It also supports Portrait mode. It delivers natural depth and a smooth bokeh effect that artfully blurs the background while keeping subjects sharp.

Apple iPhone 17e's camera sample.

The advanced camera system enables iPhone 17e to recognise people, dogs, and cats, and automatically saves depth information.

Apple iPhone 17e's camera sample.

If you are not satisfied with the focus or the depth in Portrait mode photo, users can still be able to adjust the focal length in the Photos app, to turn images into more beautiful portraits with background blur.

Apple iPhone 17e's camera sample.

In night mode, the photo quality is decent. It also supports 2x lossless optical zoom.

Apple iPhone 17e's camera sample.

On the front, it features a 12MP TrueDepth camera. It takes brilliant portrait mode selfies in the sunlight.

Apple iPhone 17e's camera sample.

Both the back and front cameras support 4K Dolby Vision video recording up to 60 frames per second.

Apple iPhone 17e's camera sample.

Apple iPhone 17e's camera sample.

The rear-side camera supports slow-motion video recording for 1080p at 240 fps, and the front camera supports it at 120 fps.

Apple iPhone 17e's camera sample.

Apple iPhone 17e's camera sample.

Apple iPhone 17e's camera sample.

Final thoughts

Though the iPhone 17e resembles its predecessor, it boasts significant enhancements beneath the surface.

It features quicker MagSafe wireless charging, a robust A19 processor, and an entirely new Apple C1X cellular modem. The A19 silicon ensures that the iPhone 17e operates with exceptional smoothness. However, the presence of just a single camera somewhat diminishes its overall allure.

Apple iPhone 17e.

Apple iPhone 17e comes in two storage options-- 256GB and 512GB-- for Rs 64900 and 84,900, respectively.

It should be note, Apple is offering the base model with 256GB, double than the predecessor. Also, the price is also low compared to the launch the launch price of iPhone 16e (256GB), which was offered for Rs 69,900.

Have to appreciate Apple offering the device for lower price than the 2025 model, while other brands have significantly increased the prices of 2026 series models due to the supply constraint related to RAM and storage chipsets.

Apple is also offering the iPhone 17e Silicone Case with MagSafe in six colours — black, anchor blue, light moss, vanilla, bright guava, and soft pink — for Rs 4,900 and is compatible with the Crossbody Strap. iPhone 17e Clear Case with MagSafe will also be available for Rs 4,900.

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