There’s a lot to love with Apple’s cheaper iPhone – if you can forgive the compromises
Apple iPhone 17e
Score: 4/5
Pros- Compact design
- The single camera takes great pictures
- Fast performance for the price
- No Always-On Display
- No button for Camera Control
- Doesn’t have iPhone 17’s clever front camera
Where to buy
Apple £599.00 Buy nowWhat is the Apple iPhone 17e?
The iPhone 17e is the latest iPhone to join Apple’s smartphone lineup. It replaces last year’s iPhone 16e as the new entry point and sits at least £200 below the iPhone 17, iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Pro models that launched in September 2025.
As you might expect, it makes a couple of compromises to hit that £600 price. Still, Apple has introduced some meaningful upgrades, making it a compelling option for those with a smaller budget than the iPhone 17 demands.
You miss out on a secondary rear ultra-wide camera, there’s no Camera Control button, and it doesn’t have the clever new front camera the other models offer, either.
However, this year’s iPhone 17e adds MagSafe charging (I’ll talk about that below), the same powerful A19 chip as the iPhone 17, double the starting storage, and better scratch resistance. If you aren’t fussed about paying through the nose for flashy features, it delivers pretty much everything most will need from their phone.
Design and features
Score: 4/5
Apple’s iPhone 17e uses the same design as the iPhone 16e, which is no bad thing. It’s lighter and more compact than most modern phones. I found it the ideal size for one-handed use, while the matte finish on the rear means it feels great to hold.
There are a couple of changes this year, the biggest of which is the introduction of MagSafe. This is a circular arrangement of magnets at the back, which allows you to magnetically attach chargers and other accessories. It was one of the biggest omissions last year, so I’m pleased to see this added.
The other major difference is the new ‘Soft Pink’ colour. Apple only sold the iPhone 16e in black and white last year, so the extra colour gives more choice, even if it won’t appeal to everyone. I quite like it, as it isn’t as in-your-face as some other colourful phones.
Everything else remains as it was on last year’s ‘budget’ iPhone, with flat aluminium edges, a black notch at the top of the display and an ‘Action Button’ on the top left, which replaces the silent toggle of older iPhone models. This button can be assigned to any action, whether that’s putting your iPhone into silent mode, opening an app like WhatsApp or launching the camera. The latter of which is handy, since this phone lacks the special ‘Camera Control’ button you get on the more expensive iPhones.
Display
Score: 4/5
The iPhone 17e misses out on the Dynamic Island and Always-On display
I mentioned the notch at the top of the iPhone 17e’s display, which means this model doesn’t have the Dynamic Island feature that launched on the Apple iPhone 14 Pro in 2022. That serves as a small display within the main display, allowing you to control functions like music playback and timers.
If you’re coming from an older iPhone and haven’t used Dynamic Island, you won’t know what you’re missing, but as someone who uses it multiple times a day on my iPhone 17 Pro, I wish the iPhone 17e had it.
I would also have liked to see an always-on display. However, given that it was a Pro-exclusive feature until the iPhone 17, it was never likely to be included on this entry-level model.
I’ve focused on the elements the iPhone 17e misses, but in reality, its 6.1-inch OLED display is great for what it does offer. Colours are punchy and vibrant, the black level is impactful, and whites are gleaming. The brightness isn’t as good as the iPhone 17, and the refresh rate is 60Hz, so scrolling and reading don’t feel quite as smooth, but if you aren’t coming from a phone with a 120Hz screen, you won’t notice the difference.
Performance and battery life
Score: 4.5/5
I had no trouble playing Mini Motorways
Performance-wise, there wasn’t anything the iPhone 17e couldn’t do that I was doing on my iPhone 17 Pro Max. It switches between tasks and apps with no lag or stutter, resulting in a smooth, consistent experience that’s a pleasure to use. It uses the same processor as the more expensive iPhone 17 but with a slightly reduced graphics processing unit (GPU), though I didn’t notice the iPhone 17e struggling when playing games.
It comes with double the base storage of the iPhone 16e at 256GB instead of 128GB, and battery life was also excellent, just as it was previously. On paper, Apple claims the iPhone 17e will offer up to 26 hours of video playback, which is four fewer hours than the iPhone 17, but during testing, I didn’t have any battery anxiety.
The first couple of weeks with a new smartphone don’t always offer the best indication of battery life, as apps and images download in the background from the cloud, but I finished each day at over 40 per cent. To put that into perspective, I took it off charge around 7am and put it back on around 11pm, but I could easily have gotten through the next morning without a worry.
Software and AI
Score: 4.5/5
The Apple iPhone 17e runs on the same iOS 26 software as the rest of the iPhone 17 lineup, so you get a similar experience with many of the same features. That usability is great, with an easy-to-navigate, simple-to-use user interface. If you’re new to iPhone, it’s quick to get to grips with, and if you’re already an iPhone user, the software feels familiar.
Apple Intelligence is supported on the iPhone 17e. While some of the AI features offered with this aren’t ones I use – I don’t see the point in the AI-generated image stuff on any smartphone – there are some I use regularly and appreciate. Just as on the more expensive iPhone 17 models, I found ‘Priority Inbox’ and ‘Priority Notifications’ helpful on the iPhone 17e, while ‘Clean Up’ in photos is generally quick and accurate when you want to remove something small from an image you’ve captured.
Some of the general features that have arrived with iOS 26 are useful too, including a simplified camera app, redesigned phone app and the ability to change the snooze duration of the alarm from the previous nine-minute default.
Cameras
Score: 4/5
You can adjust focus and depth after you’ve taken a portrait picture
The iPhone 17e has the same single rear camera as the iPhone 16e and the iPhone Air, but it’s a great snapper with excellent results in all lighting conditions.
Low-light images were sharp, while images under preferred lighting conditions delivered plenty of detail and excellent colour accuracy. From the single sensor, you can get an equivalent 2x zoom, too, and while it’s not the 8x zoom of the iPhone 17 Pro, it’s great for close-ups of your pets.
The iPhone 17e also includes what Apple calls ‘next generation portraits’, and that applies to both the front and rear cameras. This feature allows you to adjust both focus and depth control after you’ve taken a shot, so if you want to add background blur to a picture of your dog after the fact, you can, and it performs well.
The one complaint I do have, however, is that the iPhone 17e lacks Apple’s new ‘Centre Stage’ front camera that launched on the other iPhone 17 models. It’s an 18-megapixel square sensor that allows you to switch between portrait and landscape selfies without rotating the phone, but the iPhone 17e retains the same 12-megapixel front camera as the iPhone 16e.
It still takes a decent image, and if Apple added all the good stuff to this entry-level model, it would make the iPhone 17 redundant, but it’s still a shame not to see it here.
Technical specifications
I’ve compared the iPhone 17e to the iPhone 17 to help you see what you get for the extra £200 in terms of specifications. Here is how the two compare, on paper.
Should you buy the iPhone 17e?
The Apple iPhone 17e is a sensational smartphone for its price. It has a compact, lightweight build, speedy performance, decent battery life, a simple camera system that produces brilliant shots and intuitive software.
You make some compromises compared to the iPhone 17, and if your budget can stretch, then I maintain that model is still the best to choose from this year’s lineup. However, if you’re upgrading from an older iPhone or coming to Apple’s iOS system for the first time, the iPhone 17e is a superb value for the experience you get.
Yes, if:
- You want a lightweight and compact phone
- You want great everyday performance
- You’ve got a limited budget but still want a good iPhone experience
No, if:
- You want the best iPhone camera
- You want an Always-On display
- You want the new clever front camera of the iPhone 17
Apple iPhone 17e FAQs
How I test smartphones
I’ve been reviewing Apple’s iPhones for over a decade and have plenty of experience with Android phones. When I review any smartphone, I use it as my main handset, which means transferring all my messages, emails, apps, contacts and my SIM card.
This allows me to get a good feel for how each smartphone performs in day-to-day use, from its camera capabilities to its battery life. I use each smartphone I test for calls, messages, browsing the web, sorting through emails, scrolling through social media and snapping multiple photos under various lighting conditions to score across five metrics, which you’ll find in the review below.
Every smartphone I review is tested without a case to give me an understanding of what the design is like to use and how durable it is. I also compare every phone I test to several other models, not only those in a similar price bracket, but also cheaper and more expensive options. In this case, the iPhone 17e is up against the iPhone 16e, iPhone 17, Google Pixel 10a and Nothing Phone (4a).
Is the Apple iPhone 17e waterproof?
Yes, the Apple iPhone 17e is IP68-certified for water- and dust-resistance. That means it can withstand being submerged to a depth of six metres for up to 30 minutes.
What colours does the iPhone 17e come in?
The iPhone 17e comes in Black, White and Soft Pink. All three have a glass rear with a matte finish.
Does the iPhone 17e have wireless charging?
Yes, the iPhone 17e supports 15W wireless charging and MagSafe, allowing you to attach magnetic accessories and chargers to the back, like the rest of the iPhone 17 lineup.
How much does the iPhone 17e cost?
The Apple iPhone 17e starts at £599 for 256GB of storage, which is double the base storage of the iPhone 16e. The 512GB model costs £699.
Does the Apple iPhone 17e support Apple Intelligence?
Yes, the Apple iPhone 17e supports Apple Intelligence and all the AI features that come with it, including Clean Up, Priority Inbox and Visual Intelligence.
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