Apple has officially launched the iPhone 17e, marking the latest addition to its range of budget-friendly smartphones. This announcement is part of a series of presentations the company initiated this week.
The iPhone 17e is powered by the new A19 processor. It also includes support for MagSafe and the Qi2 standard for wireless charging, with a capacity of up to 15W. This advancement ensures compatibility with current magnetic accessories and enables faster wireless charging without the need for additional adapters.
A notable feature of the iPhone 17e is the C1X modem—Apple’s next-generation proprietary solution. According to Apple, the modem delivers double the speed of its predecessor. While specific technical details remain undisclosed, the focus is clearly on improved connection speeds.
The starting price for the Apple iPhone 17e is set at $599 for the 256 GB storage model. Customers can choose from three color options: black, white, and pink.
Similar to the previous iPhone 16e, the new model is equipped with a 6.1-inch Super Retina display. However, Apple has upgraded to the new Ceramic Shield 2 glass, which offers enhanced scratch resistance and reduced glare. The most significant change is the increase in built-in storage capacity. Whereas last year’s base model, the 16e, offered 128 GB, this year’s version doubles the storage to 256 GB without any increase in the starting price.
The camera features a 48-megapixel sensor with Fusion technology, allowing for a two-times optical-quality telephoto zoom. Additionally, the smartphone supports Apple’s advanced portrait mode, which automatically recognizes people, dogs, and cats, retains depth data, and lets users add background blur post-capture.
Alongside these hardware updates, Apple is developing a more personalized version of Siri, utilizing Google’s Gemini AI technology. This new assistant is expected to better understand personal context and perform tasks directly on the screen. Although Apple CEO Tim Cook previously mentioned a spring release for these features, recent reports suggest the launch may be postponed.
The iPhone Air has been reported to experience issues with the Apple C1X modem.