iPhone 17e stays $999 with MagSafe and double the storage

After months of speculation, Apple has officially confirmed the iPhone 17e, its latest $999 phone and successor to last year’s iPhone 16e.

As widely expected before Apple’s announcement, the iPhone 17e supports MagSafe, the brand’s magnetic charging technology that was missing on the 16e. This year’s model also includes double the starting storage, now 256GB, without a price increase.

Similar to the 16e, the new model has a 6.1-inch screen and a single rear 48MP camera that Apple advertises as providing the equivalent of 2x optical zoom. While the visual quality of the screen is identical year-on-year, the new iPhone uses Apple’s more durable Ceramic Shield 2 technology, designed to withstand more scratches.

MagSafe supports faster wireless charging and easy alignment with accessories. Image: Apple.

Using a similar A19 chip to the core iPhone 17 range, the cheaper 17e’s main tradeoff is a slightly lower four-core GPU count (the iPhone 17 has five GPU cores). Apple claims the iPhone 17e’s CPU is twice as fast as the nearly seven-year-old iPhone 11.

A more recent comparison is the improvements between the 17e and 16e’s modem technology. Inside the iPhone 17e is Apple’s latest C1X cellular modem, which the company claims is two times faster than the iPhone 16e’s C1 modem. Connectivity speeds aren’t the only claimed benefit: Apple also said the new modem “uses 30 per cent less energy than the modem in iPhone 16 Pro”.

This should help with battery efficiency, with Apple claiming up to 26 hours of video playback on the new phone. That’s the same as the stated battery life of the iPhone 16e, suggesting that network speeds are the main improvements between the C1 and C1X modems.

iPhone 17e price and release date

Pre-orders for the iPhone 17e start on 5 March, the same day Apple has a hands-on experience scheduled for its latest devices. The phone will then launch midweek on 11 March.

This year’s colours keep the existing White and Black options, with the addition of Soft Pink. They’re fairly muted shades, but at least there’s a slightly more colourful variant this time around.

In addition to the $999 256GB model, the iPhone 17e is also available in a 512GB version for $1,399. That’s a steep $400 gap between storage configurations, which could be a result of the current global memory shortage.

The post iPhone 17e stays $999 with MagSafe and double the storage appeared first on GadgetGuy.

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