New iPhone 17e Is Still $599 but Adds MagSafe and Takes Better Portraits

Mar 02, 2026

Jeremy Gray

Four iPhones are shown side by side: black, white, and pink models display their backs, while the fourth phone, on the right, shows its front with a pink abstract wallpaper on the screen.

Apple has announced the iPhone 17e, its latest entry-level iPhone. The “powerful and more affordable” addition to the iPhone 17 series lineup features a 48-megapixel Fusion camera and a more powerful processor.

The iPhone 17e features Apple’s latest-generation A19 core, the company’s new C1X cellular modem, and a single 48-megapixel rear Fusion camera. If this camera sounds familiar, it should. This is the same 48-megapixel Fusion camera that Apple included in last year’s iPhone 16e.

Two smartphones are shown stacked horizontally, one pink with the back and camera visible on top, and one black with the screen and side buttons visible underneath.

There are many similarities between last year’s iPhone 16e and the new 17e, in fact. The entry-level phones have the same 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR display with 800 nits of maximum brightness and 1200 nits of peak brightness for HDR content, an aluminum frame with an Action Button (no Camera Control here), and a 12-megapixel front-facing TrueDepth camera. It is slightly surprising to see Apple not move to its new 18-megapixel Center Stage front camera, which is utilized across the rest of the iPhone 17 lineup, including the base iPhone 17 and iPhone Air.

An older woman with gray hair, wearing sunglasses, a brown suit, and purple shirt, smiles and stands near a red hot dog cart with a yellow-and-red umbrella on a sunny city sidewalk.

Towering green cliffs with sharp ridges rise above a grassy field under a cloudy sky, with sunlight casting dramatic shadows on the mountainside.

A woman in a yellow sweater and skirt stands by a wooden building, bathed in sunlight, with green mountains and a blue sky with clouds in the background.

Although Apple touts the single 48-megapixel Fusion camera as being “like two cameras in one” thanks to its 2x “optical-quality” telephoto camera, it is still essentially an in-camera crop mode. The results can look good, but they are not as impressive as the dedicated telephoto camera on the base iPhone 17 model. Granted, the iPhone 17 starts at $799, a full $200 more than the iPhone 17e’s lowest price.

Apple promises an improved portrait mode in the iPhone 17e, thanks to the increased processing power at Apple’s disposal. Like the iPhone 16e, the iPhone 17e can record 4Kp60 Dolby Vision video using its rear camera.

Two young men sit on a curb at night under streetlights; one is sitting on a skateboard and smiling, while the other, in an orange jacket, sits slightly behind him. They appear relaxed and are near a vending machine.

Two children sit on wooden beach chairs on sandy beach under clear blue sky; one child in a red sweater holds sand and smiles at the camera, while the other sits in the background, slightly out of focus.

A person with a natural afro hairstyle wearing a red sweater with a white collar and red-and-white striped pants sits outdoors on a sandy landscape under a clear blue sky.

“The advanced pipeline also enables next-generation portraits, so iPhone 17e recognizes people, dogs, and cats, and automatically saves depth information, allowing users to turn photos into beautiful portraits with background blur after capture and to adjust the focus point in the Photos app,” Apple writes.

A child with a joyful expression slides down a playground slide. On-screen display shows video settings: resolution options HD and 4K, and frame rate options 24, 30, and 60.

However, there are, of course, some other improvements. The iPhone 17e moves from an A18 chip to the latest-generation A19. The new smartphone also includes Apple’s newest C1X modem, which is up to two times faster than the C1 chip in the iPhone 16e. The new iPhone 17e also supports MagSafe wireless charging up to 15W, whereas its predecessor supported Qi wireless charging up to just 7.5W. The addition of MagSafe means the iPhone 17e is compatible with a wide range of Apple MagSafe accessories, including cases, wallets, chargers, and more.

Three iPhones with different cases: a pink case with a purple cardholder, a black case with a round magnetic charger attached, and a clear case with a visible MagSafe ring and Apple logo.

“iPhone 17e combines powerful performance and features our users love at an exceptional value, making it a compelling option for customers looking to upgrade to the iPhone 17 family,” says Kaiann Drance, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide iPhone Product Marketing. “We know our customers want a product that will last, and iPhone 17e delivers just that. With A19 for incredible performance, double the entry storage, a smarter camera system, and enhanced durability, iPhone 17e is designed to stay fast, secure, and valuable for years to come.”

Pricing and Availability

The iPhone 17e also now starts at 256GB of storage, up from 128GB, while maintaining the same intro price of $599. The iPhone 17e comes in three colors “with a premium matte finish,” including black, white, and a new soft pink. The iPhone 17e will be available to preorder starting Wednesday, March 4, and will begin shipping one week later on March 11.

 Image credits: Apple

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