Apple Announces iPhone 17E with A19 Chip and MagSafe Support

Apple has just announced the iPhone 17e, the successor to its entry-level iPhone 16e released a year ago. The iPhone 17e keeps the same design as its predecessor but adds a faster A19 chip, MagSafe wireless charging, and Apple’s latest-generation C1X cellular modem. It also starts with 256GB of storage instead of 128GB, all while keeping the same $599 starting price.

“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,” said 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.”

Unfortunately, Apple didn’t replace the notch on the front with the Dynamic Island feature available on all other iPhones. Apple also kept the same TrueDepth camera on the front, so the “Center Stage” feature that helps keep people in the frame is absent. However, the front panel has been upgraded to the same Ceramic Shield 2 technology found on the iPhone 17, with 3x greater scratch resistance than the iPhone 16e. The display is still 60Hz, however.

The iPhone 17e uses a binned A19 chip with a 6-core CPU and just 4 GPU cores with neural accelerators instead of 5 on the iPhone 17. Despite the newer A19 chip and faster C1X modem, which is up to 2X faster than the C1 in the iPhone 16e, battery life is identical, with up to 26 hours of video playback (up to 30 hours on the iPhone 17).

Apple didn’t upgrade the rear 48MP Fusion Camera, which still offers 1x and 2x optical zoom options. However, the front-facing camera now supports next-generation portaits with Focus and Depth Control. The iPhone 17e is also restricted to Bluetooth 5.3 and Wi-Fi 6E, and there’s still no Ultra Wideband Chip and Thread networking technology support.

While last year’s iPhone 16E had no MagSafe magnets and was limited to slow 7.5W Qi wireless charging, the iPhone 17E supports MagSafe wireless charging up to 15W with a 20W adapter or higher. In comparison, the iPhone 17 supports slightly faster wireless charging up to 25W with a 30W adapter or higher.

The iPhone 17e still starts at $599 with double the memory, and it’s available in a new soft pink color in addition to black and white. The 512 GB version also dropped from $900 to $800. The new entry-level iPhone will be available for pre-order beginning Wednesday, March 4, with availability starting Wednesday, March 11.