The iPhone 17e won’t be as good as the iPhone 16e

Now that the iPhone 17 series is out, some of you may be wondering if it’s worth waiting for the iPhone 17e next year instead. The budget offering, according to Apple insider Mark Gurman in his newsletter Power On, won’t nearly be as good as its predecessor: the iPhone 16e.

When Apple announced the iPhone 16e, it kind of made the base model iPhone 16 look like a bad deal in comparison. Online forums were full of users saying that, while the iPhone 16e had some shortcomings, it was a pretty great phone for how much it cost. Apple seeks to change that next year.

According to Gurman, the iPhone 17e will make it much clearer why it’s cheaper than the base model iPhone 17. This will in turn make the company’s product lineup appear a lot more coherent to consumers, especially newcomers. The iPhone 17e will very much feel like a budget iPhone model compared to its counterparts.

Prior leaks have also claimed that the iPhone 17e won’t be great, but just okay. The base model iPhone 17 this year saw some excellent upgrades, especially the ProMotion display. Meanwhile, the iPhone 17e will still have a 60 Hz display, and will also use the same camera that is found on the iPhone 16e.

That’s not to say that the 17e will be a complete rehash. The phone will very likely use the new A19 chip, and it will also get an updated look. While the iPhone 16e looks like an iPhone 14 from the front, complete with a notch, the iPhone 17e will reportedly look like the base model iPhone 16. That means that it will have the Dynamic Island instead.

The base model iPhone 16. | Image credit — PhoneArena

With the iPhone 17 Pro and its contentious redesign, in addition to the several problems that the iPhone 17 lineup has, the iPhone 17e may just be the way to go if you need a new iPhone. However, it is worth keeping in mind that the biggest selling point for the iPhone 17e seems to be the fact that’s it’ll be the most affordable new iPhone model in 2026.

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