Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Apple’s $599 iPhone 17e Goes on Sale With A19 Chip, MagSafe and 256GB Base Storage

Reviews highlight meaningful upgrades over the 16e that improve value at the unchanged entry price.

Overview

  • Apple’s iPhone 17e is now available globally at $599/£599 with 256GB of storage, joining black, white and a new soft pink color option.
  • Key additions include the A19 processor, MagSafe support for magnetic accessories and 15W wireless charging, and Apple’s C1X 5G modem.
  • Early tests and benchmarks report up to roughly 15% performance gains over the A18 and faster cellular speeds in some network checks.
  • Deliberate trade-offs remain versus the standard iPhone 17, including a wide notch instead of Dynamic Island, a fixed 60Hz display, thicker bezels and a single rear camera, plus a slightly reduced A19 GPU configuration.
  • Critics broadly praise the 17e as a better budget iPhone, though many advise paying $200 more for the iPhone 17 for its 120Hz display, additional camera and other features, while separate reports of an iPhone 18e are unverified.