new start for the “essential” iPhone

Via press release, Apple has just lifted the veil on a new iPhone: the iPhone 17e. Rumors about it had started to abound since the beginning of the year, which is why we were impatiently awaiting the official announcement. So it’s well and truly done: the iPhone 17 enters the range and dislodges the iPhone 16e, launched last year at the same time.

And precisely, what are the changes brought by the new generation of this iPhone “e”? Answers, below.

iPhone 17e: overview of the technical sheet

First, let’s get out of the way what doesn’t change compared to the iPhone 16e.

Already on the design side, everything is the same. The body is the same as the iPhone 14 and 16e, with aluminum frame and glass back. On the front, there is a 6.1-inch diagonal OLED panel, with a notch at the top including Face ID facial recognition sensors. Always no Dynamic Island Unfortunately. Note that the front glass is announced to be 3 times more resistant than that of the iPhone 16e.

© Apple

Concerning the screen, the technology does not evolve either: we remain confined to 60Hz maximumthe ProMotion allowing you to go up to 120 Hz is missing on this iPhone 17e.

At the rear, we find a 48-megapixel single-sensor photo modulelike on the iPhone 16e. So don’t expect to be able to take advantage of ultra-wide angle or macro shooting. The camera, however, has a new system 48 MP Fusion camera with next-generation portrait mode.

© Apple

On the other hand, and this is excellent news: 20 W MagSafe support is here this year. The old model could benefit from wireless charging, but without a magnetic attachment system and at a slower charging speed.

On the edges, the USB-C port provides resistance and accompanies a set of physical controls that we now know well: Action button, volume buttons and Power button.

A little more juice and some bonus modifications

The biggest change concerns the CPU part: the iPhone 17e integrates a Apple A19 SoC. The iPhone 16e was powered by an A18 chip.

And that’s not all: the iPhone 17e benefits from new C1X home modempreviously exclusive to the iPhone Air. It underpins cellular connectivity that is both faster and more energy efficient.

When it comes to RAM, for the moment, there’s probably nothing new to get your teeth into. The iPhone 17e would a priori be equipped with 8 GB of RAMjust like his ancestor.

We are also stagnating on autonomy, announced 26 hours maximum video playback.

Price, storage and availability

Apple sells the iPhone 17e in 2 versions, 256 and 512 GB, with 3 choices of finishes, pastel pink, black and white. The iPhone 16e benefited from 3 storage options (128 GB more) and 2 storage choices, black and white.

© Apple

Finally, the most important point, that of prices. Is the iPhone 17e cheaper than the iPhone 16e? Here is the detail on this subject:

• iPhone 17e 256 GB: €719 (like the iPhone 16e 128 GB)
• iPhone 17e 512 GB: €969 (compared to €1,099 for the iPhone 16e 512 GB)

Apple announced the launch of pre-orders this Wednesday March 4with an in-store release and the first deliveries planned for the Wednesday March 117 days later, then.

So, what do you say about this new “entry-level” iPhone? Do you think it will find its audience? Could it interest you?