From CNET: Apple on Monday unveiled its newest budget phone, the iPhone 17E. Like last year, it starts at $599, but it comes with 256GB of base storage -- double the entry level from last year's iPhone 16E. Perhaps the biggest upgrade: the iPhone 17E supports MagSafe, so you can charge faster wirelessly and attach accessories like stands wallets and cases.
Apple's latest-generation A19 chip powers the iPhone 17E, which is the same one found in the baseline iPhone 17. But there's a caveat: the iPhone 17E only has four GPU cores, versus the five on the regular iPhone 17. Apple's C1X cellular modem is also on board, which the company says is twice as fast as the C1 on the iPhone 16E.
The iPhone 17E has a 48-megapixel rear camera, and with sensor cropping offers 2x magnification. Although the camera hardware may be similar to last year, it's possible the addition of an A19 chip on the 17E could boost image quality. There's also a 12-megapixel selfie camera, but no Center Stage camera -- the feature that debuted on the iPhone Air and 17 lineup that can automatically switch between portrait and landscape orientation without having to rotate the phone.
The 6.1-inch display is protected by Ceramic Shield 2, which Apple says has three times better scratch resistance than the iPhone 16E, along with less glare. There's no Dynamic Island, setting it apart from the baseline iPhone 17.
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