Apple Just 1 year after the launch of iPhone 16e, with new iPhone 17e Taking over entry positioning. Earlier, it was rumored that Apple would launch a new iPhone 17e by updating its official website. Although the appearance is almost unchanged, it has been quietly modified internally. It not only replaced the A19 chip with the same level as the standard version, but also added the MagSafe function that many users are most concerned about. More importantly, subtle adjustments have been made to the capacity and price strategies, starting with a capacity of 256GB, making this “cheapest iPhone” more attractive than imagined.
iPhone 17e officially released: upgraded A19 chip, starting at 256GB, supports MagSafe, adds a new tender pink color, priced from NT$21,900
If you still remember last year iPhone 16e, its positioning is very clear, which is to provide a more user-friendly choice for users with limited budgets who want to experience the iOS ecosystem. This year, Apple did not extend the update cycle, but directly replaced it with the iPhone 17e, continuing the entry-level product line.
The appearance design of iPhone 17e continues from iPhone 16e with almost no changes. iPhone 17e still uses a 6.1-inch OLED display screen, with the familiar bangs design at the top, and Face ID is still hidden inside, instead of changing to a dynamic island screen.
The body still has a flat frame, with action buttons on the sides, and a single-lens design on the back with no obvious lens protrusion. Overall, at first glance it looks almost identical to its predecessor.
The front glass of the iPhone 17e has been upgraded to “Super Ceramic Shield 2”. Officials say the scratch resistance has been improved to 3 times that of the previous generation while reducing reflection problems. For people who commute every day and often use their phones with one hand, improving durability is actually very important.
iPhone 17e is still equipped with a 48-megapixel Fusion camera with a built-in 12-megapixel 2x telephoto cropping function. This is not a true independent telephoto lens, but is achieved through cropping of high-resolution photosensitive elements. Now supports Deep Fusion, Night Mode, Portrait Light Control, and 10x digital zoom. Although the hardware has not been significantly changed, the new generation portrait mode adds enhanced focus and depth of field control, making the imaging more natural.
iPhone 17e can record video at 4K Dolby Vision 60fps and slow-motion at 1080p 240fps.
The front lens is a 12-megapixel TrueDepth camera that supports portrait mode, Animoji, Memoji and 4K Dolby Vision recording.
iPhone 17e is directly upgraded to the A19 chip this time, using the same core architecture as the iPhone 17 standard version. The CPU has 2 performance cores plus 4 energy-saving cores, and the GPU has a 4-core version.
Although there is one core less than the iPhone 17’s 5-core GPU, each GPU core is equipped with a neural computing acceleration unit, which is significantly helpful for machine learning and Apple Intelligence tasks.
For ordinary users, this means that the system operates more smoothly, apps can be opened faster, multitasking is more stable, and the latest AI features can be fully supported. For an entry-level model, such specifications are actually quite sincere.
Another upgrade highlight is the new C1X mobile modem. This chip also appears in the iPhone Air series, focusing on higher efficiency and faster connection performance. Official data shows that compared to iPhone 16e, mobile network performance can be improved by up to 2 times. Although mmWave is still not supported, the impact on the Taiwan market is actually limited. You can feel the improvement in stability and speed when using the 5G network every day, streaming videos or downloading large files.
In terms of battery life of iPhone 17e, according to official data, iPhone 17e can maintain 26 hours of video playback, 21 hours of streaming playback, and up to 90 hours of music playback. Paired with A19’s better energy efficiency and C1X modem system optimization, the actual experience is expected to be more stable. In addition, iPhone 17e has “it” as one of the most popular upgrades for users. Looking back at last year’s iPhone 16e, although it supported Qi wireless charging, it lacked MagSafe, which was a pity for many users.
This year’s iPhone 17e makes up for this regret. It now supports MagSafe and Qi2, with wireless charging up to 15W, which is significantly improved compared to the 7.5W of the previous generation.
This not only means faster charging, but also means that the magnetic charger, stand, card holder and various accessories can be firmly absorbed, making the use experience more complete. For users who already have a full set of MagSafe ecosystem accessories, this upgrade is very practical.
The most noteworthy thing is that the iPhone 17e starts directly from 256GB instead of the previous 128GB. With the popularity of AI functions and high-definition video shooting becoming a daily routine, capacity upgrade is quite reasonable.
In terms of price, the recommended selling price of iPhone 17e in Taiwan is NT$21,900 for the 256GB version and NT$28,900 for the 512GB version. It is equivalent to exchanging the original entry price for higher capacity. The pre-order time is 9:15 pm on March 4, Taiwan time, and it will officially go on sale on March 11. In terms of color, black and white are maintained, and a soft “tender pink” option is added.
Further reading:
Source: KOCPC Chinese