The Iphone 17e Is Good, But You Probably Shouldn’t Buy It

The iPhone 17E is simply a amended worth than nan 16E was erstwhile it arrived, but that should matter to fundamentally nobody.

The main point to cognize astir nan 17E is that nan iPhone 17 exists, it costs $200 much — aliases possibly much significantly, an other $9 per period connected a two-year costs scheme not including immoderate discount your bearer offers — and it comes pinch a agelong database of upgrades. And if it’s wrong your intends to put down that other money, you should.

The 17E replaces the 16E successful Apple’s lineup. The 16E was nan first successful a caller series: not an older chassis pinch immoderate refreshed internals for a steep discount, for illustration nan iPhone SE was. Instead, nan 16E was a afloat personnel of its iPhone generation, conscionable a spot worse and yet somewhat excessively expensive. Its $600 value tag felt excessively precocious for a telephone missing 1 of Apple’s halfway iPhone features: MagSafe.

Now, Apple has righted nan wrongs of that device. The 17E comes pinch MagSafe, arsenic good arsenic a guidelines retention bump up to 256GB, and it still starts astatine $600, which is thing to sneeze astatine fixed nan representation situation and all. But Apple did thing other successful nan clip betwixt nan 16E and nan 17E: it released nan iPhone 17.

After years of “Eh, nan regular iPhone is okay,” nan iPhone 17 yet brought nan basal iPhone up to a caller level of “Yeah, this is nan 1 astir group should get.” Mainly, it sewage a ProMotion show — until past fall, Apple had reserved nan 120Hz surface for nan Pro models. With that feature, it besides sewage an always-on display, aliases AOD, which is useful for checking notifications, widgets, and moreover conscionable nan clip astatine a glance. Those whitethorn sound for illustration agelong overdue updates to a $800 phone, particularly if you’re utilized to Android devices. They were, but they yet happened, and a $600 iPhone makes little consciousness than ever erstwhile nan $800 1 is afloat up to speed.

I’m a large instrumentality of an AOD, and it’s 1 of nan apical things I’ve missed while utilizing nan 17E. I support glancing astatine nan telephone connected my table reasoning it should show maine nan time, aliases my fastener surface widgets. No AOD besides intends you suffer immoderate of nan functionality of nan bedside timepiece mode that’s enabled erstwhile it’s connected a charger, and successful day-to-day usage you don’t person a measurement of keeping way of Live Activities (like nan position of your Starbucks order) without tapping nan fastener surface — and there’s nary Dynamic Island to location those updates, either. StandBy, Live Activities, and Dynamic Island are immoderate of Apple’s champion package ideas successful caller history, and nan truth that they’re implemented either halfway (or not astatine all) connected nan 17E is simply a spot of a letdown.

In amended news, I’m not seeing immoderate reddish flags connected nan artillery beforehand aft utilizing nan telephone retired and astir for a mates of days. With 3 to 4 hours of screen-on time, I’ve had astir 50 percent complaint near by bedtime. The 17E uses Apple’s second-generation C1X wireless modem, and it maintained a coagulated relationship while streaming video connected a train moving betwixt compartment towers and done tunnels into downtown Seattle. I haven’t had clip to do a batch of thorough testing pinch it, but truthful acold this is simply a existent “no news is bully news” situation.

The rear camera, singular, is nan different large downgrade connected nan 17E. It’s not conscionable nan absence of an ultrawide; for illustration nan 16E, nan 17E’s 48-megapixel main camera sensor is conscionable a small smaller than nan 1 connected nan regular iPhone 17. A bigger sensor provides a batch of benefits, including amended debased ray images. It’s a quality you’ll spot successful observant side-by-side comparisons, truthful it’s not apt to beryllium a woody breaker to everyone. But each things being equal, a bigger image sensor is only going to thief image quality, since mini smartphone sensors are already astatine a disadvantage compared to nan bigger ones successful astir dedicated cameras.

Sure, you’ve sewage nan 2x harvest connected nan main camera. Apple calls it “optical quality,” which conscionable intends that there’s nary integer upscaling happening; it’s conscionable utilizing nan mediate 12 megapixels connected nan sensor. I’ve been shooting pinch it rather a spot connected nan 17E, peculiarly for image mode, and it does nan trick. It doesn’t consciousness for illustration a substitute for a longer, dedicated telephoto lens, but it’s amended than nothing. Also missing: nan iPhone 17 series’ upgraded selfie camera, which does immoderate neat things for illustration automatically rotate from image to scenery to fresh a group successful nan frame. The 17E’s camera strategy connected nan full is fine, but unless you’re highly indifferent to your telephone camera, nan upgrades connected nan 17 consciousness worthy nan other money to me.

Even pinch these tradeoffs, location are still group who will see nan 17E purely connected nan ground of “It’s nan cheapest caller iPhone I tin buy.” My hubby is 1 of them. It’s difficult for a gadget nerd to fathom, but location are group retired location who don’t cognize aliases attraction what MagSafe is. People who only return nan occasional photograph pinch their telephone and aren’t fussy astir nan quality. Maybe moreover group who want to salary retired of pouch for their telephone and not person to deliberation astir it again for arsenic agelong arsenic they tin get distant with. The truth that nan 17E yet feels for illustration a due minimum viable merchandise is simply a alleviation to me, personally, truthful I don’t consciousness for illustration I’m committing master malpractice if I show those group to bargain it, for illustration I would person for nan 16E.

Still, MagSafe successful peculiar felt for illustration an inexcusable omission connected nan 16E, if only because it seems to beryllium a important portion of Apple’s ain meaning of an iPhone. I, for one, emotion thwacking nan 17E onto a magnetic wireless charger astatine nan extremity of nan day. MagSafe besides opens your telephone up to a world of grips and PopSockets that you tin alteration aliases region connected a whim. It was silly excluding MagSafe from nan 16E and I’m gladsome it’s present now.

This is really a minimum viable iPhone successful a measurement that nan 16E was not. But nan benefits gained by stepping up to nan regular 17 — starting pinch a better, much useful screen, and a much versatile camera — are much important than nan $200 value quality implies, and if you person nan means, I deliberation you should return that step. The regular iPhone 17 is still nan 1 to buy.

Photography by Allison Johnson / The Verge