Price: A Significant Difference
Obviously, this is the clearest difference between the two: The iPhone 17 starts at $799 and goes up to $999, while the iPhone 17e starts at $599 and goes up to $799, depending on your choice of onboard storage. If you’re looking to save money, the choice here is clear.
Winner: iPhone 17e
Design: The Same, Except for Colors
The iPhone 17e comes in black, white, or soft pink. (Credit: Apple)
If not for the number of cameras, you’d be hard-pressed to tell the difference between the iPhone 17 and 17e at a glance. They’re nearly identical in size and weight, with the 17e just a tenth of an inch shorter and a third of an ounce lighter. They both have aluminum frames with Ceramic Shield 2 on the front and are rated IP68 for water and dust resistance (both can withstand submersion to 20 feet for up to 30 minutes).
Both phones are available in black or white. The iPhone 17e also comes in pink, while the iPhone 17 also comes in blue, green, or lavender.
Winner: Tie
Display: One Is Sharper, Smoother, and Always On
The iPhone 17’s screen is brighter and has an up to 120Hz adaptive refresh rate. (Credit: Eric Zeman)
The screen is one of the first pieces of hardware to be compromised when making a cheaper model of phone, and that’s the case here. The iPhone 17e’s 6.1-inch screen is a Super Retina XDR display just like the iPhone 17’s 6.3-inch screen. They feature the same P3 wide color gamut and 460-pixels-per-inch sharpness.
Unlike the higher-end model, though, the 17e’s screen isn’t always on, and it doesn’t have a variable refresh rate up to 120Hz; it’s locked to 60Hz, so scrolling isn’t as smooth. It’s also dimmer at 800 nits in most cases, 1,200 nits with HDR content, and lacks a brighter outdoor mode, compared with the iPhone 17 (1,000 nits typical, 1,600 nits with HDR, and up to 3,000 nits outdoors).
Winner: iPhone 17
Cameras: Paying More Gets You More Flexibility
The iPhone 17 has two rear-facing 48MP cameras, one of which has an ultra-wide lens. (Credit: Eric Zeman)
If the screen is the first place to cut corners on a value-priced phone, the cameras are a close second. The iPhone 17e has one fewer camera than the iPhone 17, losing the 48MP ultra-wide rear-facing sensor. It also doesn’t support macro photography, it can’t shoot spatial photos for the Apple Vision Pro, and it lacks the Dolby Vision video modes of the iPhone 17. It does have the same rear-facing 48MP main sensor with 2x optical zoom, at least.
The front-facing camera is also scaled down from an 18MP Center Stage camera with dual capture and automatic digital pan and zoom to a 12MP TrueDepth camera like on the iPhone 16.
Winner: iPhone 17
Battery: Both Are Good, But One Is Better
While Apple is a bit generous in its battery estimates, its phones tend to last a very long time across the board. The iPhone 17 has a claimed battery life of up to 27 hours when streaming video, though in our tests it lasted 24 hours and 31 minutes (which is still really good).
Apple says the iPhone 17e can last up to 21 hours on a charge when playing streaming media, and based on the last few iPhones we’ve tested, that will probably be closer to 18 hours. We’ll find out the actual battery life when we get it in for testing, but it’ll almost certainly fall short of the iPhone 17’s.
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Winner: iPhone 17
Processor and Storage: Almost a Tie
The iPhone 17e has the same A19 chip and 256 or 512GB storage options as the iPhone 17. (Credit: Apple)
Here, the iPhone 17e and 17 seem almost evenly matched. They both use Apple’s A19 chip with a six-core CPU and a 16-core Neural Engine, though the 17e’s GPU has only four cores, compared to the 17’s five. Whether that makes any real difference in performance is a good question, and we’ll have to fully test the 17e to find out. On paper, though, they’re just about equal.
Whichever phone you choose, you have two storage capacity options: The base iPhone 17 and 17e models have 256GB, while step-up versions with 512GB are available for $200 more.
Winner: iPhone 17
Recommended by Our Editors
Connectivity: Improvements Across the Board
The iPhone 17e skimps a bit on wireless capabilities compared with the 17. It supports sub-6 5G with 4×4 MIMO, gigabit LTE, Wi-Fi 6, and Bluetooth 5.3.
The iPhone 17, meanwhile, adds mmWave to its 5G kit, has Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6, and has Apple’s second-generation Ultra Wideband chip for precision device location. It also has dual-frequency GPS compared with the 17e’s single-frequency GPS.
Winner: iPhone 17
AI Features: Same Brain, Same Smarts
Apple Intelligence is several different AI features, and they’re available on both phones. (Credit: Zain bin Awais/PCMag Composite;Apple)
Apple Intelligence, Apple’s suite of AI features across its platforms and services, is available on both the iPhone 17e and 17. This makes sense, since they both use the A19 chip with its dedicated 16-core Neural Engine to enable those AI features.
Winner: Tie
Verdict: Which iPhone 17 Is Right for You?
We still need to test the iPhone 17e, but unsurprisingly, the iPhone 17 is the more compelling phone in terms of features. It has better network capabilities, better cameras, a brighter and smoother screen, and probably a longer-lasting battery. It’s also $200 more expensive, which might be the most important difference you’ll consider when shopping.
The good news is that the iPhone 17 and 17e aren’t the only iPhones currently available. This same generation includes the thinner iPhone Air and the more powerful iPhone 17 Pro (and the bigger iPhone 17 Pro Max).
We plan to put the iPhone 17e to the test soon (it comes out March 11), so be sure to check back for our full review and definitive buying advice.
