iPhone 17E Review: Magnetically Appealing (and Pink)

Pros

• Premium feel
• Solid camera
• MagSafe compatibility
• Higher 256GB base storage
• A19 chip
• Fun pink color option

Cons

• No Dynamic Island
• Thick bezels
• No ultrawide camera or Cinematic video
• Only 60Hz refresh rate means no always-on display

• iPhone 17E Review: Magnetically Appealing (and Pink)
• iPhone 17E look, feel and display
• iPhone 17E camera gets some minor upgrades
• iPhone 17E battery and MagSafe compatibility
• Geekbench v.6.0
• 3DMark Wild Life Extreme
• Final thoughts: Should you buy the iPhone 17E?
• Apple iPhone 17E specs vs. Google Pixel 10A, Apple iPhone 17, Apple iPhone 16E
• How we test phones

I never thought MagSafe's haptic feedback could be so satisfying.

At last, Apple's $599 iPhone 17E brings MagSafe's magnetic technology to its lowest-priced handset. Beyond the added convenience of easily attaching chargers and accessories, this signals Apple's efforts to expand once-premium features across its full iPhone lineup, no matter how much you're willing to pay. Plus, the addition of a fresh color warms my pink-loving heart.

The iPhone 17E borrows other features from the $829 baseline iPhone 17. The budget option packs the same A19 chip (albeit with a four-core GPU instead of five), an Action button and a 48-megapixel main camera. It starts with 256GB of storage, making that $599 price more enticing -- even if it's arguably pushing the limits of what's considered a "budget" phone. But the fact that I have to double-check whether I'm reaching for the iPhone 17E or the 17 is surely a good sign that the gap between the two is narrowing -- and in the right direction.

Watch this: iPhone 17E Packs More Features for the Same $599 Price

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Other aspects of the 17E serve as a reminder that you get what you pay for. The bezels are noticeably thicker than on Apple's more premium options. There's no Dynamic Island for system notifications and Live Activities, but rather an old-school notch at the top. A fixed 60Hz display also means there's no always-on display, so I can't quickly glance at the time or my notifications.

There's a lot that makes the iPhone 17E feel like a worthy lower-priced option. And for most people, the compromises shouldn't feel too glaring, especially when you're saving a couple of hundred dollars.

The iPhone 17E is available now.

The iPhone 17E has a 6.1-inch display, with a pretty prominent notch and bezels.

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iPhone 17E look, feel and display

One of my favorite things about the iPhone 17E is that it doesn't sacrifice the premium look and feel of its pricier counterparts. Like the other iPhone 17 models, the iPhone 17E's back glass has a satisfying matte finish that resists fingerprints. An aluminum frame keeps it feeling nice and light at 169 grams, compared to 177 grams on the iPhone 17.

The iPhone 17E's 6.1-inch display is just slightly smaller than the 6.3-inch display on the iPhone 17, a difference that's hardly noticeable. The lower-priced option shares the same Ceramic Shield 2 cover glass, which Apple says has three times better scratch resistance than the iPhone 16E's display, and 33% less reflection. I have a knack for scratching my phone's screen even just through everyday use, but my iPhone 17E's screen is still unscathed.

The 60Hz refresh rate is a step down from the 1-120Hz adaptive refresh rate you'll get on Apple's other phones, but it's a nearly imperceptible difference unless you're gaming. Personally, the biggest downside to this limitation is not having an always-on display, which I rely on extensively to peek at the time and see all my notifications at a glance. Going without that feature has taken some getting used to.  

While the iPhone 17 supports 1,600 nits HDR peak brightness, the iPhone 17E tops out at 1,200 nits peak HDR brightness. Holding the phones side by side, I can see the difference, but the 17E looks just fine, even in the California sunshine.  

The iPhone 17E's smaller size can either be a benefit or a drawback, depending on your preferences. I tend to gravitate toward larger phones, so typing and scrolling on a smaller frame was a bit of an adjustment. But if you want a more compact device that'll fit in practically any pocket, you'll dig the 17E's dimensions. I do appreciate feeling like I have a firmer grip on a more compact phone, especially when I bravely go case-less. 

This year, Apple decided to branch out and add a soft pink color option to its budget line, along with the standard black and white. Luckily, I got paired with a pink model, which takes on a pastel-like, blush hue that's certainly more subdued than the bold orange of the iPhone 17 Pro. The subtle shade is nice if you want some color without making too much of a statement. I'm always happy when fun colors aren't limited to the pricier models. 

The iPhone 17E has a 48-megapixel main camera.

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iPhone 17E camera gets some minor upgrades

Similar to last year's budget iPhone, the iPhone 17E has a single 48-megapixel rear camera. With sensor cropping, it can also snap 2x telephoto images, which look as good as 1x photos to my eyes. A bonus perk of having just one rear camera is that it's significantly less obtrusive than the camera bumps on other iPhone 17 models, particularly the Pros. It's refreshing to go back to a phone I can hold without my fingers brushing against an ever-expanding camera platform.

Like my experience with the iPhone Air, the lack of an ultrawide camera feels limiting. It's harder to take landscape photos or capture a wider scene -- though if I had to choose between an ultrawide and a telephoto camera, I'd always pick the latter. I'm much more likely to punch into something to show more detail than take a dramatically wider shot.

The iPhone 17E has a 12-megapixel selfie camera, drawing another parallel to the iPhone 16E. The 17E doesn't get the Center Stage camera feature that debuted on the iPhone Air and 17, which can automatically switch between portrait and landscape orientation as more people come into the frame without you rotating your phone. I don't see this as much of a loss; in fact, I keep Center Stage disabled on my iPhone 17 Pro Max, largely because old habits die hard and I just end up rotating my phone manually anyway. 

Not having Cinematic mode for video on the budget line is still a bummer, since I rely on it for more professional-looking clips with blurred backgrounds. But if trade-offs have to be made, that's a manageable one.

The lack of a Camera Control button on the iPhone 17E is disappointing, but there's still an Action button you can tap into.

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The hardware feature I've struggled without is the Camera Control button -- not because I ever use it as a shortcut to Apple's Visual Intelligence, but because that's how I almost exclusively launch the iPhone's camera now. I like having a physical button that's easy to trigger (perhaps too easy for some) when I want to quickly snap a photo. Without Camera Control on the iPhone 17E, you'll have to open the camera the old-fashioned way by tapping on your screen, swiping the lock screen to the left or using the Action button as a camera shortcut. Though I don't think most people will mind that, especially if you're coming from a phone that never had Camera Control in the first place. And you can access Visual Intelligence from the iPhone 17E's Control Panel (or assign it to the Action button if you really want faster access to that feature). 

Portraits get a nice boost on the iPhone 17E, compared to last year's budget phone. Apple says the advanced image pipeline allows subjects to stand out more naturally against their bokeh-effect backgrounds. For example, a person will appear in sharper focus, including fringe details like their hair or the corner of their glasses, and the transition to the image's blurred background looks a bit more gradual and realistic.   

When you're snapping pictures in the camera's standard Photo mode, it'll now automatically detect cats and dogs in addition to people, and enable portrait shots without you having to switch to that mode.

And now, you can also adjust the focus point of a photo after you've snapped it by going to Edit in the Photos app and tapping where you want to focus. You can modify the amount of background blur, too. It's great to see that flexibility and customization on Apple's lower-tier phone.

Here are a few of my favorite photos I've taken on the iPhone 17E:

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This was snapped when the sun was at its peak, but the camera did a good job balancing the light without making anything look washed out. 

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There's so much sharp detail here, from the flower petals to the glimmering crystal. 

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I couldn't decide whether I liked this photo more in a standard format or in portrait mode, so I decided to include both. Here's the standard shot.

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And here's the portrait shot, which adds a litte more dimension and drama.

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The richness and warmth of this photo make me feel like I'm there again. Each line on the lamp shade in the foreground is sharp, as are the details in the painted base. The leaves of the potted plant are also in crisp focus, though some of the stray flowers get lost in the bokeh effect. 

Abrar Al-Heeti/CNET

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This is one of my favorite portrait shots I took because of the sharpness of the foreground and the gradual bokeh effect on the red couch. The glow around the lightbulbs is also beautiful. 

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Selfies don't look too shabby, either. There's even lighting and no harsh shadows. 

Abrar Al-Heeti/CNET

iPhone 17E battery and MagSafe compatibility

The iPhone 17E touts the same 26 hours of video playback as the iPhone 16E. On Apple's product pages in the European Union, where it's required to disclose battery capacity, that's listed as 4,005 mAh (the same as the 16E). Apple says the battery is aided by the power-efficient A19 chip, the new C1X cellular modem and the "advanced power management of iOS 26."

The battery can easily last me more than a day. For instance, I started with a full battery at 10:12 a.m. on a Saturday, and still had a healthy 48% by 8 p.m. When I woke up the next morning at 5:15 a.m. (yes, my sleep schedule was completely thrown off by jet lag from Mobile World Congress), the phone was at 38%. Another day, I unplugged my phone with 77% charge at 1:45 p.m., and it reached 32% at 11:25 p.m. I feel confident I can go about my day without worrying about the iPhone 17E dying midway through.

You can snap on MagSafe accessories like wallets.  

Abrar Al-Heeti/CNET

The iPhone 17E supports 20-watt wired charging. And with MagSafe and Qi2 compatibility, it can charge wirelessly up to 15 watts -- double the 7.5 watts on the iPhone 16E. That's still less than the 25-watt wireless charging (Qi2.2) the iPhone 17 supports, but it's a worthy step up from last year. 

With wired charging, the iPhone 17E went from 8% to 61% in half an hour. And using wireless charging, it went from 0% to 23% in 30 minutes. 

In CNET's 45-minute endurance test, which involves streaming, scrolling through social media, joining a video call and playing games, the iPhone 17E's battery went from full to 97%. That tops the Google Pixel 10A, which finished at 95%, and the Samsung Galaxy S25 FE, which hit 92%. It also beat the iPhone Air, which reached 95%, but was topped by the iPhone 17, which ended at 98%.

In a 3-hour streaming test over Wi-Fi, in which I watched a YouTube video in full-screen mode at full brightness, the 17E's battery dropped from 100% to 86%. That places it above the Pixel 10A, which finished at 78%, and the Galaxy S25 FE, which landed at 83%. It's just slightly topped by the iPhone 17's 89%, and is on par with the iPhone Air's 85%.

I've enjoyed snapping MagSafe accessories such as cases and wallets onto the iPhone 17E simply because I can. I've also been tapping into Apple's StandBy feature, which displays widgets while you charge your phone in landscape mode, including a calendar, clock and photos. 

Benchmark tests for the CPU in Geekbench 6 place the iPhone 17E well above other budget phones like the Pixel 10A and Galaxy S25 FE. It's on par with the iPhone 17 and iPhone Air.

In a graphics test using 3DMark's Wild Life Extreme, the iPhone 17E also topped the performance of the Pixel 10A, and it aligns with results from the Galaxy S25 FE. The 17E is beaten out by the iPhone 17 and iPhone Air.

Check out the graphs below for more specifics.

Final thoughts: Should you buy the iPhone 17E?

The iPhone 17E brings subtle yet welcome changes to Apple's budget line -- namely, MagSafe charging, a higher base storage level and a more advanced A19 chip. This year's phone shares a lot in common with the iPhone 16E, especially when it comes to the cameras and battery capacity, but it still shines in both areas.

More notably, the iPhone 17E borrows a handful of features from the baseline iPhone 17, which costs $200 more. The phones have a similar feel, a 48-megapixel main camera and that A19 chip. You'll spot some notable design differences, including the iPhone 17E's prominent notch, wider bezels and the lack of a Camera Control button.

If you're switching from an older iPhone like the iPhone 11 or 12, these are trade-offs you'll hardly notice, especially in light of all the relative upgrades. Similarly, if you're coming from another budget phone that's a few years old, like the iPhone SE (2020) or an older Android counterpart, the improvements are sure to outweigh any missing premium features. 

If you're using last year's iPhone 16E, the incremental changes don't justify the upgrade, even with the long-awaited addition of MagSafe. Apple doesn't appear to be targeting this demographic anyway, since its promotional materials largely compare the iPhone 17E to older models like the iPhone 11. That's where the differences really stand out.

The iPhone 17E is a solid choice for someone who wants the basics -- a good camera, long battery life and solid performance -- without sacrificing a high-end feel. The $599 price is a little steep for a "budget" phone, but for what you get, it may well be worth it. 

How we test phones

Every phone CNET's reviews team tests is used in the real world. We test a phone's features, play games and take photos. We examine the display to see if it's bright, sharp and vibrant. We analyze the design and build to see how it is to hold and whether it has an IP rating for water resistance. We push the processor's performance to the extremes using standardized benchmark tools like GeekBench and 3DMark, along with our own anecdotal observations navigating the interface, recording high-resolution videos and playing graphically intense games at high refresh rates.

All the cameras are tested in a variety of conditions, from bright sunlight to dark indoor scenes. We try out special features like night mode and portrait mode, and compare our findings against similarly priced competing phones. We also check out the battery life by using it daily, as well as running a series of battery drain tests.

All the cameras are tested in a variety of conditions, from bright sunlight to dark indoor scenes. We try out special features like night mode and portrait mode, and compare our findings against similarly priced competing phones. We also check out the battery life by using it daily, as well as running a series of battery drain tests.