Please don’t wait for the iPhone 17e

The display alone is worth the extra $200

The iPhone 17e is expected to reuse the same 6.1-inch 60Hz OLED panel as the iPhone 16e. There are rumors of the bezels getting thinner and the Dynamic Island replacing the notch, but neither would change the fundamental user experience. It is still a 60Hz display that will most likely have poor brightness, given that there are no leaks pointing to any improvements on that end.



Now, the iPhone 17 had many wins, but what contributed the most to its appeal was that it finally brought a 120 Hz refresh rate, making the display feel just as smooth as the Pro models. It is also slightly larger at 6.3 inches, more power efficient, has an anti-reflective coating, and can get much brighter.



I cannot stress enough just how big of an upgrade this is. I would even go as far as to say that this alone is reason enough to spend the extra $200. Once you use a 120 Hz iPhone, going back to 60 Hz feels impossible.

Cameras: The second most important difference

The iPhone 17e is expected to stick with a single 48 MP camera at the back, without a secondary camera to offer more flexibility when shooting. While the 16e’s single camera performed almost identically to the iPhone 16’s main camera for taking photos, it was visibly worse during our video tests.

The iPhone 17 comes with a 48 MP ultrawide camera, giving you more flexibility. It is especially useful when you are in tight spaces, like at a party or in a restaurant.

If photography and video matter to you at all, the 17e will likely leave you wanting more every time you reach for it to capture a candid moment.

Battery and charging: Worse on paper, better in real life

The iPhone 16e actually had a larger battery than the iPhone 16. However, battery life is affected by more factors than just the size of the battery. The flagship model actually had slightly better battery life. Maybe the more efficient display played a significant role in that, or perhaps Apple did something to the chip that made it more power efficient, despite being the more powerful version. Whatever it was, you can expect the 17e to be similarly worse than the iPhone 17.



But charging is where users would probably notice more of a difference. Even if MagSafe finally arrives on the iPhone 17e, wired charging is still expected to top out around 20W.

The iPhone 17 doubles wired charging speed to 40W and supports full MagSafe and Qi2 at 25W. In other words, charging the iPhone 17 with a cable will be at least twice as fast.

Performance: Not as important, but there’s still a difference

Yes, the iPhone 17e is expected to use the A19 chip, just like the iPhone 17. But if we take the previous generations as an example, we can forecast what the differences could be. While these chips carry the same name, the difference is that Apple bins the version powering its “e” iPhones. The iPhone 16e shipped with an A18 that had fewer GPU cores than the regular iPhone 16, and the same is expected with the 17e.

Our benchmark data from the iPhone 16 series showed the CPU performance between the iPhone 16 and 16e is not that different, but it is a different story when it comes to GPU performance. The 16e significantly falls behind in the graphics department. This affects gaming, video and photo editing, and on-device AI processes, all of which lean heavily on the GPU.

Price math: The iPhone “e” series is not that great of a deal

At $599, the iPhone 17e might sound like a bargain to some. If you don’t mind having a single camera, slower charging, and a 60 Hz display, you might actually enjoy using it.



But the iPhone 17 starts at $800, and the base storage is now 256 GB. If you want the same storage for the “e” model, that would cost you $700. At that point, you might as well give another $100 on top and get the flagship, which will have better resale value and longevity. Yes, you shouldn’t forget that the iPhone 17 will age far more gracefully, hold value longer, and feel “new” for years longer than the 17e.

Waiting months for a cheaper iPhone that still cuts corners is not a smart play in terms of value here.

There are no coincidences

Nothing in Apple’s pricing strategy is accidental. The iPhone 17e is positioned just close enough to the base iPhone to push buyers upward. The difference this year is that the regular iPhone 17 makes that jump genuinely worthwhile, even more than last year’s model.

The iPhone 17e makes sense only if price is the single deciding factor and $600 is a hard ceiling. For everyone else, waiting for it is a mistake.

If you are already considering waiting until spring for the iPhone 17e, you would be better off saving a little longer and buying the iPhone 17 instead. It is the smarter long-term purchase and one of the best iPhones Apple has made in the last decade.