Apple announced the addition of the iPhone 17e in its smartphone line. This model is equipped with the same A19 chip that powers the base iPhone 17, and it will support the Apple Intelligence suite of AI tools. As the rumors suggest, the iPhone 17e will actually be priced at $599, the same as last year. iPhone 16e. The base model comes with 256GB of storage, and is also available in a new pink color.

The iPhone 16e is missing some elements that are now added to the 17e, especially MagSafe charging at Qi2 speed. This means that it can charge wirelessly at 15W compared to 7.5W in last year’s model.

Apple also gave the iPhone 17e its C1X cellular modem, which it says is “up to 2x faster than the C1 in the iPhone 16e.” This year’s entry-level iPhone features Ceramic Shield 2 on its 6.1-inch Super Retina display, which Apple says offers “3x better scratch resistance than the previous generation and reduced glare.”

Most of the other specs appear similar to the iPhone 16e, including the 48-megapixel Fusion camera that uses a hardware sensor to provide two dedicated camera pipelines. It’s not yet clear if there will be specific changes here, but to use Apple’s words in the press release, “(The Fusion camera) also enables an optical quality of 2x Telephoto – like having two cameras in one.”

The iPhone 17e is rated IP68 for dust and water resistance, and will also support Emergency SOS, Roadside Assistance, Messages and Find Me via satellite. From the outside, the device is very similar to its predecessor, with the same shape, notch and buttons as before. Of course we’ll have to wait for a review unit and more information to know for sure, but Apple continues to say that the iPhone 17e delivers “all-day battery life,” although adding this time it’s helped by the C1X modem “and the advanced power management of iOS 26.”

Apple revealed most of them iPhone 17 roster back in September, but budget models are usually introduced a few months later. We are still waiting for the official news on what the colloquial calling of iPhone Foldwhich is rumored to arrive in the back half of this year.

The iPhone 17e will be available for pre-order on March 4, and will start arriving in stores on March 11.