Apple’s iPhone 17e gets MagSafe and A19, but it’s not all good news
Summary created by Smart Answers AI
In summary:
- Macworld reports that the iPhone 17e will launch on March 11 with MagSafe charging, the A19 chip, and 256GB of storage starting at $599.
- Key improvements include 15W MagSafe charging (up from 7.5W), Ceramic Shield 2 with 3x better scratch resistance, and improved portrait photography features.
- The device uses an A19 chip packed with just 4 cores compared to the 5-core GPU in the standard iPhone 17, which is a performance trade-off.
Apple today announced the iPhone 17e, a sequel to last year’s iPhone 16e with a number of useful improvements, to kick off its ongoing “big week” of product announcements.
As expected, the 17th was upgraded to support Apple’s MagSafe charging technology, fixing the 16th’s most painful flaw. This means that, provided you have a compatible charger, your phone will be held securely in the ideal charging spot by a ring of magnets.
MagSafe would normally also mean significantly faster wireless charging speeds: the 16e is capped at 7.5W, while recent iPhones can charge wirelessly using MagSafe at up to 22W, or even 25W. Unfortunately, the iPhone 17e didn’t have access to the full extent of MagSafe’s powers in this regard and has a limit of 15W. This is the same as MagSafe on the iPhones 12 to 15, and still an improvement over 16th, but still disappointing.
Here’s a summary of the different wireless charging speeds of recent iPhones, helpfully compiled by Macworld contributor and charging expert Simon Jary:
- iPhone 8-11: (Qi) 7.5W
- iPhone 12-15: (MagSafe and Qi2) 15W
- iPhone 16 series (except 16th): (MagSafe and Qi2.2) 22W
- iPhone 17 series (except 17th): (MagSafe and Qi2.2) 25W
- iPhone Air: (MagSafe and Qi2.2) 20W
- iPhone 16e: (Qi) 7.5W
- iPhone 17e: (MagSafe and Qi2) 15W
The 17th was also expected to receive a new processor, as this is a standard upgrade for almost every refresh of almost every Apple product. The iPhone 16e came with an A18 chip; the 17 features an A19 that Apple says “delivers exceptional performance for everything users do.” Of course, this depends on the user and their needs, and it’s important to point out that, just like last year, Apple chose to use “binned” chip units in order to save money.
The bundled chips failed manufacturing tests in minor ways and lacked the full complement of cores. While the A19 in the iPhone 17 has a 5-core GPU, the A19 in the 17th only has a 4-core GPU, so performance won’t be as good. However, this is unlikely to be that noticeable to most people.
Welcome upgrades
Moving away from these planned upgrades, Apple has added some bonus improvements. One is double the starting storage for the same price. The entry-level iPhone 16e costs $599 and comes with 128GB of storage. This year’s 17th Base also costs $599, but comes with 256GB, which is essentially a $100 price reduction. (Storage still maxes out at 512GB, so there are only two pricing tiers this year, instead of three.)
Apple also claims that scratch resistance is 3x better than on the 16th thanks to Ceramic Shield 2 on the 6.1-inch, although this is difficult to assess without extensive testing. And while the cameras are still disappointing in number – one on the front and one on the back – the portrait mode wording has been updated from “Portrait mode with depth control” (the same as on the iPhone 12) to “Next generation portraits with focus and depth control” (the same as on the iPhone 17). This seems to highlight the fact that you can change the focus point.
Finally, the iPhone 17 benefits from a new color finish. While the 16 was available in an unfortunately limited choice of white or black, the 17e also comes in a delicate shade that Apple calls Soft Pink.
The iPhone 17e starts at $599 and replaces the 16e, which was discontinued. It will be available for pre-order on Wednesday, March 4 at 6:15 a.m. PT and goes on sale on March 11.
