Apple iPhone 17e Review: MagSafe Makes a Difference

A new advantage over the iPhone 16e, driven by the A19 chip, is the ability to enable or disable portrait blur for photos after capturing them. So if you want to take a photo in Portrait mode, you can activate it after the fact. Speaking of which, Apple’s Portrait photos look more realistic and natural than the Google Pixel 10a’s results, although the Pixel triumphs in low-light scenes.

Low light is generally an area where this iPhone struggles compared to its peers. Not necessarily in terms of sharpness, but in terms of movement. I tried to take a photo of my brother’s cat indoors, and Night mode kept working, and I ended up with a long exposure photo of a blurry cat. The Pixel 10a understands better when there’s movement and doesn’t start in night mode as often, so my cat photos were impeccably sharp.

Overall, whether day or night, the iPhone 17e sometimes delivers sharper photos than the Pixel 10a, but the color temperature tends to be warmer. The Pixel 10a can sometimes match it in image quality, even if the contrast is lacking or the color temperature is a little too cool. Still, I find the Pixel to be generally more reliable in low-light conditions and selfies to be sharper and better exposed. Video performance fared better for the iPhone: I shot an entire video on the 17e, and while the quality wasn’t as sharp or smooth as what I could get from the iPhone 17 Pro, it was more than adequate.

Make no mistake, you can take great photos with the iPhone 17e. You’ll encounter its limitations much more often than on an iPhone 17, which has a larger sensor for its main camera.

The iPhone 17e is still a little overpriced compared to the competition, but I think it’s a totally good choice for anyone who wants to buy a basic iPhone without going through the second-hand market.