iPhone 17e

The cheap iPhone stopped being an old iPhone. For years Apple's budget model meant last decade's design at this year's price, but the iPhone 17e runs the A19, the same generation of chip as the phones costing twice as much.

The iPhone 17e starts at 256GB where the 16e gave you 128GB, and Apple held the price at $599 while doing it. That did not last. In September 2026, when the iPhone 18 arrived, the 17e went up to $699.

MagSafe was the other gap filled. The 16e had no magnets at all, which ruled out most of the chargers, wallets and car mounts people already owned. The 17e takes them, and charges wirelessly at up to 15W.

Inside is Apple's own C1X modem, which they claim is twice as fast as the one in the 16e. Soft pink joined black and white as a third colour. The 6.1-inch screen picked up Ceramic Shield 2, rated at three times the scratch resistance of the glass before it.

The screen still refreshes 60 times a second rather than 120, there is still a notch instead of the Dynamic Island, and there is still one camera on the back rather than two.

It was announced on 2 March 2026, with pre-orders from 4 March, and reached customers on 11 March 2026 at $599.