iPhone 17e
The iPhone 17e receives broadly positive reviews for delivering strong value at the entry level, with praised upgrades to base storage, excellent battery life, and flagship-class performance via the A19 chip.
However, reviewers consistently criticize the 60Hz display, single camera system lacking versatility, outdated thick bezels and notch design, and poor low-light camera performance.
Tech Spurt is notably more critical of the overall package, questioning whether the £600 price truly represents good value and highlighting gaming performance limitations, while ShortCircuit and MacRumors are more forgiving of the compromises at the stated price point.
[+] Strengths
- +Excellent value proposition with meaningful upgrades, particularly increased base storage to 256GB making it a better long-term investment at the entry level
- +Strong battery life delivering full-day endurance even for demanding users
- +Flagship-class performance with the A19 chip providing fast, responsive everyday performance
- +Quality camera with impressive computational photography and processing, delivering good image quality in daylight conditions
- +MagSafe support restores wireless charging convenience and accessory ecosystem compatibility
[-] Drawbacks
- -60Hz display refresh rate feels sluggish compared to modern smartphone standards, lacking the smoothness of higher refresh rate competitors
- -Single camera system severely limits versatility with no ultra-wide or telephoto lens, restricting creative photography options
- -Large notch and thick bezels create an outdated appearance with significant screen real estate loss that impacts the viewing experience
[~] Debates
- ~ display+Display is sharp and delivers rich, vibrant colors with good content quality-Display brightness is too low for sunny conditions, making outdoor visibility problematic
- ~ camera+Image quality and computational photography are excellent with good daylight performance-Single camera system is the biggest weakness with no ultra-wide or telephoto versatility
- ~ performance+Flagship A19 chip delivers fast, responsive day-to-day performance for all standard tasks-One fewer GPU core limits gaming performance and causes frustration for gamers
- ~ value+Compromises are worthwhile to achieve the entry-level price point-£600 price tag raises questions about whether an affordable phone actually justifies this cost
- ~ design+Modern iPhone design with flat edges, aluminum frame, and premium frosted glass back that feels great-Wishes the phone were smaller
[+]The Consensus
ID_GRP: POSITIVE_FEEDBACK// Excellent value proposition with meaningful upgrades, particularly increased base storage to 256GB making it a better long-term investment at the entry level
"I think that's awesome as an entry-level phone, right? Before the 16 had 128 GB, now we're at 256."
"one absolutely essential upgrade for the iPhone 17e was the storage. And mercifully, Apple weren't stingy here, because the iPhone 17 comes with a minimum 256 gigs"
"Apple also updated the base storage this year, which is a nice touch"
// Strong battery life delivering full-day endurance even for demanding users
"26 hours of battery is amazing."
"The iPhone 17 once again serves up the same excellent battery life as the old iPhone 16. ... A full charge of this Dinky Delight will even get quite a demanding user through a long busy day"
// Flagship-class performance with the A19 chip providing fast, responsive everyday performance
"you're getting flagship level power with the iPhone 17 being powered by Apple's A19 chip"
"day-to-day performance is extremely fast"
"the iPhone 17E is easily fast enough to handle everything you throw at it"
// Quality camera with impressive computational photography and processing, delivering good image quality in daylight conditions
"Like even that looks impeccable. There is just something special about iPhone cameras. It's just magic."
"portrait shots and pet snaps usually come out pretty well in good daylight."
"Apple's processing and computational photography on here is fantastic"
// MagSafe support restores wireless charging convenience and accessory ecosystem compatibility
"It's still got Mag Safe. That's awesome."
"Apple has rather generously stuffed a bit of MagSafe support into the iPhone 17, thus correcting another massive gaff"
"one of the biggest improvements is MacSafe"
[-]The Drawbacks
ID_GRP: NEGATIVE_FEEDBACK// 60Hz display refresh rate feels sluggish compared to modern smartphone standards, lacking the smoothness of higher refresh rate competitors
"What doesn't show respect is 60 Hz. Damn it."
"the worst offense is that 60 Hz refresh rate ... everything just feels really sludgy because of that 60 Hz display."
"it's still limited to 60 Hz refresh rate"
// Single camera system severely limits versatility with no ultra-wide or telephoto lens, restricting creative photography options
"I do feel like it might be a little limiting for some people to have just the one camera"
"to not have a telephoto shooter on this thing is a real shame."
"The 17e gives you no ultra wide. It gives you no dedicated telephoto"
// Large notch and thick bezels create an outdated appearance with significant screen real estate loss that impacts the viewing experience
"even that camera notch, man, that takes up a significant percentage of your screen."
"those stonking great bezels, which are still thicker than an elephant's love handles"
"the biggest thing that was jarring was just looking at these chunky bezels"
[~]The Great Debates
ID_GRP: CONTESTED_POINTSdisplay
Reviewers agree that the 60Hz refresh rate and thick bezels are problematic, but differ on overall display quality. Some praise the OLED panel's sharpness and colors, while others criticize brightness, contrast, and the notch interference. Tech Spurt is particularly harsh on brightness and contrast limitations in sunny and dim conditions.
[+] For
"means content on the screen is going to look very, very good"
"you're getting a nice OLED panel that looks sharp and colorful"
"That's perfectly sharp for such a dinky screen, and it's also reasonably punchy, spuffing out rich, vibrant colors."
[-] Against
"unfortunately, that display is about as bright as Phil Foden. So, if you live somewhere particularly sunny, you might want to reconsider."
"the contrast ain't great. So, good bloody luck working out what's actually happening in gloomier moments during that movie"
"the iPhone 17e sports yet another ridiculous fat boy notch. ... it isn't exactly the best way to watch movies or telly shows"
camera
Reviewers universally praise the camera's computational photography and daylight performance, but substantially disagree on overall capability. ShortCircuit and MacRumors highlight the single lens limitation, while Tech Spurt emphasizes poor low-light performance as a major flaw despite acknowledging good daylight results.
[+] For
"The image quality itself is really good"
"Like even that looks impeccable. There is just something special about iPhone cameras. It's just magic."
"I think actually keeping it on the 24 megapixels by default is probably a good thing because a lot of people are going to be snapping a ton of photos with this thing"
[-] Against
"having just one camera means you're missing out on versatility"
"the iPhone 17e recycles the exact same 48 megapixel single shooter ... Once again, with a rather tiny sensor."
performance
MacRumors and Tech Spurt both confirm the A19 chip handles everyday tasks smoothly, but they significantly disagree on gaming performance. MacRumors emphasizes the phone's responsiveness for general use, while Tech Spurt reports serious frame rate drops when gaming, indicating a gap between real-world casual and demanding performance.
[+] For
"This phone still feels incredibly responsive"
"the iPhone 17E is easily fast enough to handle everything you throw at it"
[-] Against
"this one has one less GPU core, which for some people that might be frustrating if you want to game on it"
"tried to run the game at 60 frames per second, I was surprised to witness some serious slowdown. Those frame rates plummeted into single figures during some of those fighty punchy bits."
value
All three reviewers acknowledge improved storage as valuable, but Tech Spurt questions the overall value proposition at £600, noting that higher storage configurations approach flagship pricing. ShortCircuit and MacRumors emphasize the acceptable compromises at the entry-level price point, while Tech Spurt suggests premium Android phones offer better value at equivalent upgrade prices.
[+] For
"I think that the compromises that the iPhone 17e makes is worth it to get it down to that price."
"this year's version does bring a few meaningful upgrades that make it a much better value than the previous generation"
"wanted a phone that worked really well at $599, this is a fantastic option"
[-] Against
"is Apple's affordable phone actually worth that not so affordable £600 price tag?"
"upgrading the iPhone 17e storage to 512 gigs ... will up the price to 800 GBPs. That's as much as some pretty banging Android flagship smartphones."
design
MacRumors and Tech Spurt both appreciate the lightweight and compact form factor with modern materials, but all three reviewers criticize the thick bezels and notch design as outdated. The phone's physical ergonomics receive praise while its aesthetic choices face consistent criticism.
[+] For
"it still feels like a very modern iPhone with the flat edges, aluminum frame, and this frosted glass back"
"the iPhone 17e is reasonably hand-pleasing. And that's thanks to that dinky 6.1 in screen and the lightweight 170 g finish."
[-] Against
"I do wish they went a little smaller."
"you see this black border around it. Just really not used to it"
"there's a notch... dynamic island... That didn't happen. Apple stuck with the notch for at least another year"