Apple’s iPhone 17e was released yesterday, bringing the power of a modern iPhone to the masses at an affordable price. Apple kindly sent me an iPhone 17e for review, and I’ve spent a little over a day with the device. Below are some very early initial impressions:
In My Hand
My daily driver is an iPhone 17 Pro Max. While I like the best-in-class battery life, there’s no getting around the fact that the Pro Max models are huge. When I pick up the iPhone 17e, I am surprised anew at how ‘good’ the device feels in my hand. For most people, I think the sizes of the iPhone 17e (6.1 inch display) or the iPhone 17/Pro (6.3 inch display) are likely to be that sweet spot in terms of hand-feel and pocketability. As an aside, I totally would love to see Apple make a modern iPhone mini.
An Accidental Drop Test (Or, Evaluating Ceramic Shield 2)
When I thought about reviewing the iPhone 17e, durability testing was not anything I ever considered. Intentionally dropping a device to test its durability absolutely boggles my mind, though no doubt ‘drop tests’ wrack up views on YouTube. With that said, I rarely ever drop my phones. Except… Yesterday, when I accidentally did. Let me set the scene:
I was standing in an elevator lobby in my building, waiting to go show a friend Apple’s latest and greatest budget iPhone. While I waited for the elevator to arrive, I thought that then would be as good of a time as any to evaluate the performance of the new C1X modem (which offers performance that is twice as fast as the C1 modem in the previous generation) since I was off my Wi-Fi network. So I took out the phone and started the speed test. The elevator arrived, I went to get on, and… Splat! The iPhone 17e flew out of my hand and landed facedown on the hard vinyl floor with a frightening crack. As best as I can determine, my not being used to the device’s smaller size and lighter weight (compared to my personal iPhone 17 Pro Max) caused it to momentarily slip out of my hand. I was horrified.
Thankfully, despite landing facedown, the display on the iPhone 17e was unscathed. Shoutout for Ceramic Shield 2, the new coating on the Front Cover that is three times more scratch-resistant as that on the iPhone 16e. The silicone case did sustain a slight scratch, but a scratched case is far better than a scratched display.
C1X Modem
Speaking of speed testing, the iPhone 17e has a new C1X modem, which is Apple’s second modem designed in-house. The C1X offers performance that is up to twice as fast as that of the C1 modem in the iPhone 16e, and my real-world testing lives this out and probably even more. I have ran multiple speed tests over the last day, and the results I have gotten are on par with the third-party modem in my iPhone 17 Pro Max; as just one example, on the T-Mobile network here in Chicago, I got a download speed in one test of over 1GBPS (which is unusually fast for my location).
Speakers and Sound
Describing in writing how a phone’s speakers sound can be a bit of a chore, but I will try anyway. The TL:DR version is that, though the iPhone 17e is smaller and the speakers have less dynamic range, I like the sound profile of the iPhone 17e much better than the twice-as-expensive iPhone 17 Pro Max.
On the iPhone 17e, the sound is generally full, consistent, and predictable across the volume range, with a slight lessening of bass at the highest volume levels. On my iPhone 17 Pro Max, the dynamic range is wider (with some bass at the very low ends and serious emphasis on the high end), but the mids are noticeably less apparent. This leads to a less ‘warm’ sound on the 17 Pro Max, again especially in the middle ranges; while the sound on the iPhone 17e is generally much more consistent and uniform.
Listening to music, the difference between the iPhone 17e and my iPhone 17 Pro Max is noticeable; with the iPhone 17e again sounding warmer and fuller overall. At 50% volume, the iPhone 17e has slightly more bass than does the 17 Pro Max on the same setting. At higher levels, there is a slight drop in bass on the 17e but the high end and other areas sound unchanged. In contrast, on my iPhone 17 Pro Max, there is some very low-range base, less mid range, and significantly more high end, especially at increased volume levels. When listening to VoiceOver (the built-in screen reader on Apple devices), I hear more bass in the lowest ranges on the iPhone 17 Pro Max but a fuller overall sound on the smaller iPhone 17e. The iPhone 17e is the clear winner here.
One last note on the speakers for now: It sounds to me like there is some dynamic compression going on on the iPhone 17e, meaning that quiet sounds—like keyboard clicks—are louder and the loudest sounds are quieter. And I must say, I like it. Apple, please at the very least give users a setting to toggle this for all iPhone models.
Performance
The primary way I measure device performance as a blind user is by assessing how quickly VoiceOver responds to navigation and other commands throughout the interface. Overall, I have observed no appreciable performance differences so far between the iPhone 17e (with a variant of the A19 processor) and my iPhone 17 Pro Max (powered by the A19 Pro). People using the iPhone 17e for more demanding workloads might come to different conclusions, but for my use case (and, I would argue, the target user for the iPhone 17e), speed and performance is just as fast as the top-of-the-line iPhone.
VoiceOver
Over the years, when Apple has released new iPhone models, it has been my experience that sometimes there are oddities with VoiceOver that are specific to the new models immediately after release. There are two things with VoiceOver on the iPhone 17e (running iOS 26.3.1) that I am not seeing on my iPhone 17 Pro Max:
- When the Action Button is set to toggle a Focus, VoiceOver does not speak the status of the Focus when the Action Button is pressed. It is necessary to check the Control Center to determine Focus status.
- On occasions, VoiceOver becomes slightly less responsive and requires a restart to resolve.
Conclusion
There are other aspects of the iPhone 17e experience that I will need to evaluate in the coming days. Call quality is good. Battery life is of prime interest to me but takes time. And I have not yet tried my hand at blind photography on the iPhone 17e so cannot comment on the camera as of yet. For all the above and more, watch this space…
What are your thoughts about the iPhone 17e? Do you have any questions or things you would like me to evaluate in my full review? Let me know in the comments!
Comments
oh yes iphone mini
I would like to save up for an IPhone mini. The mini, of course is coming back, rumor has it, maybe by fall of this year, I don't know, but you got the opinion correct from youtube. Yes they may bringing it back lol. Long live Me-ow.
This is a great review
Great review. I also enjoyed listening to your podcast about this phone. I still have my iPhone 15 with my primary phone and I have an iPhone SE 2022 with my secondary device. I think my next phone might end up being a 17 whenever I upgrade. And if not that it’ll be something towards that direction. But I want mine in pink.
'E' model iPhones will always shine
As someone who has inevitably subscribed to the SE model iPhones for the past six years, I love that these types of iPhones are still being produced. Though I can appreciate a more powerful iPhone series, especially considering the recent 17 pro Max, I don't know if I will go back to a, "standard", iPhone ever again. Considering my horror story with my iPhone 15 Pro series, I definitely won't be getting a, "Pro", model again anytime soon.
With that said, I really enjoyed this review. Michael, you did a pretty great job describing the features and quality of the device as a whole, as well as its individual attributes; such as the improved modem and sound profile. I've said this before, but if I end up sticking with Apple, this is definitely The phone I will get.
Thanks for taking the time to write this review and giving us your thoughts on this amazing device. 😁
P.S. My favorite part was when you decided to toss your iPhone 17E into an elevator. 🤩
I strongly agree with Michael's point of view
I would like to add a few of my own thoughts. As far as I am concerned, the E-series iPhone is perfect for totally blind users who prioritize stability over top-tier specifications. As we all know, the E-series makes certain trade-offs compared to the 17 series, such as the lack of a 120Hz refresh rate screen, no Dynamic Island, and the absence of ultra-wide and telephoto lenses. However, these are precisely the things that some visually impaired users do not care about. What do we care about? We care about whether the battery life meets expectations, whether the speaker sound is pleasant to the ear, and whether the phone's build is sturdy and durable. Fortunately, the 17E performs very well in all these areas.
Adding my thanks.
Thank you Michael for the review. I am considering this phone. I would be switching from iPhone 16.
SheilaG
If is not about the money, get the 17. Long live cats and Sheila.
Good review
I might upgrade (downgrade?) to an E series phone for my next one. I went 15 Pro last time, because I wanted the lidar features in VO Live Recognition, but so far haven't found them useful. That could be because, as a total, I'm not good with positioning a camera though. I always wonder how people get OCR results with documents that give them all the information and are good enough to save. The one thing I want that would probably make use of lidar on the pro phones is stop light and cross walk detection, but I'm not holding my breath for that.
I've started to (gasp) use the writing tools stuff in Apple Intelligence, but I would get that on any iPhone released now, so an E series iPhone would check that box for me.
Sometimes I think we forget how good we have it. Until the 17, sighted people who wanted the higher refresh rate screens have had to spring for a Pro, which I suppose is a bit like comparing the True Braille cels on Orbit displays to the piezo ones that have been used on Braille displays forever.
Then of course sighted people just have to have all those cameras for all those detailed pics and vids! There are some blind people who care about that, but I'd wager that most people don't care that much about the camera. IMO, most of the new things we care about get announced around Global Accessibility Awareness Day, and all those new features Apple is working on are free with the next iOS version, so we don't have to run out and buy a new phone. An example of this is that I was in the half of people who lost our minds with excitement when Apple brought Eloquence to iOS. I never thought that would happen!
@Holger
Hi Holger,
Totally just out of curiosity, why are you thinking the 17 over the 17e? I'm not seeing anything compelling about the 17 for a blind user.
17
Is better regarding camera, and ram. Also sound better. If you just have 100
$ extra just get it. Long live cats.
I don't know...
17E sounds really good, when speaking of audio quality.
To Holger
Thanks for the advice! Long live those wonderful cats and the German Shepherd who would get used to them!
17E vs. other phones.
The thing I always wonder about is the processor and memory. I've been digging into music on iOS, slow but we're getting somewhere. So would one of the other 17 phones be better for that? Do I get more power and/or memory, and does that matter? Or will any phone handle what you can throw at it with something like Garage Band or Ableton NOte?
I have this same question with the new MacBooks, if you look at Apple's specs and ads it's all "X greater performance than an M1", but it's mostly in reference to AI. OK, I'm not using AI like, at all. SO is a more expensive MacBook pointless because that just means more neural processors that are only devoted to AI? Or do the neural processors also help with other non-AI stuff, because processors are processors?
Anything will probably be an amazing upgrade, since I'm currently running an iPhone XR. But it wonders me which one to get, because honestly, Apple's stuff could be a lot more informative, i.e. less focused on all AI all the time.
Khomus
If you want power, more power, the pro max is a beast. If you have the money or trade it with your phone company. I am sure the 18 pro max be better but could not think how. Long live cats.
Right. But what is that power doing?
The question isn't is phone A more powerful than phone B. The question is, does that matter? If, to make up a hypothetical, phone B's more power comes in the form of a way better camera, that's obviously not going to matter in terms of working with audio or midi. Similarly, if the more power is in graphics and that *only* gets used for graphics, then again, it's not really relevant to what I'm using it for.
Or if it's more powerful but that means ten seconds shaved off of rendering audio, well the pricing really wouldn't justify a pro max, in my mind, it wouldn't be worth it. I'd be willing to wait an extra ten seconds every time to get a cheaper phone, you know?
So I don't think you can just go, "oh that phone gives a higher screen refresh rate, we don't care about that as blind people", because as you point out, it could have other things like more memory, which some of us might indeed care about. But I'd be interested to know how that matters, practically speaking.
another drop test 😂
Hey Michael you want to try another drop test this one oh I don't know from a roof top or something like that 😂
Seriously thanks for an excellent review.
Khomus
Well is better having it than needing it. Pro max is the way to go. Long live kitties.
This is all personal preference
This is all personal preference I think. I have small hands so I could never have a phone that big Pro Max. Also don’t have the money for anything like that. I hope whoever gets these new phones enjoys them.
cheapie
2026 iphone still doesn't have optical zoom? iphone 7+ has it, and it was made in 2016.
chip and ram are just part of the story, don't get too fixated on it, need to pay attention to other inferior components, the c1x modem is a good example. if the c1 and c1x is so good, why are the proline phones not using it?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OzewvUGbb8
there has been report of c1 modem failure earlier this year. and still have no dynamic island?
for $599, you are buying a barebone basic.
LaBoheme
For the same money could get a first quality android that would have better chip, camera, speakers, and so on. Sad I am iOS user. Long live cats.
exactly Holger
when you buy the 17 e, you buy it with absolutely cheap but relatively way more expensive, that's the "e" stands for.
LaBoheme
I stop getting regular since I got the 11 pro max, them I got 12 pro, 13 pro and now 16 pro max. Better having it and not needing it. This way if someone develops an app that requires better camera, I have it already. Long live meows.