When Apple launched the primary “e” mannequin iPhone, the iPhone 16e, tech reviewers (me included) set free a collective: “WHY?”

It wasn’t about battery life, or the chip powering it (each had been fairly nice), and nobody was actually phased in regards to the gadget’s archaic design. It was the shortage of MagSafe, Apple’s magnetic, wi-fi energy charging tech that makes it straightforward to slap numerous equipment onto the telephone. It appeared like such a bizarre omission. Ditching MagSafe most likely minimize some manufacturing prices for Apple, nevertheless it meant telephone homeowners wouldn’t purchase any of the equipment from Apple’s wealthy MagSafe ecosystem.

I am happy to report that this yr’s Apple finances telephone, the iPhone 17e, fixes this subject.

Standard design, with one huge distinction

Apple despatched me an iPhone 17e unit for overview, and I used to be fortunately in a position to make use of my Apple Pockets and magnetic chargers with it. Apple additionally despatched me a Clear Case with MagSafe, and whereas it is probably not my favourite case by way of design, it was a reduction to have the ability to cost the telephone magnetically with out eradicating the case.

I am conscious that individuals who purchase a finances telephone are maybe much less keen on splurging on extra equipment. However MagSafe is a straightforward, cool function that additionally works with cheaper, third-party equipment, and it does not get in the best way when you do not look after it. I am glad that Apple got here to its senses and included it within the new iPhone 17e.

The flexibility to make use of MagSafe chargers and equipment is nearly the one bodily distinction between the iPhone 17e and 16e, although. The iPhone 17e seems to be precisely the identical as its predecessor, with the one distinction being the brand new colour, Mushy Pink. The unit Apple despatched me was on this colour, and I can let you know that it’s a very good, however certainly a really tender pink.

On the entrance, there’s still no Dynamic Island; the Face ID sensors and the selfie digital camera are nonetheless hidden inside a notch on the highest of the show. The size have remained precisely the identical (your outdated iPhone 16e case will work), and the load is just about the identical (169 grams for the brand new mannequin, 167 grams for the outdated one).

Mashable Gentle Velocity

The show continues to be a 6.1-inch OLED that maxes out at 60Hz, and that is very obvious when you swap from a 120Hz telephone; the transitions and animations aren’t almost as clean on the iPhone 17e.

The most important upgrades are on the within

The most important enhancements on the iPhone 17e are contained in the telephone. It has a brand new chip, Apple’s highly effective A19, which might energy the newest AI shenanigans. Apple’s C1X modem has changed the outdated C1 modem, although it is laborious to inform what kind of enhancements this has introduced.

Maybe most significantly, the iPhone 17e begins at 256GB, in comparison with the iPhone 16e’s 128GB beginning storage. On condition that the iPhone 17e’s beginning value remained unchanged at $599, it is a fairly huge deal. You may as well configure the iPhone 17e with 512GB of storage, however that takes the value to $799.

The mixture of getting Apple’s newest chip and a good quantity of storage means this telephone will likely be related for at the least 4 to 5 years. Actually, this makes it extraordinarily much like the $799 iPhone 17, although the A19 chip on the iPhone 17e has one much less GPU core, which means it will be barely worse for gaming. Should you do not care about having the flashiest telephone, and simply wants one thing that will get the work completed, the iPhone 17e is a really attention-grabbing alternative.

What in regards to the digital camera?

When I reviewed the iPhone 16e, I used to be happy with battery life and the way highly effective it was. However having used the telephone over a number of months, I got here away disenchanted with the digital camera. The telephone has a singular, 48-megapixel rear digital camera with very comparable specs to the one on the iPhone 16. But it surely simply wasn’t the identical; it was alright in daytime, however night time photographs, and even photographs taken within the relative dimness of my front room, simply weren’t ok.

The unhealthy information is that the iPhone 17e has the very same digital camera specs because the iPhone 16e. Apple says that the brand new A19 chips will unlock higher photographs, and a few new digital camera options are certainly right here, together with next-gen portraits with Focus and Depth Management. But it surely’s laborious to say what the enhancements are this early on.

On first look, the digital camera is a bit of higher than earlier than. I used to be capable of take some first rate photographs in pretty darkish environments. However I will want extra time to evaluate simply how a lot better it’s.

Mashable’s Apple iPhone 17e overview is coming quickly. Need extra tech evaluations and information? Join Mashable’s Top Stories newsletter.