Gurman: iPhone 17e Launch 'Imminent' With Four New Features

[jarman92]

Exactly, so that's why it was a deliberate decision not to include MagSafe. Entry-level consumers don't care. The phone is for the budget-conscious consumer and obviously for businesses.

So why are they adding it now?
The difference between the 16 and 16e wasn't that huge. Last year, potential regular iPhone 16 customers likely did care about MagSafe. If the 16e had MagSafe as well, than users might be enticed to actually downgrade and spend less. After all, they would basically only lose out on an ultrawide angle camera and the dynamic island.

This year, consumers will be comparing the iPhone 17 to the 17e. Sure, the 17e will now have MagSafe, but downgrading to a 17e would suddenly mean losing out on stuff like the AOD 120 Hz display.

So why not permanently ditch MagSafe?
Well, Apple's goal is to always improve the product a little bit each year. They need people to keep buying new products. What's easier and cheaper than adding a feature that's already been on other iPhones for years and that likely has very high margins.

The 16e (and soon the 17e) is exactly that: a mixture of iPhone components from older generations. High margins, not too much R&D, easy to do yearly upgrades so there's always "a new budget iPhone" for any customer.

This all would make sense if MagSafe were a complex or expensive component; it's not. It's literally nothing more than a few magnets.

 

[jarman92]

Primarily for the enterprise and international markets. And if they catch some people in the U.S. who otherwise would buy a low-end or lower-mid line Android phone, great.

Ok but then why not include MagSafe? It costs effectively nothing.

 

[eduardodfj]

The only reason I bought a 15 and not the 16e three months ago was MagSafe. Other than that, the e models cover the needs of 99% of potential users. Of course Apple's marketing will try to make you believe otherwise.

 

[ThatsMeRight]

This all would make sense if MagSafe were a complex or expensive component; it's not. It's literally nothing more than a few magnets.

That's literally what I said. It's a high margin component, so it's easy to add it. That's why they're adding it to the 17e. So cheap, so easy, already done it for hundreds of millions of iPhones.

Cheapest upgrade they could bring to the 17e.

And very smart of them to not do it with the 16e. See the post directly above. Someone actually went for the more expensive iPhone 15 instead of the cheaper 16e. Point proven.

 

[ThatsMeRight]

Ok but then why not include MagSafe? It costs effectively nothing.

Because as a company you don't get near 50% profit margins if you throw in lots of stuff that 'basically costs nothing' and, if you were to do that, on top of that eat away sales from your more expensive devices with even higher profits.

Apple is not a non-profit, they're a business, and it's broadly known they do anything they can to optimize profit margins. Even if something only costs $0.01 per device, they'll only add it if they think it can boost sales and simultaneously not eat away sales from their more expensive devices.

Clearly, with the 16e, they believed it was more profitable to not include it. And clearly with the 17e, the value proposition of their other devices (like the base 17) has changed so adding MagSafe likely will boost 17e sales while simultaneously not hurting base 16 or base 17 sales.

 

[raykv23]

I don't expect Apple to do this.

But I would expect that carriers and other third parties will still stock the 16e at a very competitive monthly deal prices for a while longer.

A cheaper 16e will continue to be a fantastic deal.

I really like my 16e - it's incredibly light. The lack of MagSafe never bothered me, nor did the notch.

Sadly, its speed and battery life took a hit with iOS 27.

But that's more about the obviously unoptimised and janky iOS 27 than the 16e having weak components.

A 16e on iPhone 18 would be a killer device still.

A combination which makes me sad that I don't have that anymore...

My mother got me my current iPhone SE 2020 for $149 from Metro by T-Mobile in 2022, just a couple months after the SE 2022 was launched. Hell of a deal. I imagine that'll happen to the 16e in carriers when the 17e came out.

I'm hoping for an upgrade this year, since my current SE, as much I love it and still runs amazingly, is becoming a bit difficult to use with fat fingers and is having issues with opening the camera. 16e seems right up my alley but also considering base 16 and 15 as well.

I mean.....my SE doesn't have Magsafe either, do you really expect everyone to use Magsafe? I just generally use a wired charger 🤷‍♂️ Not everyone, myself included, is interested in a Magsafe. I do know the variety of uses Magsafe has but it's not something that's considered important to me.

I feel people forget that the 16e, despite contrary to the controversial slightly higher price, is supposed to be en entry level phone. That's like complaining about budget Samsung Galaxy FE/AXX phone not having lot of features the flagship Galaxy S has.

 

[goobot]

I feel like no U1/2 chip is a much bigger omission than MagSafe

 

[StanleyOmar]

That's been Apple's pricing strategy for years now. There's always something better for just a few hundred more. People stop somewhere along one of these steps (and some of them even go all the way from the first to the last step!):

Step 0. Thinking about getting a new iPhone... iPhone 17e. "I want a new iPhone. Hey, the 17e is new... looks good!"

Step 1. iPhone 17 "Oh, for just a few hundred more I get the 'complete' model.. so yes, maybe let's go for an iPhone 17!"

Step 2. iPhone Air "Oh, but that fancy new iPhone Air is only $200 more and it's got a bigger display, the A19 Pro-chip..."

Step 3. iPhone 17 Pro "Mmh, I will miss out on the ultrawide angle camera if I go for the Air. The 17 Pro is just $100 more. I'm already spending this much, might as well go all-in. After all... better battery life, two more cameras... it's so much better!"

Step 4. iPhone 17 Pro Max "The display on the 17 Pro is a little bit smaller than on the Air, though. So it's a better idea to go for the Max for just another $100 more."

Step 5. Storage upgrade +$200 "Damn, I'm already spending a crazy amount on the 17 Pro Max. This device will last me for at least 5 years! But if I am going to keep it for 5 years, it's only wise to go for a higher storage tier!"

I've heard this explanation from tech reviewers/influencers before, but I wonder how many regular people actually think this way. This whole description starts with "I want an new iPhone, I wonder what my options are", but it seems to imagine the thinking of someone completely new to iPhones (someone who doesn't know, for example, that versions of these same options have existed every year for years now), and I can't imagine that many of those people still exist.

I feel people are far more likely to go into new iPhone shopping thinking "I won't something simple", or "I want something similar to my last phone", or "I want the biggest and best there is", or maybe "That new feature looks really interesting, but it's only available for phone 'x' and 'y', so those are my options."

 

[jarman92]

Because as a company you don't get near 50% profit margins if you throw in lots of stuff that 'basically costs nothing' and, if you were to do that, on top of that eat away sales from your more expensive devices with even higher profits.

Apple is not a non-profit, they're a business, and it's broadly known they do anything they can to optimize profit margins. Even if something only costs $0.01 per device, they'll only add it if they think it can boost sales and simultaneously not eat away sales from their more expensive devices.

Clearly, with the 16e, they believed it was more profitable to not include it. And clearly with the 17e, the value proposition of their other devices (like the base 17) has changed so adding MagSafe likely will boost 17e sales while simultaneously not hurting base 16 or base 17 sales.

Idk it's just really not a satisfying answer. The components probably cost even less than $0.01 per device, it fragments the product line for little to no tangible benefit, and it almost certainly reduces profits medium- and long-term bc of lost MagSafe device sales. I know it's popular on here to try to explain everything Apple does with "profit margin" but it's a poor fit in this case.

 

[conmee]

That's been Apple's pricing strategy for years now. There's always something better for just a few hundred more. People stop somewhere along one of these steps (and some of them even go all the way from the first to the last step!):

Step 0. Thinking about getting a new iPhone... iPhone 17e. "I want a new iPhone. Hey, the 17e is new... looks good!"

Step 1. iPhone 17 "Oh, for just a few hundred more I get the 'complete' model.. so yes, maybe let's go for an iPhone 17!"

Step 2. iPhone Air "Oh, but that fancy new iPhone Air is only $200 more and it's got a bigger display, the A19 Pro-chip..."

Step 3. iPhone 17 Pro "Mmh, I will miss out on the ultrawide angle camera if I go for the Air. The 17 Pro is just $100 more. I'm already spending this much, might as well go all-in. After all... better battery life, two more cameras... it's so much better!"

Step 4. iPhone 17 Pro Max "The display on the 17 Pro is a little bit smaller than on the Air, though. So it's a better idea to go for the Max for just another $100 more."

Step 5. Storage upgrade +$200 "Damn, I'm already spending a crazy amount on the 17 Pro Max. This device will last me for at least 5 years! But if I am going to keep it for 5 years, it's only wise to go for a higher storage tier!"

Get outta my brain!!!! haha 😉

 

[ThomasJL]

The intention of Tim Crook releasing the iPhone 17e isn’t to provide customers with a product that offers good value, but rather to upsell customers to a higher-priced model.

 

[bluecoast]

My mother got me my current iPhone SE 2020 for $149 from Metro by T-Mobile in 2022, just a couple months after the SE 2022 was launched. Hell of a deal. I imagine that'll happen to the 16e in carriers when the 17e came out.

I'm hoping for an upgrade this year, since my current SE, as much I love it and still runs amazingly, is becoming a bit difficult to use with fat fingers and is having issues with opening the camera. 16e seems right up my alley but also considering base 16 and 15 as well.

I mean.....my SE doesn't have Magsafe either, do you really expect everyone to use Magsafe? I just generally use a wired charger 🤷‍♂️ Not everyone, myself included, is interested in a Magsafe. I do know the variety of uses Magsafe has but it's not something that's considered important to me.

I feel people forget that the 16e, despite contrary to the controversial slightly higher price, is supposed to be en entry level phone. That's like complaining about budget Samsung Galaxy FE/AXX phone not having lot of features the flagship Galaxy S has.

Yeah sometimes it seems everyone on this forum thinks that the whole world uses MagSafe.

I’ve never had any MagSafe products!

I’m ok with putting my phone on a qi charging tray. You just need to make sure it’s lined up.

And gasp! Like you I often use a wire to charge. Crazy right?

And in the car it’s plugged into a cable to use CarPlay.

MagSafe is very nice to be sure. But it’s almost the epitome of a solution to a first world problem 🙂

 

[bluecoast]

Indeed, I think its audience is upgrading mostly from old school design iPhone like 8/SE2/SE3 and to a lesser extend XR/11 or from midrange android ofc. It's also great first phone for kids, simple and reliable. I think in the 16 series lineup the base model is the worst one because it's substantially more expansive than 16e and still 60hz, 128GB and meh battery life. Except if you value a lot ultrawide/magsafe ofc. Base 17 and 16e and their current pricing have made base 16 non sense.

Agreed. It’s going to be interesting when the 17e comes out. If this report is accurate, for just $200 more you can get so much more with the base 17.

But it gets usually the case with the iPhone pricing ladder. Only the air will be the relatively expensive anomaly when the 17e comes out.

 

[bluecoast]

i dont think 27 is going to dramatically change what you dont like about 26

I wouldn’t be surprised if ‘tinted’ starts to resemble much more a modernised iOS 18. I can’t remember such a big push back from a ui change.

Anyhow. I’m mad that my previously very reliable 16e has definitely taken a performance and battery hit from 26. And it was only 6 months old when I switched it to 26.

 

[Takeo]

Meh. I’ll probably get it. Virtually identical weight as the Air without costing a fortune and it’s got MagSafe now so… cool. Good enough.

 

[iPay]

799 you get the iphone 17 and thats an better overall product

That's their point, you're always $100 or $200 away from a more satisfying product

 

[svish]

Addition of MagSafe is much needed. With a dynamic island and same starting price, it will make it a good iPhone.

 

[geta]

That's been Apple's pricing strategy for years now. There's always something better for just a few hundred more. People stop somewhere along one of these steps (and some of them even go all the way from the first to the last step!):

Step 0. Thinking about getting a new iPhone... iPhone 17e. "I want a new iPhone. Hey, the 17e is new... looks good!"

Step 1. iPhone 17 "Oh, for just a few hundred more I get the 'complete' model.. so yes, maybe let's go for an iPhone 17!"

Step 2. iPhone Air "Oh, but that fancy new iPhone Air is only $200 more and it's got a bigger display, the A19 Pro-chip..."

Step 3. iPhone 17 Pro "Mmh, I will miss out on the ultrawide angle camera if I go for the Air. The 17 Pro is just $100 more. I'm already spending this much, might as well go all-in. After all... better battery life, two more cameras... it's so much better!"

Step 4. iPhone 17 Pro Max "The display on the 17 Pro is a little bit smaller than on the Air, though. So it's a better idea to go for the Max for just another $100 more."

Step 5. Storage upgrade +$200 "Damn, I'm already spending a crazy amount on the 17 Pro Max. This device will last me for at least 5 years! But if I am going to keep it for 5 years, it's only wise to go for a higher storage tier!"

Step 6 - realize that 17e can do exactly the same things as any other expensive iPhone for much less.

 

[Warped9]

I presently have an iPhone 14. Perfectly fine with no issues, but I’m starting to think about an upgrade. I will give the 17e a serious look along with the 17. Essentially for what I need from a phone I want to see if the 17 is worth spending more for it if the 17e is already an upgrade over what I have.

I’d also like to see the 2nd generation iPhone Air, but I don’t know if I want to wait that long for it.

 

[super chimp]

Addition of MagSafe is much needed. With a dynamic island and same starting price, it will make it a good iPhone.

All reports are now saying it won’t be getting a Dynamic Island. It sounds more like an 16eS than anything else.

 

[super chimp]

Agreed. It’s going to be interesting when the 17e comes out. If this report is accurate, for just $200 more you can get so much more with the base 17.

But it gets usually the case with the iPhone pricing ladder. Only the air will be the relatively expensive anomaly when the 17e comes out.

The Air has been down at £849 on Amazon UK for sometime now. The price gap between it and the base 17 is quite narrow.

 

[bluecoast]

The Air has been down at £849 on Amazon UK for sometime now. The price gap between it and the base 17 is quite narrow.

Even so I personally wouldn’t want it. One speaker and just one camera. Even the 16e has two speakers.

But I’m super hopeful for version 2 of the air & if the stars align that’ll be my next phone.

 

[doozenberg]

Will the $599 version still come with 128 GB or is it plausible the base model will start with 256GB?

 

[Joelj]

iPhone 17 Models Include Toggle to Disable Screen Flickering (PWM)

The iPhone 17 models include an Accessibility setting to disable pulse width modulation (PWM), according to information found in the iOS 26 release candidate. There will be a toggle located in the Display and Text Size section of the Accessibility settings on the iPhone 17, labeled "Display...

www.macrumors.com

They already fixed this in the rest of the 17 series, and I suspect they’ll also add it into the 17e.

They're not PWM free, the PWM toggle doesn't actually switch off PWM