The iPhone ‘e’ models have always occupied an interesting position in Apple’s lineup, offering the core iPhone experience at a price that does not require the same level of commitment as the flagship models.
That price has just dropped further, with the Apple iPhone 17e 256GB now down to £539.10 from £599, a £59.90 saving that brings it to its lowest recorded price since its release in March.
With the iPhone 17e now at an all‑time low on Amazon, upgrading has never felt more effortless
The iPhone 17e gives you Apple’s great software without the commitment of buying their pricier phones, and at this price its well worth a look
The A19 chip is the same processor found across the iPhone 17 family, a 6-core CPU with a 16-core Neural Engine that handles everything from 4K video export to Apple Intelligence features without the thermal throttling that plagued older mid-range iPhones under sustained load.
Apple Intelligence is worth dwelling on here because features like Call Screening, Live Translation, and Clean Up are genuinely useful day-to-day tools rather than demonstrations, and they run entirely on-device with Apple’s hardware-level privacy protections applied throughout.
The 48MP Fusion camera system delivers optical-quality 2x Telephoto through pixel binning rather than a dedicated lens, which keeps the hardware compact while still producing the kind of reach that makes a practical difference when shooting at events or in crowds.
The 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR display runs at 460ppi with a 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio and peaks at 1,200 nits in HDR, which translates to text and images that hold up in direct sunlight without needing to cup your hand around the screen.
That performance also extends to battery life, with up to 26 hours of video playback on a single charge and 15W MagSafe wireless charging that doubles the 7.5W ceiling of the iPhone 16e for noticeably faster top-ups throughout the day.
Its Ceramic Shield 2 on the front provides three times better scratch resistance than the iPhone 16e, and the aluminium and glass build sits at 170 grams, keeping the device light enough for one-handed use across long sessions.
The 256GB base configuration provides enough local storage for a substantial photo library, app collection, and offline video without needing to manage space actively, and dual eSIM support means you can run two numbers simultaneously without a physical SIM tray.
At £539.10, the 4-star iPhone 17e represents a considered entry point into the current Apple ecosystem for anyone who wants the full iOS 26 and Apple Intelligence experience without stretching to the Pro tier.
It’s not the most exciting iPhone around, and the iPhone 17 is so much better if your budget can stretch. Saying that, the iPhone 17e is better than the 16e thanks to a more capable chip, double the starting storage and MagSafe.
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256GB is now the starting amount of storage
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Very fast (for the price)
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Love the pink
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The iPhone 17 is just better in every way
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Single camera is restrictive
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Stephan is the sports journalist for the Maple Grove Report.
