Apple announces the new iPhone 17e – now with MagSafe, still just one camera lens.

Same, same, but different.   That’s the iPhone 17e, announced this morning, fitting into the same $999 price point as last year’s 16e with the added attraction of MagSafe but still – just one camera.

Available this year in not just black and white, but also a “Soft Pink,” the 17e is the most affordable brand-new iPhone and this year gets a performance and efficiency bump from the A19 processor (now with Neural Accelerators), a more durable screen (Ceramic Shield 2 – offering three times better scratch resistance), but no physical changes at all.

Around the back is where the action’s at, with the addition of MagSafe making it a real part of Apple’s snap-to-charge ecosystem, which others are just slowly getting to now with Qi2 still struggling to gain traction outside the third-party case market for Android.

That MagSafe addition means 15W charging – double the power, decreasing your wireless charging time.  Apple has also embedded its own C1X chip, the latest generation modem for faster connectivity – though the 17e is still only Wi-Fi 6 compatible.

And despite the same $999 price, the demand and issues with supply and pricing of memory and other components, the iPhone 17e gets a base-level bump of storage to 256GB.

Sadly, it’s still got just the one rear camera.  So teens, despite the attractive price, colours and features, won’t love it without the 0.5 ultra-wide, I’m sorry to say.

iPhone 17e goes on sale next Wednesday, March 11, with pre-orders from Thursday, March 5.

“iPhone 17e combines powerful performance and features our users love at an exceptional value, making it a compelling option for customers looking to upgrade to the iPhone 17 family,” said Kaiann Drance, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide iPhone Product Marketing. “We know our customers want a product that will last, and iPhone 17e delivers just that. With A19 for incredible performance, double the entry storage, a smarter camera system, and enhanced durability, iPhone 17e is designed to stay fast, secure, and valuable for years to come.”