Apple’s latest budget phone is actually an excellent value — here’s how it compares

Yesterday, Apple announced the latest entry into its budget phone lineup: the iPhone 17e. The device has a familiar (and dated) look, but there are actually some very compelling surprises here.

Introducing the iPhone 17e

Inner strength

Visually, there’s nothing really distinct about the iPhone 17e — it uses the same design as its predecessor. Yes, that means it has a notch instead of Apple’s Dynamic Island. This is one of my biggest disappointments with the phone, but I wouldn’t call it a dealbreaker.

The other big disappointment is the display itself. It’s reasonably sized and sharp, at 6.1″ and 460 PPI. However, it’s still stuck at 60Hz, which feels like a bit of a travesty in 2026. Even the base model iPhone 17 got upgraded to 120Hz this year.

Ultimately, though, it’s what’s inside that counts with the iPhone 17e. The device features Apple’s A19 chip — the same chip as the “regular” iPhone 17 (technically, it only has a 4-core GPU instead of the 17’s 5-core GPU, but it’s close enough). In practice, this means the device has outstanding performance on par with the main lineup. It’s also packed with the same useful hidden features as its bigger siblings.

Storage surprises

Apple is not typically known for its value proposition when it comes to storage, but the iPhone 17e delivers a big surprise in this regard — Apple not only doubled the base storage capacity from 128 GB to 256 GB, but it did so while keeping the price the same.

In an era when prices are rising across the board — often with nothing new to show for it — this is a major move that makes the iPhone 17e significantly better value than its predecessor. This also positions the device as an excellent competitor to popular budget Android phones.

iPhone 17e vs Pixel 10a

Which is the value king now?

The iPhone 17e’s primary competitor is the Pixel 10a. Both phones bring a taste of their respective company’s flagship offerings, but without the premium price tag. Here’s how the two stack up:

• Price and storage: The iPhone 17e starts at $599 for the base 256 GB model. The base Pixel 10a is $499 for 128 GB, but you can upgrade to 256 GB for $599. Some may prefer to save a little by going with the lower storage, but we’ll call this one a wash.
• Performance: This one isn’t even close — the iPhone’s A19 chip just crushes the Tensor G4 in the Pixel. During day-to-day tasks, the Pixel should hold up fine, but in situations like high-end gaming, heavy video work, or photo processing, the iPhone will likely feel much better.
• Camera: Pixels are well-known for their excellent still shots, and the 10a includes an ultrawide lens. The iPhone 17e just has a single 48MP lens, so it may be less versatile, but iPhones also tend to lead in video. Generally, we’d say more lenses are better, just for the versatility, but if you’re mainly focused on video, you may prefer the iPhone.
• Display: The iPhone’s display is excellent quality, but there are two elephants in the room — the old-school notch and the 60Hz refresh rate. Apple opted not to give the iPhone 17e its Dynamic Island, so the phone looks pretty dated. And the lack of a high refresh rate makes it feel dated, too. The Pixel 10a (and most other phones in this price range) has a 120Hz display that feels much smoother. The Pixel also gets much brighter in sunlight, with a peak brightness of 3,000 nits versus the iPhone 17e at just 1,200.

At the end of the day, choosing between these two is going to come down to whether you value internal specs or external. The iPhone leads in storage and processing power, and takes better video, but the Pixel has the better display and the ultrawide camera.

Of course, operating system matters too, but in my experience, the gap between Android and iOS has closed significantly. And with Apple working on encrypted RCS with Android phones, there are fewer barriers to switching now than ever.

The iPhone 17e is available for preorder on March 4, with general availability starting March 11.