I know…sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it…but just hear me out!

Some would have you believe that the iPhone 17e is a bargain-basement phone that’s only suitable for kids and grandparents!

Well, I’m about to bust that myth. The 17e is as serious an iPhone as any other iPhone in Apple’s lineup. As iPhone, Mac and iPad users, we’re in a golden period. There’s a device out there for everyone, at every price point and for every kind of user.

All we have to do is make the right choice! It’s so easy to get caught up in thinking you need the next, the biggest, or the best. I know to my cost how easy it is to get caught up in that futile race.

Looking back, I can see that I’ve been guilty of it myself, and I wanted to draw some attention to the subject and hopefully make you think twice before choosing your next iPhone.

Making the right choice can be especially tough when it comes to phones. Recently I’ve been looking closely at two phones that on the face of it are opposites, yet in reality have way more in common than you might at first realise.

Of course, I’m talking about the entry-level iPhone 17e and the premium iPhone Air. I’m a fan of both, and there is a case to be made for both, too, but at nearly twice the price, there needs to be a real reason for you to buy the gorgeous iPhone Air.

And that right there is the reason for this story, highlighting to you that you should always buy with your head and not your heart. Before picking up your next phone, be honest about what you’ll be using it for and let that be your guide.

First, though, why have I fallen in love with the iPhone 17e so much?

The iPhone 17e and me

I bought it initially just to review it, yet I’ve ended up switching to it as my daily phone.

That’s some jump I’ve made coming from the iPhone 17 Pro Max, the most premium phone Apple sells, to using their entry-level phone. You’ll notice I chose my words carefully and avoided using the word bargain.

Rather than being a bargain phone, I view it more as a phone that offers a great value proposition, as you shall find out.

I think you’ll know what I mean when I say that each phone seems to have its own character, and for some inexplicable reason, the iPhone 17e has made me go minimal. I don’t know if it’s the smaller screen size or the simpler overall design, but I’ve gone for the stripped-back approach with the 17e.

Gone are the traditional Apple icons; instead, they’ve been replaced with shortcut icons. Not only do they make the phone look cleaner, more personal and individual, but they don’t show notification bubbles. I have to manually check for messages, which I find a much quieter and less frenetic way of working.

Choosing the 17e inevitably meant I had to make some compromises, and with the camera to one side for a moment, probably the three main ones were the lower refresh rate display and the lack of either the Dynamic Island or an Always On Display.

With that dash of honesty I was talking about a moment ago, I’ve not really noticed any difference not having those three core features for how I use my phone.

The amount you can get done with a £600 iPhone 17e is pretty special.

For example, breaking ranks for a moment and looking into the near future, the 17e has Face ID, and yet the rumours are that the £2000 plus iPhone Ultra, or whatever it’s going to be called – the foldable iPhone – won’t have it! And it’ll only have the A20 chip, and yet we humble 17e users get the slightly binned A19 chip.

The iPhone 17e suddenly doesn’t seem so basic, right?

Some of the good stuff

I’ve not mentioned the display yet, and I should.

It’s a typical Apple Super Retina XDR display. Even coming from a Pro Max to the 6.1-inch screen display on here, it doesn’t feel cramped or small. If anything, it’s more usable and convenient.

I have been using it a lot in London recently, and even in bright daylight, it feels bright enough, although it struggles in direct sunlight – but then again, show me a phone that doesn’t! It’s only 800 nits, but it’s sharp, vibrant, contrasty and punchy. Watching content on here is fine. You soon forget you’re looking at Apple’s least expensive phone, I promise you.

And that display won’t scratch either. This year, Apple has finally nailed it with their Ceramic Shield 2. Micro scratches had been the blight of iPhone users for years, but whatever they’ve done to this new front glass seems to have worked. I’m using these phones hard nowadays in real-world situations, and all the phones. I’m glad to report, are still scratch-free.

I’d become very accustomed to using the Camera Control button on my Pro Max to quickly launch the camera, and I was missing it. So, I’ve now mapped the Action Button on my 17e to the camera, which acts in much the same way. I’ve also put back the camera icon on the lock screen – and don’t forget you can always simply just swipe to the left on the lock screen to get to the camera anyway.

iPhones have never had a shortage of ways we can reach the camera!

The speakers on here need to be heard to be believed. Honestly, they’re crisp, have good mids, and are very present. They carry a voice particularly well. So if you wanted to listen to music or podcasts on the speakers when you’re at your desk, rather than wear AirPods, I don’t think you’d find it a chore.

And even though I’ve switched to eSims on my phones, I love the fact that there’s an actual physical SIM card tray on the 17e (in the UK at least). It just feels ever so reassuring! There’s nothing wrong with a bit of old school every once in a while.

Those similarities

I started by telling you how much the iPhone 17e and the iPhone Air have in common – and it’s genuinely surprising.

I have loved the form factor of the iPhone Air from day one. I mean, it’s impossible not to adore it. To this day, it feels like a well-honed piece of jewellery. From every angle, it’s stunning, but for whatever reason, it didn’t ever become my daily. Why, I have no idea, it just didn’t ever make me want to make the switch, beautiful as it is.

I mention that just to highlight that I’m a fan of the design of the iPhone Air and that I’m not coming down on it at all, but it is expensive, particularly when you compare it to the iPhone 17e.

But, this e-series of phones packs so much value.

One of the most obvious similarities is that both have only a single 48MP Fusion camera setup. Yes, the Air’s version has a bigger sensor, and it also has an 18MP selfie camera compared to the 12MP camera on the 17e, but the camera systems aren’t all that different.

I hardly ever use the selfie cam, so that makes little odds to me and the larger sensor only really comes into play in lower light situations anyway.

Although much has been made of how light the iPhone Air is, it’s actually only 5 grams lighter than the 17e.

Other similarities – well, they both have Super Retina XDR displays, both have Apple’s own C1 modems, both have Face ID, Ceramic Shield 2 and the same 6 metre water resistance. They both now feature MagSafe and share the same speed USB-C port as well. And they both have versions of Photo Styles, too.

Are you starting to see my point? The iPhone 17e is a pretty serious contender.

Edging ahead

But there are areas where the £600 iPhone 17e starts to edge ahead.

For example, it has the newer modem, the C1X modem, for even better power management. The 17e also gets two speakers, stereo, not mono like the Air, and it has a much larger battery – 4005mAh versus 3149mAh found in the Air.

So when you hear people slamming the iPhone 17e, I think it’s fair to say that they’ve not looked that closely at the specs. I get that it’s not for everyone, but neither should it be lightly dismissed either.

I know there will be some of you reading this saying why not buy the iPhone 17 over the 17e. Well, to you I’d firstly say it’s £200 more – and that’s not exactly a drop in the ocean now, is it?

And what do you get for that extra cash? Broadly speaking, you get ProMotion, better camera stabilisation and of course the Ultra-Wide camera. There are other incremental spec improvements, such as slightly faster wi-fi & better Bluetooth connectivity, but that’s more or less it.

Although they share the same A19 chip, the iPhone 17 does get one extra GPU core, but the iPhone 17e yet again wins out on the battery size. The 17 only has a 3962mAh unit, and it has the earlier and less power-efficient C1 modem. The modem is a big power drain on the battery of any phone, so the better the modem performs, it stands to reason that you’ll get better battery performance.

Final thoughts

As far as I’m concerned, if you are going to make a compromise at all, make it count.

These phones aren’t cheap, so be brutally honest with yourself about why you’re buying your phone and how you’re going to be using it for the next three or four years.

As I said earlier, we have an awesome array of phones, iPads, & Macs to choose from right now. There’s something for everyone at every price point and for all kinds of workflows.

All you have to do is be smart enough to buy the right phone or device for you.

Finally, I’m buying and using the phone I need, not for vanity and show, and it feels great!