Apple has finally announced the iPhone 17e, successor to the iPhone 16e, bringing some of the most-awaited features to the budget-end iPhone. This launch is a part of Apple’s “big week” of announcements, expected to bring at least five new products to the market. The iPhone 17e comes out a year after the launch of the iPhone 16e for the same price tag of $599, but with upgraded features.
A notable upgrade in the iPhone 17e is the inclusion of Apple’s C1X cellular modem, which is also found in the iPhone Air and the Cellular iPad Pro with the M5 chip. These chips by Apple are engineered to provide the best network performance while enhancing battery efficiency. However, both the C1 from the iPhone 16e and the C1X from the iPhone 17e lack mmWave 5G support.
This chip brings in three new 5G Bands to the iPhone 17e: n14, n29, and n71. n14 and n71 are low-band frequencies that provide a very wide coverage and penetrate through buildings more efficiently, but come with a tradeoff of lower 5G speeds. If you’re indoors and your carrier uses these 5G Bands, then you’re likely to benefit from it. The n29 band is a Supplementary Downlink (SDL) band used to enhance download speeds through carrier aggregation, particularly in high-traffic areas.
With the inclusion of these new 5G bands, the iPhone 17e gets rid of the n76 band. The n76 band is also a Supplementary Downlink (SDL) band, used to enhance download speeds in busy areas. This band is not globally used, and the other 5G bands on the C1X modem make up for the missing n76 band.
Here are the 5G Bands that are supported by the iPhone 17e:
- FDD‑5G NR (Bands n1, n2, n3, n5, n7, n8, n12, n14, n20, n25, n26, n28, n29, n30, n66, n70, n71, n75)
- TDD‑5G NR (Bands n38, n40, n41, n48, n53, n77, n78, n79)
The iPhone 17e will be available in three finishes: Black, White, and Soft Pink. It starts at $599 for 256GB and $799 for the 512GB variant. The device will be available to Pre-order on March 4th at 6:15 a.m. PT and will be available starting March 11th.
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