Apple’s $599 iPhone 16e made “cheap” look modern. But the iPhone 17 fixes the flaws so well it might be the real budget sweet spot.
Apple may have wrapped up its SE line, but with the iPhone 16e it introduced a new kind of entry-level iPhone — one with flagship-grade performance and a modern design at a lower $599 price.
But the company just announced the iPhone 17, which finally gives the base iPhone the premium features fans have been asking for. For the first time, the standard iPhone comes with a ProMotion 120Hz display, a brighter screen for outdoor use, an upgraded ultrawide camera, a sharper selfie shooter, and faster charging.
For just $200, you can get arguably the best value iPhone we’ve seen in the last decade! So which one should you go for?
iPhone 17 vs iPhone 16e differences:
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The iPhone 16e carries over the older flat-edged design, resembling the iPhone 14. It uses an aluminum frame with glass on the front and back and features Ceramic Shield only on the front. So, it is still a durable phone, but it has thicker bezels, and it lacks some of the refinements that you will find with the iPhone 17.
The iPhone 17 looks and feels more premium. It has slimmer bezels around its larger 6.3-inch display and introduces Ceramic Shield 2 on the front, which Apple claims is three times more scratch-resistant. The back sticks to reinforced glass rather than Ceramic Shield 2, keeping some differentiation from the Pro line.
As for size, the iPhone 17 is slightly taller, thicker, and heavier.
Looks-wise, the iPhone 17 colors are:
Black
Lavender
Mist Blue
Sage
White
And the iPhone 16e colors are simply:
Black
White
Display Differences
The iPhone 16e uses a 6.1-inch OLED with a standard 60Hz refresh rate and up to 1200 nits peak brightness. It’s a big step up from the LCD screens of past budget iPhones, but it still feels dated in 2025.
The iPhone 17, on the other hand, finally gives the base iPhone a 120Hz ProMotion OLED panel with adaptive refresh from 1 Hz to 120 Hz (enabling the Always-On display feature). It’s also much brighter, peaking at 3000 nits outdoors and 1600 nits in HDR — a huge jump over the 16e, making it easier to use in direct sunlight.
