Apple Unveils iPhone 17e

Alongside the M4 iPad Air, Apple has announced the iPhone 17e. Apple’s budget smartphone model features the A19 chip, the C1X cellular modem (which Apple says is 2× faster than the 16e’s C1), and a 48MP Fusion Camera, and it starts at $599.

Kaiann Drance, Vice President of Worldwide iPhone Product Marketing, is quoted in Apple press release as saying:

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. 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.

The iPhone 17e also includes Apple’s Ceramic Shield 2 to protect the front of the device, an improved anti-reflective coating, and IP68 water resistance. The OLED display measures 6.1” diagonally and can achieve up to 1200 nits of peak brightness when using HDR. We’ve seen the A19 before, but as a refresher, it’s a 6-core, 3-nanometer process chip with a 4-core GPU with Neural Accelerators and a 16-core Neural Engine.

The camera is Apple’s 48MP Fusion camera with a 2× cropped telephoto mode. The camera can take 48MP images but defaults to 24MP. Other familiar camera features are available, too, including Night mode, the latest generation of Apple’s HDR processing, and Portrait mode.

Unlike the iPhone 16e, the 17e also supports MagSafe and Qi2 wireless charging at up to 15W. When used with a 20W or more wired charger, the 17e will fast-charge, too, filling the battery to 50% in about 30 minutes.

The iPhone 17e, which can be ordered beginning March 4, starts at $599 with 256GB of storage and comes in black, white, and soft pink matte finishes, with the option to upgrade to 512GB of storage. Deliveries and in-store availability begin March 11.

Apple Introduces M4-Powered iPad Air

Apple has announced a new iPad Air featuring the M4 chip and 12GB of unified memory. According to the company, the new Air is 30% faster than the M3 iPad Air and 2.3× faster than the M1 Air. Apple says the 50% boost in unified memory enables better AI performance. The new models come in blue, purple, starlight, and space gray, with storage configurations of 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB.

Bob Borchers, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing, said of the new Air:

iPad Air gives users more ways than ever to be creative and productive, offering powerful performance and incredible versatility to help them turn their ideas into reality. With its blazing performance thanks to M4, incredible AI capabilities, and game-changing iPadOS 26 features, there’s never been a better time to choose or upgrade to iPad Air.

The M4 iPad Air is available in 11” and 13” sizes and features the Apple-designed N1 and C1X chips for networking and wireless connectivity. The N1 brings Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 support to the Air, while Apple says the C1X reduces cell network energy consumption by 30% compared to the M3 iPad Air. Of course, the M4 chipset itself also unlocks new functionality for the Air, including hardware-accelerated mesh shading and ray tracing for gaming.

The 11” iPad Air starts at $599, and the 13” model begins at $799. Education market pricing starts $50 lower for each model. Both Air models support the Apple Pencil Pro, the USB-C Apple Pencil, and Apple’s Magic Keyboard case. Preorders begin this Wednesday, March 4, with deliveries and in-store availability starting March 11.

AppStories - Ep. 474 - 30 minutes

Our Apple Hardware Wish List for 2026

JohnFederico

This week on AppStories, Federico and John cast our wishes for Apple hardware in 2026, covering everything from the latest rumored gear to more outrageous hopes.

On AppStories+, John and Federico share their top three everyday uses of AI tools.

This episode is sponsored by:

  • Claude – Ready to tackle bigger problems? Get started with Claude today.
Subscribe here.

Subscribe here.

We deliver AppStories+ to subscribers with bonus content, ad-free, and at a high bitrate early every week.

To learn more about an AppStories+ subscription, visit our [Plans page](https://appstories.net/plans, or read the AppStories+ FAQ.

AppStories+ Deeper into the world of apps

AppStories Episode 474 - Our Apple Hardware Wish List for 2026

0:00
30:22

↓

AppStories+ Deeper into the world of apps

Read more

Podcast Rewind: Running Out of RAM, Tech Confessions, and Italian Movie Dubs

Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:

NPC: Next Portable Console

This week, Brendon, Federico, and John tackle the RAM shortage and its effect on the handheld industry before digging into Cocoon 2.0, an excellent Android front-end for your emulators.

Then on NPC XL, Federico brings an Android emulation surprise to the show.

Comfort Zone

Chris has a Mac-related confession to make, Matt has to admit something about his Apple Watch, and Niléane is like, “Boys, I don’t think you can even handle taking your phones off silent.” (She was not wrong.)

On Cozy Zone, we roast home screens again, and this time there aren’t any hidden codes… we think.

MacStories Unwind

This week, John and Federico debate physical versus digital media and the Italian art of dubbing movies.

Read more