iPhone 17e Gets Its First Price Hike: Is the “e” Even Worth It?

Last year, when the iPhone 16e launched, it did not quite stick the landing. This year, too, the 17e has had quite a rough launch. It had omitted many beloved “core iPhone” features, which left many asking, “Why does this exist, and for whom?” To make matters worse, its price is increasing up to Rs. 6,100.

Even before the price hike, the iPhone 17e was not cheap, especially for the average Nepali user. And while being expensive has never stopped an iPhone from selling well, that does not seem to be the case with the 17e. Let’s see why.

What is the Price of the iPhone 17e in Nepal?

The iPhone 17e price in Nepal now starts at Rs. 1,32,499 for the 256GB variant, which is Rs. 4,700 higher than its original launch price of Rs. 1,27,799.

While that increase is already noticeable, the 512GB model has been hit even harder. Its price has climbed by Rs. 6,100, rising from Rs. 1,68,999 to Rs. 1,75,099.

iPhone prices in Nepal do not necessarily follow global trends. So, seeing the iPhone 17e get a price hike isn’t really surprising.

iPhone 16e was probably one of the most “nobody asked for this” kind of releases in recent times. It took a slight performance hit compared to other iPhones, which was like whatever. But Apple shipped it with an ancient-looking, large notch design and cut out MagSafe, which was a very poor “iPhone” experience.

Critics did not take lightly to these corners Apple had cut. Making matters worse was the fact that it wasn’t exactly a “budget” iPhone either.

But now that there are some positive changes, will it be enough to redeem the iPhone 17e? Let’s check it out:

iPhone 17e Overview

Let me get one thing straight: while iPhone 17e brought some changes, it does not exactly bring that many changes. And you can see that being the case.

The iPhone 17e looks exactly the same as the 16e. Albeit the new Soft Pink colour option adds a touch of fun to the mundane Black and White aesthetic iPhone 16e had going on.

The notch is back on the iPhone 17e. Earlier leaks and reports suggested Dynamic Island would finally replace it, but Apple decided to stick with the old notch design. And that’s disappointing.

The screen also remains unchanged. We get the 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR display, still 60Hz only. But it is now protected with the Ceramic Shield 2 glass, which supposedly offers three times the scratch resistance of last gen. It also has an anti-reflective coating on top.

As for the brains, it has the Apple A19 chip — the same silicon powering the standard iPhone 17. Though Apple has trimmed it slightly for the ‘e’. The A19 on the iPhone 17e has one less GPU core.

Other than that, iPhone 17e now starts at 256GB storage and goes up to 512GB. If you are wondering about the memory, it is 8 gigs, just like the base iPhone 17. But that’s not much of a concern with iPhones, unlike with other smartphones. The Apple optimisation really does the heavy lifting.

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So does the software. You get the latest iOS 26 with all the headline features like the Liquid Glass aesthetic, Call Screening, Genmoji, Visual Intelligence, and all other *ahem* advanced Apple Intelligence stuff.

In the meantime, you do not see any changes in the camera and battery departments. You get a single 48MP camera at the back, while a 12MP snapper sits on the front.

Last year, Apple advertised its rear camera as a 2-in-1 system on the 16e, which seems to have confused buyers on whether the phone has two cameras or one. So, this year, they seem to be stepping away from that narrative and sticking to just “48MP Fusion Camera System” branding.

If you still want to know what this “Fusion Camera” is, then it’s basically Apple giving a fancy name to their high-quality 2x digital zoom. They quote it’s “optical-quality”, and I don’t doubt it either. The whole “2-in-1 camera” narrative also stems from there, as it’s basically as good as having 1x and 2x cameras. But at the end of the day, it is just one camera.

Likewise, it would have been nice to see the “Center Stage Front Camera” on the 17e, like the rest of the iPhone 17 lineup. But the “e” variant can’t have all the new and shine-e features, I guess.

Then we have the battery, which, as I mentioned earlier, has not seen changes. However, the charging has — at least on the wireless front. The iPhone 17e now supports 15W wireless charging, double the speed of last year. We also see the inclusion of beloved MagSafe after weirdly deciding to ditch it on the 16e.

The other new thing the iPhone 17e flaunts is Apple’s in-house C1X cellular modem and N1 chip, allowing the phone to support Bluetooth 6.0 and WiFi 7 connectivity. Additionally, this C1X is apparently twice as fast while 30% more power efficient, which will likely be reflected in the phone’s battery life.

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The iPhone 17e looks like a fuller phone than before. However, with the Apple price tag plus this price bump, I am still not convinced that it will be enough to sway Nepali buyers, who want the most out of their money.

The 17e holds more power than a lot of users need, and the Apple ecosystem is attractive and all, but having just one camera, along with an outdated design with thick bezels, might hold them back from dropping six figures on it.

What are your thoughts on the iPhone 17e? Let us know in the comments below!