The memory shortage is squeezing smartphone margins, but Apple is maintaining the $599 starting price for its latest budget iPhone.
The tech giant announced the iPhone 17e on Monday, adding new features including MagSafe charging.
The new entry-level iPhone, which is available in black, white, and soft pink, comes with the durable Ceramic Shield 2 front cover that its fellow iPhone 17 family has. The upgrade makes it the three times more scratch resistance than the previous iPhone 16e.
On the backside, it sports a 48-megapixel fusion camera capable of portraits and 4K videos, which Apple likes to market as similar to owning two cameras in one.
The tech giant also doubled the amount of starting storage of the budget iPhone from 128 gigabytes to 256 gigabytes. It comes with Apple's latest A19 chip, giving it a boost in processing power.
"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," said Kaiann Drance, Apple's vice president of worldwide iPhone product marketing.
While its predecessor, the iPhone 16e, is only a year old, Apple said the new iPhone 17e is designed to last "for years to come," Drance said.
This drop comes on the heels of a historic holiday quarter for Apple. CEO Tim Cook boasted "staggering" demand for the iPhone 17 when speaking to analysts on January 29.
Apple also announced a new iPad Air on Monday, with a new M4 chip, also with a starting price point of $599. The iPhone giant is expected to announce multiple new products this week.
