If you’re hunting for a deal on a new iPhone right now, Apple just made your decision a whole lot harder. With the iPhone 17e launching at $899, it sits just $50 above the certified refurbished iPhone 16, which is currently listed at $849 on Apple.ca.
It’s a classic new budget model versus older entry phone dilemma, and the right choice really depends on what you actually care about when you pull your phone out of your pocket.
If you hate the old-school notch, the refurbished iPhone 16 is your winner. It has the Dynamic Island, that dual-camera setup with the Ultra Wide lens, and the new Camera Control button (which is kind of useless). If you do a lot of landscape photos or macro shots, the iPhone 16 is the only way to go here because the 17e only has a single lens, and it supports Spatial photos.
The iPhone 16 also supports Action mode, Spatial video recording and macro video recording, with slo-mo and time-lapse. Its QuickTake video supports up to 4K at 60fps in Dolby Vision HDR. There’s also Sensor-shift optical image stabilization (Fusion Main). The front 12MP camera on the iPhone 16 supports Cinematic mode up to 4K.
But here is where the math gets interesting: for that extra $50, the iPhone 17e gives you double the storage. We’re talking 256GB standard compared to the 128GB on the base refurbished iPhone 16. If you’re the type of person who never clears out their photo library or downloads massive games, that extra space comes in pretty handy. To get 256GB on the refurb iPhone 16, you need to pay $969.
Under the hood, the iPhone 17e is actually the more powerful phone. It’s packing the new A19 chip (found in the iPhone 17 series and iPhone Air) and the C1X modem. For those of us living in areas where the signal can be a bit spotty, that new modem will be a benefit. It’s more efficient and holds onto a 5G signal much better than the older hardware in the iPhone 16. However, the iPhone 16 has Ultra Wideband (2nd gen) and also Thread networking technology.
Also, the iPhone 17e debuts Ceramic Shield 2, which Apple says is 3x more scratch-resistant. If you’re prone to tossing your phone in a bag with your keys or you’re a bit clumsy, that extra durability may be worth it.
For the display, the iPhone 16 wins as you get 2000 nits peak brightness outdoor and 1 nit minimum brightness.
As for battery life, get 26 hours of video playback in the iPhone 17e, which is four more than the iPhone 16. When it comes to MagSafe charging, the iPhone 16 charges faster at up to 22W with a 30W adapter or higher, whereas the iPhone 17 is at only up to 15W with a 20W adapter or higher.
So, what’s the play? If you want the non-budget look, care a lot more about photography and videos, save the $50 and grab the refurbished iPhone 16. But if you want a phone that will get updates longer than the iPhone 16, holds a better signal, and gives you more storage for your money, the iPhone 17e looks to be the better choice.
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