# iPhone 17e Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/iphone-17e/ 14 people recommended iPhone 17e in Hacker News comments, 5 had mixed feelings and 22 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 3 of 12 months, in 3 threads. It does not meet the Hacker Approved badge rule. 12 of the 14 people who recommend it commented in one thread, “Apple Introduces iPhone 17e”. **Verdict:** Criticized more than recommended: the most common complaint is that the base storage is small and the price is still high for what it offers; those who recommend it see it as a cheaper, compact iPhone with a long support lifecycle, a capable in-house modem, and a starting price near $600. Summary written by Claude from the comments below. ## What people warn about - Price still high for what it offers (2 comments in the sample): "$599 still feels like they're setting whatever price they can get away with." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47219294)) "This is the discount model and it's still way over the $500 bar." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47239039)) - Israel-developed chip and malware concerns (2 comments in the sample): "Israel is the last place I want to have anything to do with my phone." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48201906)) "built-in entry for Pegasus and other Israeli military malware" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48180305)) - Notch and no Dynamic Island (1 comment in the sample): "Sad it doesn't have the dynamic island, was going to pick up one of these for testing" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47218970)) ## Why people recommend it - Good value for the price (4 comments in the sample): "Seems like a decent deal for what it has and getting the full support lifecycle out of it" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47219440)) "at least they added iPhone 17e starting at $599" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50275431)) "They finally got a phone back under $1000 AUD!" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47230242)) - In-house modem improves battery life (2 comments in the sample): "the most valuable part of this “e” lineup is the in-house developed modem" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47220084)) "Compared to previous non-apple modem it's night and day battery-wise." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47229078)) - Smaller, lighter, pocket friendly (2 comments in the sample): "would certainly be worth the smaller size for me" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47225654)) "Smaller, lighter, pocket friendly." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47227398)) ## Other smartphones people recommend - [Apple iPhone](https://hackerapproved.com/p/iphone/): 438 recommend, 190 mixed, 789 criticize - [Fairphone](https://hackerapproved.com/p/fairphone/): 110 recommend, 42 mixed, 94 criticize - [iPhone 13 mini](https://hackerapproved.com/p/iphone-13-mini/): 105 recommend, 32 mixed, 44 criticize - [Apple iPhone Pro](https://hackerapproved.com/p/iphone-17-pro/): 90 recommend, 45 mixed, 138 criticize ## Where to get it - [Visit the official site](https://www.apple.com/iphone-17e/) ## The badge A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged. ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "iPhone 17e", https://hackerapproved.com/p/iphone-17e/ (14 recommend, 5 mixed, 22 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026). Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.