The iPhone 17 Air might keep this excellent Apple feature that the iPhone 16e lacks

We were so close to an iPhone 17 Air disaster! Of course, nothing is yet official about Apple's thinnest iPhone – the upcoming Air model (that's set to replace the Plus model); "danger" might be still ahead, but we can sigh with relief after the latest info surrounding the sleekest iPhone. Unlike the new iPhone 16e that has forgone MagSafe, the Air model might just support it.

Pre-order the iPhone 16e at Apple for up to $630 off

$599

The latest budget-friendly iPhone model, the iPhone 16e, is here! You can pre-order a unit at the Apple Store for up to $630 off with eligible device trade-ins. Open sales begin on February 28.

Pre-order at Apple

So, in case you haven't caught up with Cupertino's latest moves, the upcoming iPhone 17 line will still be consisted of four phones, but the larger vanilla handset will be no more:

• iPhone 17
• iPhone 17 Pro
• iPhone 17 Pro Max
• iPhone 17 Air

Of course, the above list of four could easily expand to five, if Apple releases another "budget-friendly" (the quotes here serve a particular purpose) "e" model. The iPhone 16e is a thing now, as you surely know if you're in the iOS ecosystem. The eventual iPhone 17e could pop up in 2026 earliest, if such a phone is planned at all.



Speaking of the iPhone 16e, it should be noted that while it excels in some areas (Apple claims it has "the best battery life" among all 6.1-inch iPhones) and brings 8 GB of RAM (which enables Apple Intelligence to be run on the phone), the cheapest (and newest) iPhone cuts some corners and comes with a single rear camera setup.

There isn't a Camera Control button, the A18 chip is slightly tuned down, the new in-house modem C1 doesn't support Wi-Fi 7 nor superfast mmWave 5G connectivity.

Another shortcoming is, of course, the starting price: $600. That doesn't sit too well next to the $430 price tag of the previous iPhone SE, which the new iPhone 16e succeeds. That's Apple for you.

But there is one more thing that the iPhone 16e doesn't have – support for MagSafe wireless charging (instead, it offers 7.5W Qi wireless charging). Still, MagSafe support is so handy.

There were some initial reports that the C1 modem was the reason that the iPhone 16e doesn't support MagSafe wireless charging.

What's concerning is that the Apple-made C1 modem is apparently going to be used in the iPhone 17 Air (but not in the rest of the 17 lineup), so this could mean that the sleek phone might come without MagSafe support as well.

Now, Apple refutes the idea that the C1 modem was responsible for the lack of MagSafe support on the iPhone 16e. So if the iPhone 17 Air does include the C1 modem, it doesn't necessarily mean MagSafe support will be absent from the thinnest iPhone in history.