"iPhone 17e? At a similar price, you might as well buy the higher-performing iPhone 17."
On the 11th, Samsung Electronics' flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S26 series, and Apple's latest budget smartphone, the iPhone 17e, officially went on sale. Samsung raised prices on the Galaxy S26 series but strengthened artificial intelligence (AI) features and equipped the Ultra model with a privacy display to protect personal information. Apple's iPhone 17e doubled the base storage to 256 gigabytes (GB) from the previous model and adopted some flagship specifications while keeping the price unchanged.
However, after visiting a dozen or so mobile carrier stores in Jongno-gu, Jung-gu and Dongdaemun-gu in Seoul that day, sales staff reacted by saying, "If you're planning to buy an iPhone, get the iPhone 17; why buy the 'budget' model when the price difference isn't big?"
◇ Considering common subsidies, the higher-performing iPhone 17 is cheaper
The iPhone 17 was released in the second half of last year, but as a flagship model it offers better performance than the iPhone 17e. The iPhone 17e is equipped with the A19 as the mobile application processor (AP), which determines a smartphone's performance. This is the same as the iPhone 17. The iPhone 17e also brings back "MagSafe," the magnetic attachment technology for wireless charging and accessories that was missing from the previous iPhone 16e. However, the iPhone 17e has fewer GPU (graphics processing unit) cores than the iPhone 17. The rear cameras also differ: the iPhone 17 has two, while the iPhone 17e has only one. Unlike the iPhone 17, which supports a 120Hz refresh-rate display, the iPhone 17e maintains a fixed 60Hz refresh rate.
Despite these performance differences, the price gap between the iPhone 17 (256GB, 1,287,000 won) and the iPhone 17e (256GB, 990,000 won) is only about 300,000 won. When the common subsidy (formerly the posted subsidy) and additional subsidy are deducted from the list price, the difference narrows further. The common subsidy is the subsidy assigned by the three carriers to each device, and the amount varies by carrier. For example, at LG Uplus as of that day, if you use a high-priced plan costing 130,000 won, a common subsidy of 550,000 won is applied to the iPhone 17's list price of 1,287,000 won. Consumers can buy the iPhone 17 for 737,000 won, while for the iPhone 17e, a common subsidy of 230,000 won is applied to the 990,000 won list price, so consumers can buy it for 760,000 won. In the end, the perceived price difference between the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17e is only 23,000 won. This figure excludes the distribution network subsidy that mobile retail outlets can use separately from the common subsidy.
A staffer at an SK Telecom store in Seoul said, "There is currently no discount policy for the iPhone 17e." The staffer said, "For the iPhone 17, if you use an unlimited plan costing 109,000 won for six months, and apply the common subsidy of 500,000 won including the additional subsidy, the list price drops to 787,000 won (with a two-year contract). After six months, you can switch to the 69,000 won plan," adding, "Compared with using the iPhone 17e over the same period and receiving the optional contract discount (25%), buying the iPhone 17 is more economical."
◇ Stores plastered with Galaxy S26 posters… iPhone 17e posters are hard to find
Interest in the Galaxy S26 was greater in the retail channel as well. Many of the posters at dealerships were for the Galaxy S26. Posters advertising the iPhone 17e were rare. Of more than 10 dealerships, only one had placed promotional materials related to the iPhone 17e. One dealership hung a poster that read "iPhone 17 on display," but the materials listed only the 17, 17 Air, 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max—no 17e.
A representative at dealership A said, "We haven't received any iPhone 17e posters, but we did receive and put up posters for the Galaxy S26 series," adding, "Flagship models sell better than budget models." A representative at dealership B said, "Even early in the release, the iPhone 17 and iPhone Pro had at least a 50,000–100,000 won discount margin, but the iPhone 17e has no separate discount policy."
Preorders for the iPhone 17e were also reportedly not large. A representative at carrier C said, "We did take preorders for the iPhone 17e as well, but the response was not strong, and from the carrier's perspective, to secure allocation for the iPhone 18 launch, we plan to sell only the quantities allocated by Apple for the iPhone 17e," adding, "The devices we need to row hard with while the tide is in are the Galaxy S26 series." The Galaxy S26 series recorded 1.35 million preorders, setting the all-time sales record among Galaxy S series.
◇ Strong response to Galaxy S26 privacy features… quiet for iPhone 17e
It may be partly because Korea is Samsung Electronics' home turf, but the response to the Galaxy S26 was hot that day. The Galaxy S26 comes with various AI agents—not only its own AI assistant Bixby but also Google Gemini and Perplexity—so users can choose based on the situation. Prices are relatively high, starting at 1,254,000 won for the base 256GB model and 2,545,400 won for the Ultra 1TB model.
A Galaxy S26 customer in her 20s who is a university student said, "Regardless of brand, with smartphone camera and gaming features now advanced, the new feature called the privacy display appealed to me." A representative at dealership D said, "Young people still look for iPhones a lot, but more young people have shifted to Galaxy because of the new privacy display feature," adding, "Initial response to the Galaxy S26 series is good."
In addition to the iPhone 17e, Apple also officially released the MacBook Neo, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air and iPad Air that day. About 50 people lined up to match opening time at Apple Myeongdong. However, most were customers for Apple's most affordable MacBook, the "MacBook Neo," and the iPad Air. The base MacBook Neo model starts at 990,000 won, and the education model starts at 850,000 won.
A woman in her 30s from Australia, the first iPhone 17e buyer at Apple Myeongdong, said, "I prefer not to sign up for carrier contracts, and comparing list prices alone, the iPhone 17e is more reasonable than the iPhone 17, so I came to buy it," adding, "The iPhone 17 has better camera performance, but I don't need that level of functionality."