This New iPhone Is Different from the Rest

[00:00] Every now and then, Apple does something very  un-Apple-like, and today is one of those days.   This is the iPhone 17e, which for the first  time has interchangeable and, dare I say,   upgradable parts with its predecessor, the iPhone  16e. We know last year's iPhone 16e had 7-watt  

[00:19] wireless charging but no MagSafe magnets. And this  year's iPhone 17e has 15-watt wireless charging   with the MagSafe magnets. And if my sources are  correct, they can be swapped back and forth. My  

[00:32] source is iFixit. And according to iFixit, even  the motherboard is upgradeable. So if you want   the A19 chip instead of the A18 chip, you can  plop the new motherboard into your iPhone 16e   and have a whole new upgraded brain, except for  the Face ID camera, which we'll get to more later.

[00:48] Before we can explore the insides, though,  we have to durability test the outsides.   Apple has upgraded the display of the 17e to  Ceramic Shield 2, which they claim is three times   more scratch-resistant, and that might be slightly  true. My marks at a level six are so faint I can  

[01:04] hardly see the thing anymore, which is the end  of an era but the beginning of something greater.   iFixit found that the front 12-megapixel camera  is one of the few things that can't be swapped   back and forth. Well, the camera itself can, but  the Face ID portion of the camera is locked to  

[01:20] the motherboard for security reasons, which is  fair. The earpiece grill is metal and permanent. And then we have the 85% recycled aluminum frame,  which is a weird percentage since the MacBooks,  

[01:34] like the MacBook Neo, are made from 100% recycled  aluminum. One of the coolest features, though,   that I'm actually rather jealous of is something  that Apple's been doing with every iPhone since   the iPhone 14. Up here at the top is where we find  the emergency satellite antenna. Let's say I'm in  

[01:50] the middle of nowhere and I have no signal. With  an iPhone, I can still text anyone or share my   location and contact emergency services. And Apple  does all of this for free, which is even crazier.

[02:02] Emergency preparedness has been on my mind quite  a bit lately, you know, with everything going   on in the world. So, I created the Jerry Can.  Unlike plastic water bottles that expire or leach   microplastics, water storage in an aluminum  can basically has an indefinite shelf life,  

[02:18] making it perfect for daily drinking or long-term  storage. We pulled the Jerry Can water straight   out of a mountain in California, UV treated  and ozonated it for extra purification,   then hermetically sealed the H2O inside an  aluminum can, meaning it can be consumed  

[02:35] for everyday use or put in long-term storage  for emergencies down the road. Peace of mind   is extremely valuable. I'm biased, obviously, but  if I do have to choose between plastic and metal,   I'm going to choose metal every time. It's cleaner  and colder. We made an energy drink as well,  

[02:50] just for fun. And any order over a hundred  bucks gets free shipping. For reference,   a 12-pack will give one person a three-day  supply of emergency water. So, just buy enough   cases for however many days you want to survive  in the apocalypse. Link is in the description.

[03:06] Where was I? Ah, yes. The emergency SOS antenna  lines are also surrounded by aluminum along with   the whole left side and its action button and  individual volume buttons. Down at the bottom,  

[03:21] we have our microphone, USB-C port, and lower  stereo loudspeaker. And you might be like, "Hey,   Jerry, Apple just took an iPhone 16e and  called it the iPhone 17e just like they've   done with every model of iPhone for the past  decade." And you're right, but normally Apple  

[03:37] changes just enough so that the parts are not  reusable on the insides. So, either Apple is   turning over a new consumer-friendly leaf on the  Apple tree or some intern is about to get fired.   The logo is rather perfectly placed,  though, so maybe keep that intern around.

[03:52] The iPhone 17e only has one camera, which is the  exact same camera as the iPhone 16e. Literally the   same part number, but I'll prove that in a second.  Then we have the screen. It's still the 6.1-inch  

[04:05] XDR OLED 1200-nit 60 Hz display as the 16e, but  since it has the new Ceramic Shield 2 on top,   it is a different part number. But all the  internal plugs are the same, and I'll also   prove that in just a second. It lasts for about 20  seconds before going white and mostly recovering.

[04:22] Finally, the bend test. Apples are normally  extremely structurally sound. And since this   17e is just an upcycled 16e, there's no surprise  that it's just as structurally solid as last year.  

[04:34] No flex when bent from the front or the back. Now  for the fun part. I'll grab my smartphone toolkit   and take out the pentalobe screws at the bottom  of the iPhone. These two screws are 20 cents,   by the way, so make sure not to lose them.  And we can see what happens when we upgrade  

[04:48] the old iPhone 16e to MagSafe. Can  you imagine the utopia we would be   living in if Apple became as modular  as Fairphone? Thumbs up for that idea. I can use a whole lot of heat and a super  thin pry tool to slice away the watertight  

[05:01] IP68 water resistance holding on the back  panel. If your fingers aren't on fire,   the phone isn't hot enough. Once the backside is  lifted off, folding open like a book, we can see   the underside of the magnets. And just for fun,  we can plug in an Apple 15-watt wireless fast  

[05:17] charger and see that indeed the 17e is pulling  17 watts wirelessly. It's only rated for 15,   so we are off to a very good start. I'll unclip  the battery ribbon plug and back panel plug just  

[05:29] like little Legos. And I'll do the same thing to  the back panel of the iPhone 16e. You can see the   damage that we inflicted last year, getting a  good look at that wireless charging pad. So,   it's extra interesting to see if I can swap out  the broken piece with the upgraded hardware.

[05:43] With the iPhone 17e MagSafe back glass  installed on my iPhone 16e and turned back on,   we can see that the magnets definitely do lock  the charger in place, but we are maxing out at  

[05:55] the original non-MagSafe 7-watt charging  speeds. So, it looks like internally the   software on the 16e is still throttling our  capacity even though the hardware is capable   of transmitting the extra juice. Still  cool, but not as cool as I was hoping.

[06:10] Going back to the pricing, the rear camera is  the same part number for both phones and costs   $98 after the return credit. The top  speaker is also the same part number   and costs $6.78. And the Apple vibrator has  different part numbers but costs the same  

[06:25] $6.78. Then we have the battery. This  guy is also a different part number,   but it has the same price, same capacity, same  form factor, and same release mechanism as   the iPhone 16e. Just a 9-volt power source to  electronically decouple the adhesive. And the  

[06:41] longer you leave the power source connected to the  battery, the easier it'll be to release and just,   you know, fall out. I do like this electrically  conductive adhesive. Prying out the battery can   be super dangerous, and I'm glad we don't have  to do that anymore. Both batteries are 4,005 mAh.

[06:57] Finally, the screen. The screen can be replaced  independently from the rest of the hardware,   a crazy difficult process to do successfully,  though, if you want the screen to survive. So,  

[07:09] keep in mind that the replacement screens both  cost $217 after the return part credit. But,   they are very interchangeable. So, if  you want the tougher Ceramic Shield   2 glass on your previous iPhone  16e, it is definitely possible.

[07:24] Anyway, I'm glad that Apple has made the  part pool wider for these two phones. Yeah,   they probably did it for themselves to make  manufacturing easier and cheaper and to reuse   parts, but I do appreciate them not locking  down the parts like they've historically been  

[07:37] known for doing. As always, the easiest  way to see the insides of your own phone   from the outsides is with one of my teardown  skins. I made sure to show off the magnetic   ring around the new 17e since our teardown  skins are always exact representations of the  

[07:51] insides. And of course, if you want to keep  your own insides functional in an emergency,   my Jerry Can is linked below. I imagine  with the world being the way it is,   we're going to sell out quick. So get some  while you can. Hit that subscribe button.  

[08:04] We are so close to 10 million. And thanks  a ton for watching. I'll see you around.