iFixit just released their teardown post for the iPhone 17e. The teardown shows that the back covers of the iPhone 17e and iPhone 16e are actually interchangeable. This echoes what I pointed out last year: Apple probably removed MagSafe purposely to create a bigger product gap between the iPhone 16e and iPhone 15/16, or to have a planned upgrade for this year’s iPhone 17e.
Either way, the interesting and good news is that you can now (technically) upgrade your iPhone 16e to have the MagSafe feature natively.
Another piece of good news is that you can also order the glass back cover part from Apple and follow the official repair guide to DIY this upgrade at home. I don’t know how 3rd-party parts are sold, but it’s important to note this DIY upgrade will likely compromise the water resistance of your device by damaging the adhesive rubber while removing the back cover if you aren’t using original Apple parts.
The replacement back glass adhesive ensures IP68 rating after back cover replacement. Source: Apple
iFixit also tested the hardware swap and found it doesn’t make your iPhone 16e recognize MagSafe with the circular charging UI (it’s probably turned off in software by default). However, the actual charging speed is around 10W in initial testing, compared to the official 7.5W wireless charging spec (so it’s not rejecting the higher power input).
Since the MagSafe module comes with its own authentication chip, I assume the software didn't block the MagSafe/Qi2 authentication process, just the UI differentiation. That’s why the iPhone 16e can now charge at 15W with the iPhone 17e’s back cover.
I admit the title is a bit clickbaity this time, as you are still missing the iPhone 17e's default 256GB storage and upgraded A19 CPU after this hardware DIY. Not to mention, this DIY can sort of be achieved if you simply attach a MagSafe-compatible case or a metal ring (though charging is still capped at 7.5W in that case).
After all, I’d say it’s a fun process if you are into this kind of DIY stuff, or if you want to give your iPhone 16e a brand new dual-tone finish by pairing it with a back cover in a different color.