On February 19, 2024, Apple surprised everyone. While rumors are unanimously announcing the launch of an iPhone “SE 4”, Apple is changing its strategy. The Cupertino company presents the iPhone 16ean “entry-level” version of the iPhone. An economical choice, allowing you to benefit from the essential features around the iPhone 16, for less than 700 euros.
Less than a year later, the recipe seems to have convinced us. The iPhone 16e is a best-seller at Apple and the phone is highly praised by critics. So behind the scenes, Apple is preparing the sequel. The Cupertino company would like to launch the iPhone 17e in spring 2026. We’ve looked into the rumors about him and here are the 7 important pieces of information you need to know:
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Dynamic Island: a big yes!
It’s impossible not to start with this point. This is also the big rumor around the iPhone 17e. Several analysts are betting on the arrival of Dynamic Island on the “entry-level” smartphone. This idea is based on the following theory: the iPhone 16e was built by Apple around an iPhone 14 base (they have the same chassis). Following this logic, the iPhone 17e would therefore be created from the iPhone 15. However, the latter was equipped by Apple with Dynamic Island technology.
© Unsplash / Fujiphilm
As a reminder, Dynamic Island is a major development on the iPhone. It allows the notch to disappear and to include Face ID a little more in the screen. Thanks to a mixture of software and hardware techniques, Apple has managed to build a two-in-one solution that hides the “capsule” of the front camera and Truth Depth (the sensor in charge of Face ID).
For many observers, the next step for Apple now would be to switch these elements below the screen to offer an iPhone without the slightest holeas Steve Jobs would have always dreamed of. Several of Apple’s competitors have already achieved this technical feat, but the reliability of Face ID could be undermined by this switch.
iPhone 17e: likely release in April 2026
Several rumors agree that a launch as early as February, as for the iPhone 16e, would be a little premature. Apple would like to give more time to the iPhone 17, whose results are “excellent”, according to the bank JP Morgan, before launching a cheaper competitor.
© Apple
The date of April 2026 therefore seems to fit perfectly with Tim Cook’s ideas. The phone would thus be presented a few weeks before WWDC. Apple has planned April launches in the past, but this will be a big first for an iPhone.
An unchanged price
This is the number 1 selling point around the iPhone 16e: its price. The phone met its audience thanks to aggressive positioning (for an iPhone) with a selling price of around 700 euros. Apple could keep this price in 2026 with the 17th. Some very optimistic rumors even envisage a product costing less than 700 euros.
As a reminder, the iPhone 17 sells today at the same price as the iPhone 16. The two “e” variants should logically follow this same trend. The iPhone 17e should therefore be negotiated between 650 euros (in the event of a good surprise) and 750 euros (if Apple plays a bad trick on us).
A19: even more power
In terms of components, it is best not to expect big changes. The A19 chip launched by Apple with the iPhone 17 should be there. If the performance levels should remain generally the same compared to the iPhone 16e, the iPhone 17e could especially do well in terms of autonomy.
© Unsplash / Brian Kostiuk
This was already one of the strong points of the iPhone 16e. But this new generation could push the sliders even further. The arrival of an N1 chip should do the most good on this point. We talk about this in more detail in the “internal components” section further down in this same article.
Screen: why change?
On the display side, Apple should not revolutionize the formula either. The iPhone 17 did have the right to ProMotion technology with its adaptive refresh rate up to 120 Hz, but this should not be the case on the iPhone 17e.
The phone would retain a 6.1-inch OLED screen still limited to 60 Hz. A technical choice that would limit costs for Apple and maintain an attractive selling price. The firm would mainly focus on better brightness and more precise colorimetric calibration, inherited from the work carried out on the iPhone 17. In short, a screen more pleasing to the eye, without making the final price skyrocket.
Internal components
We told you about it earlier in this article, the components will be the real cornerstone of this version. The iPhone 17e should feature a new motherboard with the A19 chip, but the innovations won’t stop there. The iPhone 17e should indeed integrate the N1 chipin charge of managing wireless networks, but also a new version of its in-house 5G modem.
© Apple
After the C1 chip, introduced in the iPhone 16e, and its improved version C1X seen on iPhone Air, Apple could return to the charge at the beginning of 2026. According to several rumors, the Cupertino firm will have developed a improved C2 version. Some observers, however, claim that Apple would be content to use the C1X chip in the iPhone 17e, retaining its C2 version for other more high-end products.
iPhone “e”: an annual rhythm
Finally, everything suggests that Apple wishes to permanently install this “e” range in its catalog. If the “SE” version was not updated every year, this could well be the case for this new “e” range. In any case, this is the idea defended by several specialists, including financial analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
By launching a new iPhone “e” every year, Apple could improve the image of its “standard” iPhone and make the Pro and Pro Max models more niche products, reserved for specific uses, as is the case today with the MacBook Pro, for example.
Be careful, we have also heard rumors from the corridors claiming that the iPhone 17e would not even see the light of day, at least not in 2026. According to this idea, strongly in the minority, Apple would maintain an iPhone SE-style renewal cycle for these new “e” models.
So, how about an iPhone 17e? Give us your opinion in comments!
By: Keleops AG
