Are the iPhone 17 models out of your reach? Or, do you think they are over the top? There’s good news for you – Apple could be releasing a fifth variant of the iPhone 17 in early 2026, and it could be a lot cheaper than the standard iPhone 17. It is likely to be called the iPhone 17e and is expected to be positioned as an alternative to the iPhone 16, possibly with a much lower price.
As the logical successor to the iconic iPhone SE series and the more recently announced iPhone 16e, the iPhone 17e will focus on the essentials once again. Since it relates to the iPhone 17 series, industry insiders predict a more trickled-down version of the iPhone 17’s A19 chip and a nicer camera as part of the upgrades, while retaining the base specs from the iPhone 16e – all in a bid to keep the costs low.
iPhone 17e: What the sources say
The iPhone 17e is expected to slot in Apple’s current iPhone lineup, offering easier access to the premium iPhone 17 series. To achieve this, Apple is said to reuse components from its parts bin and aim to get the manufacturing process easier using existing moulds and machinery for cost efficiency.
iPhone 17e expected launch date
Multiple sources have zeroed in on an early 2026 launch window for the iPhone 17e, which is expected to follow the pattern from this year’s iPhone 16e launch schedule. Hence, you could expect to see the iPhone 17e show up between February and March 2026. This launch will also confirm Apple’s commitment to the budget-centric iPhone, hinting at how the brand wants to refresh the entry-level model annually to draw first-time iPhone buyers.
iPhone 17e specs and features upgrades
With the iPhone 16e, Apple held on to the previous spec OLED display with a wide notch cutout for the Face ID sensors. Rumours say that the iPhone 17e will retain a similar 6.1-inch compact OLED display with a standard refresh rate of 60Hz – no fancy 120Hz for the ‘economy’ buyer. While everyone’s betting their money on the old-school notch implementation, some are expecting Apple to ditch the notch entirely and jump to the Dynamic Island pill design, imparting a more modern viewing experience.
Then there’s the chipset, which is said to be the newer A19 from the iPhone 17 series. Similar to the iPhone 16e, Apple could reduce one GPU core count on the iPhone 17e’s A19 chip, technically reducing the ceiling for graphical performance with just a 4-core GPU. However, the general performance upgrade with the A19 chip should provide a notable boost in processing speeds and AI applications over the A18 chip. Apple could also stick to providing 8GB RAM as standard.
As far as the rest of the specs and features are concerned, the iPhone 17e could retain the familiar single 48MP rear camera, the old 12MP front camera, the boxy aesthetics of the iPhone 14, and the same colour combo of black and white.