If a leaked Apple road map for future product releases is to be believed, we're not going to have to wait until the fall to see our first iPhone of 2026. Apple's reportedly planning to launch an iPhone 17e in the first half of the year, as it looks to improve upon the revamped budget-friendly iPhone it introduced this past spring.
Whether it's the iPhone 16e or its previous iterations as the iPhone SE, this is not an Apple product necessarily known for its innovations. Still, that's no reason to dismiss the iPhone 17e out of hand. With a price tag likely to match the $599 cost of the iPhone 16e, this upcoming model figures to be the most affordable phone Apple sells. And at a time when costs are on the rise all over, that's not a factor to take lightly.
There's another reason to take more interest than usual in Apple's plans for its midrange model — it could be the only lower-cost iPhone we see in 2026. A rumor has Apple staggering its release schedule, so that iPhone 18 Pro models appear in the fall and the regular iPhone 18 models showing up in spring 2027.
iPhone 17e: An upgraded chipset
Let's start with the most obvious change, as new models often debut with new silicon inside. And it isn't very hard to anticipate what chipset Apple will use for the iPhone 17e, given a rock-solid history of how it's handled previous upgrades.
From the first iPhone SE in 2016 all the way through this year's iPhone 16e release, Apple has turned to the chipset introduced the previous fall to power its midrange device. In the case of the iPhone 16e, that's the A18 chipset first introduced with the 2024 iPhone 16 lineup.
For that reason, you'd expect the iPhone 17e to adapt the A19 silicon that powers the standard iPhone 17 model. And that's good news from a performance standpoint, as the iPhone 17's benchmark results compare favorably to the latest Android phones. Even the OnePlus 15, which is powered by the latest Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 silicon, posts a lower-score on the single-core Geekbench 6 general performance test than the iPhone 17. (On other tests, the OnePlus 15 posts better numbers, as you might expect for a new chip.)
| Row 0 - Cell 0 | Chipset | Geekbench score (single core/multicore) | Solar Bay Unlimited (fps) |
iPhone 17 | A19 | 3,701 / 9,460 | 39 |
Galaxy S25 | Snapdragon 8 Elite | 2,916 / 9,886 | 43.4 |
Pixel 10 | Tensor G5 | 2,345 / 6,581 | N/A |
OnePlus 15 | Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 | 3,618 / 11,116 | 49.6 |
That bodes well for the iPhone 17e, as that phone will be able to deliver flagship-level performance in a phone that will, theoretically, cost hundreds of dollars less. The A19 chipset also means the iPhone 17e will continue to support Apple Intelligence features, including the anticipated update to Siri coming in 2026 that aims to make the personal assistant more aware of context.
Dynamic Island on the display
The iPhone 16e still features a notch to house the FaceID sensors and True Depth camera, but that could make way for another improvement once the iPhone 17e arrives. There's a lot of talk about Apple adding the Dynamic Island feature found on other current iPhone models.
Not only will this mean a more free-flowing display that's not marred by a notch jutting down into the top of the screen, but you'll also get a better implementation of Live Activities since that feature's accessible from the Dynamic Island. I have found that I really like having a glanceable timer appear in the Dynamic Island of my iPhone 17 display when I'm cooking things or a shortcut to the now playing screen on my favorite podcast app when I'm listening to new episodes. So I think this will be a great addition to the iPhone 17e if it comes to pass.
And it had better, since several rumors claim that very little is changing with the iPhone 17e's display. That means the phone is likely to continue offering a 60Hz refresh rate, even after Apple added a dynamic refresh rate to the iPhone 17's screen this past fall. Apple also increased screen size on the iPhone 17 to 6.3 inches, but the iPhone 17e is expected to still offer a 6.1-inch panel.
Center Stage Camera
One other iPhone 17 addition could find its way to the iPhone 17e. This fall's phones saw a new front camera in the form of the 18MP Center Stage camera, replacing the TrueDepth camera that's been included with iPhones for years.
As the name would imply, the Center Stage camera mimics the front camera on iPads by keeping you in the frame for video calls. But the more significant change from an iPhone perspective is that the camera uses a square sensor, which allows it to shift orientation from portrait to landscape without forcing you to reposition the phone.
We're not expecting big camera changes for the iPhone 17e — in other words, Apple is unlikely to add a second shooter to the loan rear camera that's been a part of the midrange iPhone since the beginning. But in that time, Apple has maintained some parity with the front camera on its lower cost phone and what's available on its flagships. For that reason, an upgrade to the Center Stage camera makes sense.
Other changes are possible
The three improvements detailed above are the ones we've heard about the most — and also the upgrades that seem most logical. More details about the iPhone 17e could emerge in the coming year that outline even more improvements. For example, I wouldn't be surprised if the iPhone 17e were to adapt the updated version of Ceramic Shield that made the iPhone 17 more durable than before.
Still, it's not unprecedented for Apple to only make minimal changes to its midrange model. If you remember the iPhone SE 2022, the biggest improvement over the 2020 model was the addition of 5G connectivity plus the usual chipset upgrade. By that standard, the iPhone 17e would be making far more drastic changes from its predecessor.
Follow Tom's Guide on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds.
More from Tom's Guide
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
