iPhone 17e may be just as expensive as the iPhone 16e — and that's a huge disappointment

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$599 again? Say it ain't so

iPhone 17e concept render by AorS Mobile
(Image credit: AorS Mobile / YouTube)

There's been a lot of talk about the iPhone 17e in recent days, including the kind of upgrades we can expect to see from the phone. Now Mark Gurman at Bloomberg has gone on record with his predictions on what the new "cheap" iPhone will include. That includes hardware specs, and the most important thing of all: Price.

Gurman notes that four big changes are coming to this year's e-Series phone. First up is the same A19 chipset as the iPhone 17, which should afford a big boost to processing power and energy efficiency. The report also promises that we'll see MagSafe charging and "Apple's newest in-house cellular and wireless chips." According to previous reports, that's the C1X modem from the iPhone Air and the N1 wireless chip, rather than anything brand new.

The cheap iPhone isn't getting cheaper

iPhone 16e - Rear camera

(Image credit: Future)

Gurman's sources claim that Apple's marketing will focus on getting more features for the same price as the iPhone 16e. Though I'm not sure how effective that will be. iPhone 16e may have had the powerful hardware needed to power Apple Intelligence, but it didn't offer much else of note.

It definitely didn't feel like it was worth $599, especially not when you consider how disappointing Apple Intelligence turned out to be. The company hasn't fulfilled its initial wave of promises yet (where's Siri 2.0?) and the release of iPhone 17 and iOS 26 didn't come with any additional AI features.

Personally, I feel as though being asked to pay more so you can run AI on your iPhone 16e turned out to be a massive con. One that's continuing with the iPhone 17e. It may be a cheap iPhone, but we've seen cheaper, and I'm wondering whether buying a used flagship iPhone is a better use of your money.

Gurman says that the iPhone 17e will be "aggressively" marketed to business users and in emerging economies. No doubt emphasizing the power and features of the phone, but maintaining a lower price tag than the iPhone 17. Who knows, marketing has always been one of Apple's strong suits, and that could work out in its favor.

What's Apple's competition?

Google Pixel 10a against blue background.

(Image credit: Google / Tom's Guide)

One thing Gurman also notes is that Apple may not have particularly strong competition in the cheaper phone market. Rumors suggest that the Pixel 10a won't be much of an upgrade compared to the Pixel 9a — which makes sense when you look at the difference between the Pixel 10 and Pixel 9 series.

Likewise, Samsung has been inconsistent with the releases of its own mid-range Galaxy phones. To the point where there's no telling whether the upcoming Galaxy A57 will actually go on sale in the United States or not. Which obviously gives Apple a big advantage, beyond the fact that it's offering the iPhone 17e as a cheaper alternative to the iPhone 17.

Still, Google and Samsung typically sell their mid-range phones for just under $500 — and with a similar range of features to the flagship series. The Pixel A series, for instance, may look different and come with lesser hardware, but they still offer all the best Pixel features as the flagship. But they obviously don't command the same appeal as having an iPhone, even if they are $100 cheaper.

The iPhone 17e is expected to launch on February 19, and until then you can keep up to date with all the biggest news and rumors in our official iPhone 17e hub.

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Tom Pritchard
Tom Pritchard
UK Phones Editor

Tom is the Tom's Guide's UK Phones Editor, tackling the latest smartphone news and vocally expressing his opinions about upcoming features or changes. It's long way from his days as editor of Gizmodo UK, when pretty much everything was on the table. He’s usually found trying to squeeze another giant Lego set onto the shelf, draining very large cups of coffee, or complaining about how terrible his Smart TV is.

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