Key Takeaways:
- Options: Apple may embody MagSafe on the iPhone 17E.
- Launch date: Probably as quickly as February.
- Worth: There have been no leaks about value will increase, which is sweet information at this level.
- Design: May get the Dynamic Island and look extra like an iPhone 15.
Apple is likely to be persevering with its lower-cost iPhone line, with an iPhone 17E reportedly releasing early this 12 months. If that is true, the sequel to final 12 months’s iPhone 16E has plenty of room to step up.
Some rumors level to enhancements borrowed from Apple’s iPhone 15, comparable to Dynamic Island and MagSafe. If these are true, it may make the lower-cost iPhone 17E a compelling worth possibility with fewer trade-offs wanted to hit a lower cost.
Apple’s $599 iPhone 16E was a little bit of an oddity when it was launched final 12 months. It changed Apple’s $429 iPhone SE, successfully retiring the older iPhone SE design that included a home button with Touch ID. Apple’s new “funds” machine was a pricier amalgamation, that includes the physique of an iPhone 14 with a show notch. It additionally had the USB-C port from the iPhone 15 and the A18 processor from the iPhone 16 to assist Apple Intelligence features.
To economize, Apple scaled again on options by together with solely a single 48-megapixel fundamental digicam and omitting Apple’s MagSafe clip-on functionality (although it saved customary wi-fi charging). Whereas the iPhone 16E is a stable starter iPhone, I discovered these omissions to be confusing, particularly on condition that Apple elevated the value of this entry-level iPhone from $429 to $599.
The iPhone 16E encompasses a single rear digicam.
An iPhone 17E may observe a playbook nearer to Samsung’s Galaxy S25 FE. It might have most of the similar options because the iPhone 16 and iPhone 17, just like the smaller display notch and an A19 processor, together with smaller stepbacks to the {hardware} that is likely to be much less noticeable.
Apple hasn’t confirmed whether or not an iPhone 17E exists but, however we’re protecting a watch out. Listed here are the rumors we have heard to this point, with options that might assist or hinder the extra budget-friendly iPhone 17E.
Watch this: iPhone 16E Overview
iPhone 17E launch date: February 2026
The iPhone 17E may very well be introduced as early as February, in line with a Mashable report citing the Digital Chat Station Weibo account. The cellphone is claimed to be launching within the first half of the 12 months. This may align with the iPhone 16E’s February 2025 announcement, establishing winter as Apple’s most well-liked launch window for cheaper iPhone fashions.
There are even rumors suggesting the base iPhone 18 will launch within the first half of 2027, however let’s not get too forward of ourselves.
The rumored iPhone 17E is tipped to incorporate the Dynamic Island display cutout seen on the iPhone 15 (pictured right here).
iPhone 17E design: Will get a Dynamic Island
One side that made the iPhone 16E stand out was Apple’s new design, which featured the iPhone 14’s physique, a USB-C port and a single digicam.
The iPhone 17E, nevertheless, will allegedly look extra like 2023’s iPhone 15, with a smaller Dynamic Island cutout, in line with the identical Digital Chat Station Weibo put up. The iPhone 17E is rumored to have a 6.1-inch show with a cutout, together with dynamically sized notifications for timers and app alerts, comparable to Uber pickups.
This design is corroborated by the Smart Pikachu Weibo account, which additionally notes that the iPhone 17E may have a 60Hz refresh price display moderately than the 120Hz one seen throughout the iPhone 17 line and the iPhone Air. It would be good to see a 17E with a 120Hz show, dubbed ProMotion by Apple. However that is one space that may very well be much less noticeable to folks coming from a former iPhone SE or an older base mannequin just like the iPhone 14.
Whereas Apple’s ProMotion shows have been out there on Professional fashions for years — in addition to on nearly each Android cellphone that prices $300 and extra — the smoother animations and always-on shows it supplies will not be as noticeable when switching from a cellphone that by no means had them.
MagSafe has been included with most iPhone fashions since 2020, and it is rumored to return to the iPhone 17E as nicely.
iPhone 17E options: MagSafe wi-fi charging
It baffled me that Apple did not embody MagSafe with final 12 months’s iPhone 16E. The characteristic, which permits for sticking magnetic equipment like chargers and wallets and not using a case, has been on most iPhone fashions since 2020. It felt like an odd omission, since Apple contributed MagSafe’s charging and magnetic profiles to the Qi2 standard, each of that are on Google’s Pixel 10 phones, HMD’s Skyline, and the upcoming Clicks Communicator.
The iPhone 17E is rumored to have a glass again that helps magnetic wi-fi charging — probably which means the cellphone would achieve the power to magnetically connect to MagSafe and Qi2 equipment, in line with a report in The Information noticed by 9to5Mac. This may be a significant enchancment for somebody coming to this cellphone from an iPhone SE or the iPhone 11, each of which do assist Qi wi-fi charging however don’t embody magnets for attaching equipment and instances.
Whereas we would want extra particulars, hopefully the inclusion of MagSafe additionally means the iPhone 17E’s wi-fi charging velocity would enhance to not less than 15 watts, matching the iPhone 15.
The iPhone 16E consists of an A18 processor, permitting it to play video games like Resident Evil 4 Remake.
iPhone 17E pricing
We’ll hold updating this story as extra iPhone 17E rumors arrive. Whereas there is not a lot relating to the pricing of the rumored cellphone, final 12 months’s iPhone 16E starts at $599 for a 128GB model. I am hoping the iPhone 17E begins at 256GB of storage, like the bottom iPhone 17. Apple nonetheless sells each the 16E and the iPhone 16 at 128GB, with the latter starting at $699.
