iPhone 17e: What to expect from Apple’s upcoming affordable iPhone

Apple is preparing to launch the iPhone 17e, its next-generation budget iPhone, in early 2026. According to iPhone 17e leaks, the phone will offer flagship-level performance at a lower cost, with the iPhone 17e launch date expected in late February and the iPhone 17e price in India starting around Rs65,000. This is what we are anticipating with regard to the next release according to trusted industry sources and projections of analysts. Here's what we know about the upcoming release based on reports from MacRumors, Macworld, along with predictions from industry analyst Jeff Pu of GF Securities.

iPhone 17e design

The iPhone 17e design is expected to mirror Apple’s premium models, introducing Dynamic Island on a budget iPhone for the first time. The iPhone 17e will have a 6.1-inch OLED screen with a significant design change - the Dynamic Island cutout instead of the usual notch on the iPhone 16e. This aligns the budget model with the flagship aesthetic of Apple but at the low standard of 60Hz of refresh rate to ensure low costs. The device features are likely to be similar to the well-known iPhone design language that features narrow bezels and high-quality glass and aluminum cover. The possibilities of colors will probably be limited to black and white, which is in line with the minimalistic design of Apple on low-cost models.

Performance and processor

The iPhone 17e A19 chip will be built on a 3nm process and is expected to deliver flagship-grade performance in Apple’s most affordable 2026 iPhone. The iPhone 17e will be powered by the A19 chip of Apple, which is the same chip in the regular iPhone 17 models released in September 2025. This chip is based on a high-tech 3nm process with two performance cores and four efficiency cores, and a 5-core GPU. The 8GB of RAM will provide the capability of Apple Intelligence and provide the device with a smooth operation when performing daily tasks, playing games, or multitasking. This is a significant improvement to the A18 chip of iPhone 16e, making the 17e incredibly powerful in terms of its price range.

iPhone 17e camera

The iPhone 17e camera setup will focus on quality over quantity, featuring a 48MP OIS sensor with 2x lossless zoom and an upgraded 18MP selfie camera. A single rear 48MP optical image stabilized camera will be used which will have an inbuilt 2x telephoto lens which makes it versatile instead of having a multitude of cameras. It is also upgraded significantly with 18MP on the front-facing camera with Center Stage support, just like the flagship iPhone 17 series. It has both portrait and landscape shooting orientation which makes it suitable in content creation as well as video communication since it has been designed to allow automatic panning when using this square-sensor camera in video calls.

Battery, charging, and connectivity

The iPhone 17e battery is tipped to be around 4,005mAh, delivering all-day usage with the efficiency of Apple’s A19 processor. It is presumed that the iPhone 17e will come with a 4,005mAh battery that has an all-day battery capacity, and Power efficiency of the A19 chip. The phone will have 20W wired charging through the USB-C and will also have MagSafe wireless charging, which is not present in the iPhone 16e. It has connectivity with 5G support on Apple custom C1X cellular modem, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3, and satellite emergency.

iPhone 17e specifications: Storage and pricing

With 256GB base storage, MagSafe charging and Apple Intelligence support, the iPhone 17e specifications mark a major upgrade over the iPhone 16e. Another major upgrade of note in this regard is the doubling of the base storage to 256GB of the iPhone 16e 128GB storage, with optional 512GB and 1TB available. iPhone 17e will be priced at a relatively low price of about Rs64,990-Rs65,000 in India (around 599 dollars to 649 dollars in the international market as the starting price of the iPhone 16e), a slight rise compared to the starting price of the iPhone 16e at Rs59,900. With the significant updates, such as the Dynamic Island, A19 chip, enhanced cameras, MagSafe, and doubled storage, this price pricing can be considered to be a superb bargain.

iPhone 17e launch date

Based on Apple’s past release pattern, the iPhone 17e launch date is expected between February 25 and March 5, 2026. It is anticipated that Apple will release the iPhone 17e at the end of February or early March 2026, just as the iPhone 16e was released on February 19, 2025. The pre-orders must commence in several days after the announcement, with the retail availability roughly a week afterward.

Disclaimer: The information regarding the gadgets/devices listed in the table and article has been sourced from various secondary sources. For detailed product specifications, please refer to the brand sources.