Apple’s next iPhone launch is expected to be one of the cheapest. With the new iPhone 17e, which follows on from last year’s first generation iPhone 16e – the company will add three important upgrades to the device, although one thing won’t change: the price.
Upgrades to iPhone 17e
In today’s Power On newsletter, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman shares the following details about the iPhone 17e:
The new iPhone 17e, which replaces the previous year’s 16e, will appear soon. Big changes include the device getting the A19 chip from the iPhone 17 and MagSafe charging. And that’s moving to Apple’s latest proprietary cellular and wireless chips, I can confirm. I’m also told the company plans to keep pricing the same, at $599, and set a simple pitch: You get more features for the same price.
In short, it’s going to be a thrill-free upgrade – as we’ve come to expect. New chipset, MagSafe and improved wireless chipsets – probably Apple C1X and new N1 chip. Apple’s first modem, the C1, debuted in the iPhone 16e, while the new N1 network chip and improved C1X modem debuted in the iPhone 17 and iPhone Air series.
And yes, the price will remain the same. I can’t imagine anyone expecting the iPhone 17e to be more expensive, but a lot of people were disappointed by the price of last year’s iPhone 16e. If you were hoping for a price cut, it probably won’t be.
One thing to note is that previous iPhone 17e rumors have suggested that Apple will introduce Dynamic Island on its cheapest iPhone. Gurman doesn’t mention that here. That doesn’t necessarily mean it won’t happen, but it’s worth noting.
It’s also unclear whether Apple will increase the amount of base storage from 128GB to 256GB, as it has with every other iPhone 17 model.
Wrap
All in all, the iPhone 17e is exactly what you’d expect from Apple’s budget year-long sequel.
The $599 iPhone 17e honestly feels a little odd in the context of the rest of the iPhone lineup. Apple currently sells the iPhone 16e for $599, the iPhone 16 for $699, the iPhone 17 for $799, the iPhone Air for $999, and the iPhone 17 Pro for $1,099.
If the iPhone 17e includes 256GB of base storage for $599, that will be more impressive than the 128GB iPhone 16 for $699, though it still looks like the iPhone 17e will struggle to match the iPhone 16 for just $100 more. The iPhone 16 offers an ultra-wide camera and a lot of useful features that the iPhone 17e does not offer.
Although it’s possible that none of this will matter. In all likelihood, the iPhone 17e will mostly be sold at a deep discount through US carrier deals and the like, so the actual cost on Apple’s website may be irrelevant to the phones’ success.
My favorite Apple accessory recommendations:
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