Apple's iPhone 17e lands in 2026 with Dynamic Island, 60 Hz OLED, single rear camera and a pared-back A19 chip—flagship look at a lower price to tempt buyers.
© A. Krivonosov
Apple is continuing to calibrate its iPhone lineup, and this time the company appears to be applying lessons from recent history. According to Mark Gurman, in the first half of 2026 the iPhone 17e will arrive as a streamlined take on the flagship—retaining core strengths while introducing clear compromises so it does not go head to head with the iPhone 17.
In 2025, Apple ran into an unexpected twist: the affordable iPhone 16e proved so successful that it largely overshadowed interest in the base iPhone 16. The phone combined a modern design, an OLED display and Face ID, yet came in cheaper than the standard model. As a result, the e line siphoned demand away from the main flagship.
With the iPhone 17e, Apple aims to avoid a repeat. Gurman reports that the new phone will keep an attractive look and contemporary touches like Dynamic Island, but it will also come with a few notable limits.
The display will be capped at 60 Hz rather than the 120 Hz ProMotion; the camera setup will feature a single main lens, as on the iPhone 16e; and the A19 chip will be a new processor in a pared-back configuration with fewer cores.
Even so, the model will preserve key Apple flagship traits: a Super Retina OLED display, an iPhone 16–style design and a modern interface. At the same time, the price will be noticeably lower, positioning the phone between the higher-end models and already older iPhones.
In effect, Apple is locking in the iPhone 17e as an accessible option—light on extras, but current in looks and processor. For anyone seeking an entry point into Apple’s ecosystem without overpaying, it could be a very appealing proposition. It also reads as a pragmatic bid to draw cleaner lines across the lineup after last year’s cannibalization.