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iPhone 17e Rumored to Gain New Design, Dynamic Island, and More

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Apple's iPhone 17e will gain upgrades including the Dynamic Island and a new design, according to a known Weibo leaker.

iPhone-14-Pro-Dynamic-Island-1.jpeg

The leaker known as "Digital Chat Station" today claimed to reveal a selection of details about the upcoming iPhone 17e, allegedly originating in Apple's supply chain.

The device is apparently set to feature a new industrial design, the Dynamic Island, and the A19 chip. The iPhone 16e features a "notch" at the top of the display, similar to the iPhone 13 and iPhone 14. It also contains Apple's A18 chip.

The iPhone 17e is expected to retain a 6.1-inch OLED display with a 60Hz refresh rate, a front-facing 12-megapixel camera, Face ID, and a rear 48-megapixel camera. The leaker says the biggest selling point of the device will continue to be its low price point.

The iPhone 16e is based on the design of 2022's iPhone 14, so it's possible that the iPhone 17e could be based on 2023's iPhone 15, which gained the Dynamic Island and a noticeably more rounded frame.

Reliable sources such as Ming-Chi Kuo, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, and Korea's The Elec agree that the iPhone 17e is on schedule to launch early next year.

Digital Chat Station has a relatively good track record for Apple rumors. They accurately revealed that the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus would feature a slightly smaller 48-megapixel sensor than the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, as well as the display panel design of the iPhone 12 back in 2020.

Article Link: iPhone 17e Rumored to Gain New Design, Dynamic Island, and More
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2025/08/18/iphone-17e-rumored-to-gain-new-design-and-more/
This “e” series would have been perfect in 2017 and 18

I’m sure all the “e” meme fans would have bought one
 
I thought that they would’ve just given it a processor bump.

But given how much the mid end of the market is changing with android, I guess not.

And it’s from the Apple playbook that it would simply use the model after the 14 as the basis for the 17e (26e?).

Hopefully the 16e will stick around at $100 less - it’ll still be an incredibly capable phone.
 
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I wish the "e" model iPhones were the phones to buy for those who only care about battery life. I think a ton of business or productivity types could care less about refresh rate, GPU cores for gaming performance, extra cameras, and anything else that hinders battery life.

Imagine a 2-3 day battery phone.

And no, I don't want to hear about how you get 2 days out of use out of your iPhone because you keep the screen brightness on 0 and it's always on airplane mode when you have Wifi access.
 
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tomtad said:
I'll be honest I prefer the notch, it fades away and you don't notice it. The DI however you do
Click to expand...
I hate the notch. The cutout of the dynamic island means the outer shape of the screen is a proper rectangle with rounded corners, so the DI just looks like any other UI element. The damn notch is a constant reminder that the screen is a weird and ugly shape to me
 
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This makes some sense to me, if they put ProMotion on the base iPhone 17/17 Air then the camera and refresh rate differentiate the e from the base model and further camera improvements to the Pro models.
 
nickf said:
Still no MagSafe? Pass.
Click to expand...
Lack of MagSafe is a headscratcher as it stops Apple selling MagSage accessories to iPhone 16e owners...

Devyn89 said:
This makes some sense to me, if they put ProMotion on the base iPhone 17/17 Air then the camera and refresh rate differentiate the e from the base model and further camera improvements to the Pro models.
Click to expand...
The challenge for Apple is how to stop the "e" model cannibalising regular iPhone sales. Surely they would want to maximise the differences between the "e" model and the regular model. Sure, adding 120 Hz to the regular model widens the gap, but then moving to the dynamic island reduces it again...

The only thing I can think of is that Apple intends to update the "e" model every year and is looking to push it up the offering to replace the previous year's regular iPhone at the $699 price point. When the 17e is released next Easter, you will have the regular iPhone 16 at $100 more than the 17e, with the ultrawide camera, U2 chip and MagSafe being the only obvious differences, but a worse APU than the 17e (A19 with faster speed and any other features it unlocks).
 
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bluecoast said:
I thought that they would’ve just given it a processor bump.

But given how much the mid end of the market is changing with android, I guess not.

And it’s from the Apple playbook that it would simply use the model after the 14 as the basis for the 17e (26e?).

Hopefully the 16e will stick around at $100 less - it’ll still be an incredibly capable phone.
Click to expand...
The Pixel 9a likely broadsided Apple's plans for the 16e. I don't know which sells more but if you look at them both on paper, Google wins.
 
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