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iPhone 17e Tipped to Launch With One Major Hardware Upgrade; Design Said to Be Identical to iPhone 16e

iPhone 17e Tipped to Launch With One Major Hardware Upgrade; Design Said to Be Identical to iPhone 16e

A tipster claims that the iPhone 17e uses the same mould as the iPhone 16e, so we can expect the handset to appear similar to last year's model.

Written by Nithya P Nair, Edited by David Delima | Updated: 10 February 2026 14:06 IST

iPhone 17e Tipped to Launch With One Major Hardware Upgrade; Design Said to Be Identical to iPhone 16e

iPhone 16e runs on Apple's A18 processor

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Highlights

iPhone 17e is likely to keep same design as iPhone 16e
It is also expected to retain Face ID
The launch of iPhone 17e is speculated to take place on February 19

iPhone 16e was launched in February last year as an affordable iPhone model, replacing the iPhone SE. Apple is now expected to introduce the iPhone 17e as its successor later this month. A recent leak suggests that the new model will provide minimal upgrades over the iPhone 16e. This leak corroborates recent rumours that iPhone 17e will focus mainly on chipset improvements rather than design changes. It is likely to feature a 6.1-inch display and a 48-megapixel rear camera. It could offer MagSafe charging and include new in-house cellular and wireless chips.

iPhone 17e Expected to Arrive With Apple's A19 Chip

Tipster Fixed Focus Digital (translated from Chinese) claims in a post on Weibo that the iPhone 17e will offer the same hardware features as the iPhone 16e. The only major upgrade could be the presence of Apple's A19 chip, compared to the A18 chip on the iPhone 16e.

The tipster also suggests that Apple has not changed the mould for iPhone 17e, indicating that the design and dimensions of the new model will remain unchanged from its predecessor. The iPhone 17e is tipped to use the same display panel as the iPhone 16e, with a 60Hz refresh rate and a display notch for the selfie camera and Face ID.

Apple iPhone 16e Review: When You Just Need an iPhone

The latest leak matches recent comments from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, who recently predicted that the iPhone 17e will offer a new chipset. He also claimed that it will feature MagSafe charging and Apple's in-house cellular and wireless chips. Apple is said to keep pricing the same, at $599 (roughly Rs. 57,000). Previous leaks claimed that it will feature Dynamic Island.

The iPhone 17e is expected to launch as Apple's lower-cost iPhone model. The launch is speculated to take place on February 19. If the new phone is not all that different from the current iPhone 16e, we can expect it to ship with a 48-megapixel rear camera with optical image stabilisation (OIS), a 12-megapixel front camera and an IP68 rating. The existing model supports 18W wired charging and 7.5W wireless charging.

Apple iPhone 16e

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

Design
Display
Software
Performance
Battery Life
Camera
Value for Money

Good
Light and compact design
Powerful Apple A18 SoC
Customisable Action Button
Good battery life

Bad
Low light camera performance is below average
Available in just two basic finishes
Large display notch with thick borders
60Hz refresh rate display
Slow wireless and wired charging

Read detailed Apple iPhone 16e review

Display 6.10-inch

Processor Apple A18

Front Camera 12-megapixel

Rear Camera 48-megapixel

RAM 8GB

Storage 128GB, 256GB, 512GB

OS iOS 18

Resolution 1170x2532 pixels

More Apple mobiles Apple mobiles price in India

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Further reading: iPhone 17e, iPhone 17e Specifications, iPhone 16e, Apple

Nithya P Nair

Email Nithya P Nair

Nithya P Nair is a journalist with more than five years of experience in digital journalism. She specialises in business and technology beats. A foodie at heart, Nithya loves exploring new places (read cuisines) and sneaking in Malayalam movie dialogues to spice up conversations. More