Rumors about a 2026 iPhone 17e have already started

AppleInsider

A day before the iPhone 16e hits store shelves, the rumor mill is already churning about whether Apple will debut an iPhone 17e in 2026.

The new iPhone 16e

The iPhone SE that the new iPhone 16e replaces was only updated three times in nine years. But beginning with Tim Cook's tweet welcoming the iPhone 16e as the newest member of the iPhone family, there's been an idea that Apple may update this new model annually.

That suggestion has now been strengthened by two separate sources that say there will be an iPhone 17e released in February 2026. However, neither source has details and only one seems to have real grounds for the claim.

Leaker "Fixed Focus Digital" has now claimed (in translation) on Chinese social media site Weibo to have evidence. He or she says that "a new project code has been seen, which is suspected to be the iPhone 17e."

Beyond it being perhaps in a Chinese regulatory filing, there's no indication yet where this project code has been seen. It's also very early for any February 2026 product to be listed anywhere, unless the source is actually a confidential listing within Apple.

At the same time, Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP), says in a new blog post that it expects Apple to announce an iPhone 17e "around this time next year." It reports no sources for this, however, and appears to expect a new model because Google has previously launched similarly named Pixel phones mid-cycle.

Note that CIRP has a poor reputation for citing its sources, and generally for making statistical claims without sufficient detail for them to be measured or verified.

In contrast, Fixed Focus Digital appears to have no more than an average track record for leaks. But it was one of the first, and ultimately also one of the very few, to correctly report that Apple would name its iPhone SE replacement as the iPhone 16e.

Rumor Score: Possible

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Extortionate 

charlesn

It would have been dumb for Apple to name this the 16e if it didn't intend on annual updating. It's one thing to sell a phone with a "timeless" SE name at $429 and only update it every few years. You can't do that when you're charging $599 and the phone's name is a literal indication of how old it is. Apple's marketing magic trick with this phone is that it's essentially selling an iPhone 14 marketed as a member of the 16 family by virtue of it having the latest 16 chip. We'll see how that works. As I've posted previously, I think the plan is to continue Sept launches in their current form, with the regular iPhone, the Pro models and maybe the Slim gets added this year. They get a six month window of exclusivity on the latest chip. Then in Feb or March, Apple drops the 17e with the chip bump and maybe a new feature -- I have to think that MagSafe will be included next year. My guess is that the iPhone 15 stays in the lineup until the 17e drops, and then it gets replaced by the iPhone 16. I think dropping the new "e" model phone in late winter or early spring gives iPhone some needed press attention again at a time when current model coverage has normally dried up in favor of speculating about what's coming in September. 

edited February 27

avon b7

charlesn said:

It would have been dumb for Apple to name this the 16e if it didn't intend on annual updating. It's one thing to sell a phone with a "timeless" SE name at $429 and only update it every few years. You can't do that when you're charging $599 and the phone's name is a literal indication of how old it is. Apple's marketing magic trick with this phone is that it's essentially selling an iPhone 14 marketed as a member of the 16 family by virtue of it having the latest 16 chip. We'll see how that works. As I've posted previously, I think the plan is to continue Sept launches in their current form, with the regular iPhone, the Pro models and maybe the Slim gets added this year. They get a six month window of exclusivity on the latest chip. Then in Feb or March, Apple drops the 17e with the chip bump and maybe a new feature -- I have to think that MagSafe will be included next year. My guess is that the iPhone 15 stays in the lineup until the 17e drops, and then it gets replaced by the iPhone 16. I think dropping the new "e" model phone in late winter or early spring gives iPhone some needed press attention again at a time when current model coverage has normally dried up in favor of speculating about what's coming in September. 

Absolutely. I've long pointed out the failings in putting all the iPhone eggs into one, pre-Christmas basket. 

You get one shot at glory, an unnatural peak in sales and then have to sit the rest of the year out as rivals plough on with regular flagship launches throughout the year, taking all the media/marketing attention and pumping new cutting edge features into their phones as they go. 

Perhaps this situation is more accentuated in China but that is also a huge market that is seeing Apple struggling against local rivals.

A release window elsewhere in the year gives marketers something to get their teeth into, keep momentum going and allows for more efficient supply chain management. 

My only doubt now is the product itself as it seems to be in a no-man's-land of sorts, sitting outside the SE price bracket and closer to regular iPhones but without some key features. 

I'm not sure if it will appeal at its initial price-point. 

charlesn

avon b7 said:

charlesn said:

It would have been dumb for Apple to name this the 16e if it didn't intend on annual updating. It's one thing to sell a phone with a "timeless" SE name at $429 and only update it every few years. You can't do that when you're charging $599 and the phone's name is a literal indication of how old it is. Apple's marketing magic trick with this phone is that it's essentially selling an iPhone 14 marketed as a member of the 16 family by virtue of it having the latest 16 chip. We'll see how that works. As I've posted previously, I think the plan is to continue Sept launches in their current form, with the regular iPhone, the Pro models and maybe the Slim gets added this year. They get a six month window of exclusivity on the latest chip. Then in Feb or March, Apple drops the 17e with the chip bump and maybe a new feature -- I have to think that MagSafe will be included next year. My guess is that the iPhone 15 stays in the lineup until the 17e drops, and then it gets replaced by the iPhone 16. I think dropping the new "e" model phone in late winter or early spring gives iPhone some needed press attention again at a time when current model coverage has normally dried up in favor of speculating about what's coming in September. 

My only doubt now is the product itself as it seems to be in a no-man's-land of sorts, sitting outside the SE price bracket and closer to regular iPhones but without some key features. 

I'm not sure if it will appeal at its initial price-point. 

Maybe, maybe not. Admittedly, it's all tea-leaf reading at this point, but it would seem--at least from Apple's specific "Compare to" callouts of iPhone 11, 12 and SE models on the 16e pages--that a key part of Apple's strategy with the 16e is to convince owners of iPhones that are almost 5 and 6 generations old that it's time to upgrade. That's probably a huge pool of people. Between the $599 list price and the trade-in values that Apple is offering, it likely makes the financial leap to a brand new iPhone capable of Apple Intelligence a lot more attractive. (Say what you will about the value of Apple Intelligence thus far, but Apple marketing has done a great job selling it as a must have for the present and for future-proofing your iPhone. Perception is everthing.) And hey, if you start out intending to get a 16e but end up selling yourself on a 15 or regular iPhone 16 as the better value for you, Apple is good with that, too! At the very least, the 16e is a conversation starter for people--even if it's just with themselves--about whether it's time to upgrade their iPhones, and there's considerable value in that, too. 

nubus

Apple had to do something. SE and 14 could no longer be sold in EU and the SE was dated in all markets. A new design with user replaceable batteries are required in less than 2 years. At the same time C1 had to be tested before being placed in a mainline iPhone. The iPhone 16e is the minimum viable effort based on iPhone 14. It is a stopgap solution and test of C1.

Obviously Apple didn't expect tariffs. 16e is a lot of value compared to iPhone 16 without being a proper a base iPhone. I don't see how Apple can drop OLED and get a redesign ready in time for 17e. Perhaps reintroduce SE with USB-C?

suntanironman

Okay, then let’s start speculating now as well, lol. What can we expect from the 17e?

If it’s going to be an annual release, it would make sense to hold back on some features for the next revision. So: MagSafe, but maybe only the 15w version seen in iPhones 12-15 — not the 25w version found in the iPhone 16 (no-suffix/Plus/Pro/Pro Max) models.

The iPhone 16e has no Ultra Wideband chip, so maybe that for the 17e. But maybe not the second-generation Ultra Wideband. Maybe only the first-generation chip.

It’s only WiFi 6 now, so maybe WiFI 6E for the 17e (saving WiFi 7 for the 18e).

Yeah, that seems fine. That’s seems like a perfectly-fine entry-level iPhone. I would buy that. Give my speculation a rumor score of “Possible” and let’s will it into existence for 2026.

edited February 27