The iPhone 17e is just around the corner and as is the norm rumors gave us a pretty good idea of what to expect. The company is gearing up to launch several devices on March 4 (or shortly before that), the most exciting of which is the iPhone 16e successor – the iPhone 17e.
The 17e promises a handful of notable upgrades over its predecessor. Perhaps the most obvious one will be the Dynamic Island. The full-fledged notch will be replaced by a Dynamic Island cutout along with the accompanying software features.
The display itself will remain the same – 6.1″ running at 60Hz. The ProMotion feature is yet to trickle down to the base iPhone. However, the bezels are tipped to be slimmer this time around.
There won’t be any major changes to the design either. We are still looking at a traditional iPhone look with an aluminum frame and glass front and back panels. IP68 ingress protection is also on the menu.
Some sources point to a downclocked A19 Bionic chip, not the Pro version. The expected performance is similar to the Apple A17 Pro SoC.
The newer and more efficient Apple C1X modem will be on board, promising better performance and less energy draw than the previous C1 modem.
The camera system isn’t getting a major overhaul either. The 17e will still rely on a single 48MP shooter on the back, using the same sensor as before, but the improved processing that the A19 chip’s ISP provides will likely boost image quality a little. In fact, some leaks suggest that Apple will introduce the Fusion computational processing to the cheaper iPhone 17e.
The selfie camera reports are mixed – some claim it will remain unchanged, while other argue Apple will upgrade it to 18MP and implement Center Stage.
The battery capacity also remains unconfirmed, different reports putting it between 4,000 and 4,500 mAh. Fairly safe assumption given that the iPhone 16e has a rated battery capacity of 4,005 mAh.
The said battery will be charged over the same USB Power Delivery protocol, likely capping at 24W like the previous model. Notably, the 24W charging power isn’t an official figure – we measured it in our lab when reviewing the iPhone 16e.
More importantly, Apple is said to bring its MagSafe magnetic wireless charging to the iPhone 17e.
As far as pricing goes, the reports so far point to the same launch price of $599 for the 8GB/128GB base memory configuration.
Last year’s model was definitely a success, so Apple isn’t changing the recipe, it’s just improving it.