0-20%: Unlikely – Lacks credible sources
21-40%: Questionable – Some concerns remain
41-60%: Plausible – Reasonable evidence
61-80%: Probable – Strong evidence
81-100%: Highly Likely – Multiple reliable sources
One of the first devices from Apple to launch in 2026 is expected to be the iPhone 17e, with the company sticking to its usual release timeline by unveiling its most affordable model in the first quarter of the year, mimicking the iPhone 16e announcement. Now, we have learned through a tipster that the new low-cost handset will enter mass production after CES 2026 concludes, along with some specification details that include a downclocked A19 chipset, which will be slightly slower than the SoC found in the base iPhone 17.
Apart from the chipset upgrade and Dynamic Island, the iPhone 17e will just be a re-branded iPhone 16e
On Weibo, Smart Pikachu implies that after January 9, which is the date that the CES 2026 trade show will end, the iPhone 17e will enter mass production. It shouldn’t be an arduous task for Apple to commence the manufacturing of this device, given that it shares a ton of similarities with its immediate predecessor. According to the rumor, the only differences that we should expect are the downgraded A19 SoC and 6.1-inch OLED featuring the Dynamic Island instead of the notch that shipped with the iPhone 16e, with the majority of panel shipments being handled by Chinese manufacturer BOE.
As for the in-house 5G modem goes, don’t expect the iPhone 17e to be the first to ship with a C2, which is said to be in development ever since the iPhone 16e was announced, or the C1X found in the iPhone Air. Instead, Apple’s upcoming low-cost model will ship with the older C1, likely to save on component costs. Additionally, the decision to employ a downgraded A19 is similar to what Apple did with the iPhone 16e, as it features an A18 with a 4-core GPU instead of a 5-core GPU belonging to the standard version. As a result, the A18 is around 10 percent slower than the A16 Bionic in 3DMark Wild Life Extreme Unlimited.
A downclocked A19 could perform more or less equivalent to the A17 Pro, but we will wait for the performance results to come after the iPhone 17e’s launch. As for the price, we expect Apple to stick with the same $599 figure, but this time, we could see 256GB of internal storage for the base variant instead of 128GB. As for the remaining elusive information, we suggest waiting for the official unveiling to divulge the details, so stay tuned.
News Source: Smart Pikachu
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