Leak Lounge | Apple iPhone 17e to arrive soon with exciting features bringing the budget smartphone closer to flagships

Apple's iPhone 16e brought many flagship-level features to folks who prefer affordable smartphones, and its successor, the iPhone 17e, will most likely strive to do the same. As we know, Apple will be organizing an "Apple Experience" in three major cities in the first week of March, during which plenty of new products, including the iPhone 17e, will be introduced.

iPhone 17e might get slimmer bezels, Dynamic Island

Perhaps the biggest update which is likely to grace the upcoming iPhone 17e will be its display. The panel itself is unlikely to be different - the same old 6.1-inch OLED panel with a resolution of 2532 x 1170 and a refresh rate of 60 Hz, which feels almost like a rip-off in 2026.

However, the display will get slimmer bezels, and the camera housing will be updated to the shape of the Dynamic Island cutout instead of a stationary notch. This will allow many of the nifty software functionalities which have been standard on iPhones for a few years now.

The other most notable update that the upcoming iPhone 17e will probably receive is the addition of MagSafe - the iPhone 16e was the only smartphone that did not sport this popular feature, forcing it to be left out of a vast ecosystem of accessories such as power banks, holders, and more which rely on Apple's magnetic MagSafe standard.

With the iPhone 17e, that should no longer be the case, and Apple's budget-conscious customers will no longer be left out in this regard. Support for 25W fast charging will also follow, as opposed to the current maximum of 7.5 watts.

Camera hardware will also be improved, with the front-facing unit likely featuring the same square 18 MP sensor as the iPhone 17, which was received quite well by critics for its adaptability. The 48 MP rear camera, however, will possibly remain unchanged. Leaks have also pointed to a battery capacity of around 4,000 mAh, which is the same as the iPhone 16e. The Galaxy S25 FE (currently $449 on Amazon), for comparison, sports a 4,900 mAh battery.

A notable SoC bump, same amount of RAM as before

Of course, as is tradition with most annual refreshes, the iPhone 17e will most likely sport a much faster SoC, a lower-tier variant of the Apple A19 SoC paired with 8 GB memory, upgraded C1X and N1 chips for cellular and WiFi 7, as well an ultra-bandwidth (UWB) chip which will allow much greater precision with the Find My network.

Last but not least - a new color way is also expected to join the black and white options, likely to be lavender or some shade of purple. Having a third, playful color option is most certainly welcome, especially since the other two options are arguably, for the lack of a better word, boring.

Interestingly, Apple is unlikely to change the entry-level prices for the iPhone 17e lineup. The iPhone 16e is priced at $599, and the 17e is expected to stick to the same price bracket.