iPhone 17e release date set for spring as Apple switches cheapest iPhone line to annual upgrades

Apple will be launching a successor to its cheapest 2025 iPhone dubbed the iPhone 17e with display made by the Chinese BOE, as well as by LG and Samsung.

The iPhone 16e, which can be found for as low as $530 in premium renewed state on Amazon, proved a relative hit with Apple fans, perhaps on account of the fact that it was the biggest redesign of Apple's affordable SE line since its inception and the first with an OLED display.

It does better on the market than its SE predecessor, and beats the iPhone Plus lines in terms of sales, too, so hopes for its iPhone 17e successor are reportedly running high at Apple.

iPhone 17e release date

• March 2026

According to Korean media reports, the iPhone 17e release date is set for the spring, or a bit over a year after the iPhone 16e, which launched on February 28, 2025. This sets the iPhone 17e release for March 2026, or in line with previous launches in the most affordable iPhone line.

iPhone 17e specs

The iPhone 17e specs will reportedly include the same 6.1-inch display that the iPhone 16e carries, which was in turn borrowed from the iPhone 14.

Still, this made the iPhone 16e the first member of Apple's cheapest iPhone series with an OLED, instead of an LCD screen, and a much larger one than the 4.7-incher of its SE-denoted predecessor. This means that the iPhone 17e will be equipped with a 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR OLED panel with HDR10 certification.

Unfortunately, this also means that it would still sport an aging 60Hz refresh rate and middling 800 nits typical or 1200 nits peak brightness. The resolution of 1170 x 2532 pixels and the 457 ppi pixel density won't scream premium, too, but then again, the iPhone 17e price is not expected to be premium, either.

If history is any indication, however, Apple will equip the iPhone 17e with its latest A-series processor that it is expected to launch the iPhone 17 series with.

iPhone 17e price (est.)

An iPhone 17e with an Apple A19 chipset and a $599 starting price would make it a formidable competitor, too.

Apple is reportedly breaking with the multi-year upgrade cycle of its most affordable iPhone line as its Siri AI efforts aren't paying off so far, and it would like the iPhone 17e to fill in for an eventual lull in demand.

Its iPhone 17e sales forecast is set to be about 20 million units, and Apple will reportedly be releasing an E-series iPhone every year from now on to keep its installed base high.