However you try to flip it, the iPhone 16e is a bit of a weird phone. As our iPhone 16e review covers, Apple’s cheapest current-gen iPhone is a mishmash of cutting-edge and outdated components, with the powerful A18 chipset, a single 48MP camera, and the same notched 60Hz display you’ll find on the discontinued iPhone 14.
Released in February 2025 at a starting price of $599 / £599 / AU$999, the iPhone 16e is on the upper end of mid-range pricing wise.. Notably, it’s a lot more expensive than its predecessor, the third-generation iPhone SE, which came in at a more reasonable $429 / £419 / AU$719. Even so, the iPhone 16e serves a role as Apple’s cheapest handset and a gateway to both iOS and Apple Intelligence.
The iPhone 17e could bring a few sought-after improvements to Apple’s cheapest handset, but who exactly would the new model really be for? And does the iPhone 16e really need an update in the first place?
Needs and wants
As mentioned, the latest rumors suggest a February reveal for the iPhone 17e. This would mark another break from the iPhone SE, which received irregular updates every few years throughout its term as Apple’s cheap handset.
Despite this, the iPhone SE remained popular and an easy recommendation for budget-conscious Apple fans thanks to its capable hardware, which managed iOS just fine despite lagging behind the flagships.
With its A18 chipset and 8GB of RAM – the exact same internal loadout as the flagship iPhone 16 – Apple could probably continue to stock the iPhone 16e for another year without issue. Those internal components are still more than fast enough for iOS 26, multitasking, and mobile gaming.
And in terms of design and other hardware, I think we’re unlikely to see much of an upgrade over the current-gen iPhone 16e this year. Apple is cautious to offer some kind of hardware benefit at each stage of its mobile pricing ladder, meaning it’s very unlikely we’ll see the iPhone 17’s ultra-wide camera or Camera Control shutter button added to Apple’s cheaper handset.
This leads back to the question of whether an iPhone 17e is really needed. There are few realistic options for hardware upgrades – MacRumors reports that thinner bezels, the Dynamic Island, and the Center Stage selfie camera could come to the new handset, which are all welcome additions, but none of which would make a huge difference to user experience.
However, there is one factor at play that would make even a small spec bump understandable – Apple Intelligence. Unlike phone makers like Google, which stagger access to AI tools with the pricing ladder, Apple makes its AI toolkit available in full to every current-generation handset. That means any follow-up to the iPhone 16e needs to have enough hardware power to keep up, but even so, I’d be surprised if the current model misses out on any new features across the next year.
Precarious pricing
It might seem like I’m being especially hard on Apple when brands like Google and Samsung release their mid-range models at a yearly cadence, too. But as I’ve mentioned in other recent features, 2026 isn’t a normal year for the phone industry.
Thanks to a mix of global economic pressure and the increasingly massive demands of the AI industry, component prices are rising – RAM in particular.
It’d be extremely unusual for Apple to re-price an already released product mid-way through it’s life cycle – instead, price increases usually accompany the release of a new generation of said product.
With the entire mobile industry feeling the squeeze – Samsung is reportedly considering raising prices this year – it wouldn’t be too surprising to see the iPhone 17e launch at a higher cost to the customer.
However, it’s likely that the iPhone 16e will remain at its current starting price of $599 / £599 / AU$999 for as long as it’s sold – which gives me another reason to hope for its continuation.
Not quite hyped
As a final point, I find myself at a bit of loss when I try to imagine who the iPhone 17e would really be for – or rather, who would actually benefit from its release.
Sure, tech-savvy users who want a cheaper iPhone might like a new chipset or slightly improved display. But I think real tech fans are more likely to seek out an older flagship model than deal with a compromised version of the mainline iPhone.
The iPhone 16e is the first iPhone I can remember that didn’t arrive to a wave of hype. The flagship models are always a big deal, and the iPhone SE captured a sense of nostalgia, but the iPhone 16e seemed to elicit more confusion than anything else. I can’t see Apple fans making an about turn on this in one generation.
The real target demographic here is users who want a cheaper, simpler iPhone – but I doubt these users will really notice the difference in performance between an iPhone 16e and its hypothetical follow-up; these are, typically, not the type of users who really push their phone to the limit.
Even with all of this said, I’m curious to see whether Apple does release a follow up to the iPhone 16e this year, and whether it can find a place in our list of the best iPhones and the hearts of Apple fans – as ever, I’m open to being pleasantly surprised.
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jamie.richards@futurenet.com (Jamie Richards)
