iPhone 17e launch timeline tipped, trial production said to be nearing

iPhone 16e is the new affordable flagship from Apple, replacing the iPhone SE lineup. This arrives as the fifth model in the iPhone 16 lineup and brings the A18 chipset, Apple Intelligence, and in-house C1 modem. It appears that the Cuppertino giant is gearing up to work on the successor, which could be dubbed the iPhone 17e. Here are the details.

iPhone 17e tipped to be in the works

• According to a Weibo post by ‘Fixed Focus Digital’, the iPhone 17e is said to be nearing trial production.
• The tipster adds that the phone may debut in May 2026, without explicitly mentioning its name in a separate Weibo post.
• He adds that the phone will have the same back style, possibly hinting at a single rear camera like the iPhone 16e.

• This isn’t said to be the first time that we are hearing the launch timeline of the iPhone 16e’s successor. 
• Ahead of the iPhone 16e’s launch, Fixed Focus Digital tipped the existence of a new ‘e’-series model being in the discussion internally, and this was speculated to be the iPhone 17e at that time.
• Back in February, there was a report from CIRP that claimed the iPhone 17e will be launching exactly a year after the iPhone 16e debut, i.e. February 2026, which is a good three months ahead of the newly leaked timeline.

It’s a bit early to speculate on the hardware details of the iPhone 17e at the moment, but it could be on similar lines to the iPhone 16e. It is expected that Apple will bring a successor to the new ‘e’-series iPhone model, going by the initial reception of the iPhone 16e.

A recent report from Counterpoint Research said that Apple secured the top position in the global smartphone sales during the first quarter of 2025. This is backed by the iPhone 16e launch and strong performance in emerging markets. The company is said to have captured 19 percent global market share.

To recall, the iPhone 16e is priced in India at Rs 59,900 for the 128GB model and goes up to Rs 89,900 for the 512GB variant. It can be purchased in black and white colours.

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