The Launch of the iPhone 17e Is Reportedly Imminent

According to Bloomberg’s Apple scoop-getter Mark Gurman, the iPhone 17e “is due imminently.” The “e” means, as you know, it’s the cheaper, entry-level iPhone in the latest numerical series, and Gurman says it’s going to set buyers back $599—the same price as the current bottom-end phone from Apple, the iPhone 16e.  

Tom’s Guide has previously written about rumors that the release will be Thursday, February 19, exactly one year after the release of the iPhone 16e. 

The 17e will reportedly receive the same A19 chip as the iPhone 17, a formidable processor with better specs—I’m willing to bet—than your laptop: a 6-core CPU configuration and a 6-core GPU configuration. Last year when it came out, it was the absolute top of the line in smartphone processors, but it may soon be surpassed in performance by the Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 in phones like the Samsung Galaxy S26 when those become real. 
 
The iPhone 17e will also, Gurman says, feature additional upgrades in the form of the the newest Apple cellular modem and the newest connectivity chip (presumably meaning the C1X and N1).