Apple may have wrapped up its big iPhone 17 launch back in September, but the lineup still isn’t complete.
According to a new report, another model is on the way, the iPhone 17e, and it looks set to borrow one of the flagship series’ biggest camera upgrades.
The budget-friendly “e” line usually lags behind the main models in features, but analyst Jeff Pu claims Apple is planning a more generous update this time. His research note suggests the iPhone 17e will arrive in mid–Q1 2026, and the standout upgrade is a new 18MP Centre Stage front camera.
That’s the same front camera Apple introduced across the entire iPhone 17 lineup, from the standard model all the way to the Pro Max. Centre Stage automatically pans and adjusts to keep you perfectly framed, whether you’re on a video call, shooting vlogs, or squeezing in a large group for selfies. Bringing it to the lowest-cost model is a pretty notable shift.
It doesn’t stop there, either. The iPhone 17e is also expected to use the A19 chip, the same chip found in the main iPhone 17 models. That means Apple is closing the performance gap even further and leaving fewer reasons to step up to a pricier option.
Of course, it’s still not a full flagship replacement. The 17e is only expected to have one rear camera, and there’s no sign Apple will add ProMotion to this tier, so don’t expect a 120Hz display.
But for Apple’s entry-level iPhone, getting the A19 chip and the new 18MP Centre Stage camera is a surprisingly big leap. If the rumour is accurate, the 17e could end up feeling a lot closer to the core iPhone 17 than previous “e” models ever did.
Apple shifting some models out of the usual September window is a newer strategy, and the 17e seems to be part of that experiment. But if this is what the early-2026 iPhone looks like, budget buyers might have something genuinely interesting to wait for.
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