- The iPhone 17e will reportedly have a Dynamic Island rather than a notch
- It could also have a new chipset and a new design
- However, many of its other specs might remain unchanged
The iPhone 17e sounds like it might be quite a big step up from the iPhone 16e, with the key new addition possibly being the Dynamic Island.
This is according to reputable leaker Digital Chat Station (via GSMArena), and it would mean no more notch, bringing the front design in line with the latest iPhones.
The same source also claims the iPhone 17e will have an A19 chipset, which would likely mean the same chipset as the iPhone 17, but says it will once again have a 6.1-inch 60Hz screen, a single 48MP rear camera, and a 12MP front-facing camera with Face ID.
That’s unfortunate, given that plenty of mid-range Android phones – including key iPhone ‘e’ rivals like the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE and Google Pixel 9a – have multiple rear cameras and 120Hz screens. So this might still be a somewhat compromised handset and a tough sell, even at a price that’s likely to be a fair bit lower than other iPhone 17 models.
An intriguing new design
Intriguingly though, Digital Chat Station also appears to claim (going by a machine translation) that the iPhone 17e will get a third upgrade in the form of a new design. It’s not clear what they mean by that though – the move to a Dynamic Island would certainly be a change, but this seems to be a separate point they’re making, suggesting other changes.
We’re expecting the rest of the iPhone 17 series to adopt a new Pixel-like camera design, so it’s possible that this is what the source is referring to, in which case the iPhone 17e could look a lot like the iPhone 17 Air – which is also expected to have just one rear camera – from the back.
Alternatively, they could be referring to the addition of a Camera Control button, which is present on the main iPhone 16 line but absent from the iPhone 16e, but that’s just speculation.
We may not find out for sure which features the iPhone 17e gets or doesn’t get for a while, with the only release date leak so far pointing to May of next year. But if you don’t overly care about having multiple rear cameras or a high screen refresh rate, then the iPhone 17e might be worth the wait.
