TECH NEWS – A rumor has emerged that the Cupertino-based company could save more money on its low-cost smartphone, which is expected to be released in the spring.

When Apple released the iPhone 16e earlier this year, it immediately became a topic of discussion because it featured the highest percentage of in-house components. This significantly reduced costs and helped create the cheaper model. The iPhone 16e also featured a C1 modem, which reduced Apple’s dependence on Qualcomm and potentially saved the company $200 million a year. Although not much time has passed since the model’s release, rumors about the iPhone 17e have already begun to circulate.

The iPhone 16e has a 6.1-inch (15.49-centimeter) display and striking design similarities to the iPhone 14. It seemed that the company decided to revert to previous models to maintain the price of the lower-priced phone. Now, a new supplier report suggests that the iPhone 17e will be released in spring 2026, following the same schedule as the 16e. Perhaps Apple’s e-models will develop a release pattern.

It’s been suggested that the iPhone 17e won’t undergo a major redesign and will have the same display size as the iPhone 16e, which lifted this feature from the iPhone 14. This seems to be a clear cost-cutting strategy, as Apple tries to reduce the cost of parts to maintain the lower price point in the budget category. There may be some minor internal upgrades, but the OLED display suggests that Apple will stick to modest upgrades for the next model.

It seems that the affordable e models, which are replacing the iPhone SE, will be released consistently and updated annually, similar to the regular iPhone schedule. This is a change from the iPhone SE’s random release strategy. Apple has recycled parts across generations before to reduce manufacturing costs, but we hope this won’t significantly impact the user experience.

Source: WCCFTech, Elec