Apple is preparing an iPhone 17e for the first half of 2026 to make the lineup easier to understand and to create a clearer step up to the standard iPhone 17. The change addresses this year’s overlap between iPhone 16 and the budget 16e, where a $200 gap did not translate into a meaningful real-world difference for many buyers.
This information comes from Bloomberg’s Power On newsletter by Mark Gurman. The report says Apple intends for the iPhone 17 to be “significantly better” than the 17e, restoring separation between tiers. It also notes that a new low-end iPad and an updated iPad Air are planned for the same timeframe, rounding out Apple’s entry points.
It will be interesting to see how Apple will continue to differentiate between the low-cost “e” model and the standard iPhone 17. This year, Apple has thrown the kitchen sink at the standard model and brought features to it such as improved cameras, display, 120Hz ProMotion display and more to make it a very good phone for its price. Compared to this, Apple will likely keep the 17e same as the 16e, with minimum changes such as improved battery, newer chip, and maybe improved display but nothing that competes with the iPhone 17 in terms of refresh rate or brightness.
Apple is also expected to refresh the low-end iPad as well as the iPad Air during the first half of 2026. The low-end iPad will likely get an updated chip, however, it would be great if the company makes it powerful enough to support Apple Intelligence. Meanwhile, the iPad Air, currently powered by the M3 chip, could get a bump to the M4 chip, but it’s unclear whether the company will add anything else to it.
If Apple applies the same template that it applied to the iPhone 17 lineup this year, they could do wonders for the iPad lineup and bring ProMotion to iPad Air, as well as make it a lot more desirable in terms of features. Whether the company will actually do so, it is yet to be seen.
