The iPhone 17e may be Apple’s last chance to save the budget phone

It’s been a mixed year for the iPhone. Overall, the largest jewel in Apple’s product crown remains an industry-shaping juggernaut ($49 billion in revenue for the fourth quarter alone, up 6 percent on the previous year), but for various reasons and in various ways, some models failed to pull their weight in 2025.

Five iPhones came out this year, and we can divide that group into three successes and two failures. The iPhone 17 picked up rave reviews for its improvements on the 16 and overperformed, while the two Pro models seemingly sold like hotcakes. But the divisive iPhone Air has reportedly proven a commercial disappointment, and the less said about the iPhone 16e, the better.

Of the two struggling phones, the 16e is more of a worry. The Air’s apparent low sales are being shielded by the higher-priced Pro models, which, in some ways, is perfectly fine. The Air doesn’t really need to be a big seller to do its job. It made headlines, drew people into the Applr Store, and still has value as a testbed for the tech developments necessary for a foldable iPhone. Whereas the iPhone 16e is currently Apple’s only entry point to the vast and lucrative budget market, and isn’t a testbed for anything other than customers’ willingness to compromise on basic features.

With all this in mind, 2026 is set to be a big year for the iPhone. The iPhone Fold is expected to land in the fall, but the launch of the iPhone 17e in the spring could be even more significant. This will give Apple a chance–maybe its last chance–to demonstrate actual value to budget phone buyers before they ditch their old faithful 2nd-gen iPhone SEs, buy a Pixel 9a or Galaxy A17 5G, and leave the iOS ecosystem forever.

The problem with the iPhone 16e is that it takes too much and gives too little. It can barely be classified as a budget product, coming in at $599 compared to the iPhone SE 3’s $429. Yet on the features side, it falls short in far too many areas to justify that mid-market price tag. To convince budget buyers, Apple needs to drop the price, or raise the features.

It looks like the second approach is more likely. Last week, a report suggested that one of the 16e’s most gratuitously annoying compromises, the lack of MagSafe, could be corrected on the next generation; pundits speculate that this may be a response to Google adding Qi2 support to the Pixel 10 and making the 16e’s value proposition look even more threadbare. With the Pixel 10a slated to launch soon after the 17e, at a lower price and with the company’s own brand of magnetic wireless charging, the comparison would be particularly embarrassing.

So MagSafe may be added to the list. Is that enough to move the needle? I doubt it. But hopefully Apple won’t stop there.

Part of the issue with the 16e’s lopsided spec sheet was Apple’s desire to make it AI-ready, which necessitated the inclusion of a high-end processor and plenty of RAM; to keep the price low (ish), compromises had to be made in other areas. But with that hurdle cleared, the 17e can be rather more balanced. The RAM can stay the same, and perhaps we can have a second rear camera lens. Or a Dynamic Island. Or, who knows, a couple of extra color options.

Do I think the iPhone 17e will be a true budget option? No. Do I think it will be a well-equipped mid-ranger? Maybe. But in a year that will inevitably be dominated by a very very expensive iPhone, let’s hope that Apple remembers the importance of value.

Welcome to our weekly Apple Breakfast column, which includes all the Apple news you missed last week in a handy bite-sized roundup. We call it Apple Breakfast because we think it goes great with a Monday morning cup of coffee or tea, but it’s cool if you want to give it a read during lunch or dinner hours too.

Have your say: In defence of Siri

A very interesting email came my way following last week’s rant about Siri. Garry, a self-professed “Apple freak,” raised an important point: it’s difficult for a company to understand and predict user behavior while also respecting user privacy.

“The ‘smartest’ voice assistant is the one that has the most information about the user,” he wrote. “So, naturally, Google is currently ahead in the ‘smart’ race because the reason for each and every Google app is to collect as much data about users as possible. So… if Apple sticks to its goal of not invading a user’s privacy, it has a big problem making Siri ‘smarter’, doesn’t it?

“Personally, given the choice between privacy and a more with-it Siri, I’ll take privacy every time.”

Thanks, Garry. If you have any thoughts, positive or negative, about the contents of this article, feel free to drop me an email.

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