Apple’s iPhone 17e is set to drop the outdated notch for a sleek Dynamic Island, and get an A19 chip, but don’t expect it to arrive before spring 2026.
Leaker “Digital Chat Station” shared in a post on the Chinese social network Weibo some hardware upgrades that are apparently slated for the iPhone 17e coming next spring, and they include a more modern display appearance because the old notch (cutout at the top edge the screen) begin replaced with the Dynamic Island, which combines a pill-shaped cutout for Face ID components near the top of the screen along with a circular hole for the selfie camera.
The Dynamic Island is also more functional than the notch thanks to Apple’s software magic that morphs the perceived shape and size of the Dynamic Island area to dynamically display controls for compatible apps, notifications, system alerts and real-time information via the Live Activities feature.
Rumor: iPhone 17e to get Dynamic Island, Apple A19 chip
Other claimed upgrades coming to the iPhone 16e, according to “Digital Chat Station,” include Apple’s upcoming A19 chip (the A19 Pro will power the upcoming iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max models).
In comparison, the iPhone 16e runs a binned version of the Apple A18 chip (six CPU cores, five GPU cores) from the standard iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus models that has one GPU core disabled. The leaker wouldn’t say whether the A19 powering the iPhone 17e will also be a binned variant.
The phone should also bring a significant design change, but the leaker didn’t say what that might entail. In our view, this likely refers to minor changes stemming from replacing the notch with the Dynamic Island.
Similar to the current iPhone 16e, which launched in February 2025, Apple is rumored to release the iPhone 17e by the spring of 2026, a few months after the iPhone 17, ultra-thin iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max launch sometime next month. The iPhone 17e apparently won’t get better cameras, so you’ll have to do with the same 12MP selfie shooter out the front and a 48MP camera out the back as the iPhone 16e.
Unfortunately, none of the rumors about the iPhone 17e mentions MagSafe, the beloved wireless charging feature that’s also great for attaching accessories such as wallets, charging stands and such which magnetically alight and attach securely, as well as software features like StandBy, which turns an iPhone into a smart display when it’s charging in landscape orientation.