iPhone 17e already seen in supply chain, says leaker

One of the questions raised by the iPhone 16e naming is whether it points to an annual update to the entry-level iPhone, with an iPhone 17e following next year. A leaker who got early wind of the the iPhone 16e name says there are already signs that this may be the case, with a codename believed to reference next year’s model … Apple’s previous entry-level phone, the iPhone SE, wasn’t updated on a fixed schedule. The original model launched in 2016, with a four-year wait for the 2nd-gen in 2020. That was followed by the 3rd-gen model two years later. Having a completely separate naming convention for the budget model meant that Apple was free to launch new models as and when it wanted, without the name growing dated. But the iPhone 16e could signal a change But that’s changed with the iPhone 16e. Right now, the name suggests a current model, sitting alongside the existing flagship line-up. But come the September launch of the iPhone 17, the name will already identify it as a previ ... Read full article.