Don’t expect the next budget iPhone to blow your mind if this report is accurate

The iPhone 17e has just come out this month, carrying on the tradition of Apple’s large notch on its screen alongside a 60 Hz display. But even though the budget iPhone just hit shelves, Apple has reportedly already finalized the iPhone 18e, and that’s bad news for anyone who was looking forward to that phone for next year.

iPhone 18e already finalized

According to a new report (translated source), the company has already finalized the iPhone 18e. Design, specifications, any new hardware, everything has allegedly been decided on already, and the iPhone 18e is just waiting to enter mass production later in the year.

According to Apple’s new release schedule, the budget iPhone will come out early next year alongside the base model of the iPhone 18 series as well as a possible iPhone Air 2.

What this means for Apple’s budget phone

If Apple has already finalized the iPhone 18e, then that signals that the phone won’t see any major overhauls at all. Maybe the company has decided on giving it the Dynamic Island instead of a notch, or perhaps even a second camera, but don’t expect there to be anything new.

The iPhone 18 Pro and the iPhone 18 Pro Max will push boundaries later this year with under-display Face ID components, a smaller Dynamic Island, and better Apple Intelligence features. This is before we even mention the upcoming foldable iPhone, a first for the company.

On the other hand, it seems like Apple has already decided to make the iPhone 18e a very minor upgrade. Any new technologies that might make their way to the iPhone 18 series, even the base model, will likely not be seen on the 18e.

To be expected and not a bad thing, either

In complete fairness, this is a very expected move. The e-series iPhone models are budget offerings and they are never going to feature Apple’s latest technologies. It makes perfect sense that the company has already planned ahead for the minor upgrades that the iPhone 18e will feature just to be enough of an upgrade.

However, it is a bit of a bummer that Apple isn’t even considering doing something new with the iPhone 18e. I suppose we can expect it to be a marginal upgrade next year, maybe even a less impressive one than the iPhone 17e.

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