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Apple may hit us with an early surprise - The iPhone 17e

Fast Company Contributor|Published

Apple is set to surprise with the release of the iPhone 17e on February 19, featuring MagSafe, an A19 chip, and enhanced connectivity with the N1 chip, alongside the iPad 12 and iPad Air, marking the first of three major product events from February to April. Picture: HECTOR RETAMAL / AFP

Image: HECTOR RETAMAL / AFP

While Apple was expected to release its new 14” and 16” MacBook Pros at the end of last month and did not, it’s now been reported that a number of new products are coming in the next few months.

The first big release is the iPhone 17e coming on February 19, the new budget smartphone from the tech giant, according to tech Managing Editor at Bloomberg Mark Gurman.

It will be the biggest release of a new Apple product in the first of three events stretching from February to March.

The 17e will be a significant upgrade to the 16e (which I personally regret buying on contract), as it introduces MagSafe to allow wireless charging like the rest of the iPhone range features.

iPhone 17 Series to Feature A19 Chip and Enhanced Connectivity with N1 Chip

The processor will also get a spec bump to the A19 chip as well as improved connectivity through Apple’s N1 chip.

The rest of the new iPhone range was released in September last year, with the 17, 17 Pro, 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air unveiled.

At the time it was believed that the budget successor to the 16e had been scrapped.

Also coming at the February 19 event will be the iPad 12 and iPad Air.

Apple Product Release Predictions: New Macs and iPhone 17e

If you’ve been following tech YouTube long enough, you know when to expect new Apple products, and that was the case for most of January.

We were told by those in the know that we would get new Macs—the new 14” and 16” Pro models—between January 26 and 28.

What led us to believe these dates were correct?

Firstly, Apple Creator Studio, the new subscription service for a number of pro apps including Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, and Motion, was released on January 28. It was therefore expected to coincide with the new laptops.

However, it’s now believed that Apple did not want to overshadow the release of Apple Creator Studio subscriptions service with new hardware at the same time.

The last few years, Apple has released its 14” and 16” MacBook Pros within a day or two of January 27, so it made sense it would follow the same schedule again.

Hopefully, by the end of next week we will indeed have the new iPhone 17e.

FAST COMPANY (SA)