Rumors are swirling about the iPhone 17e, Apple’s next budget play expected to launch around February 2026 with a $600 price tag. If the leaks hold up, we’re looking at a phone that completes Apple’s 17-series line-up with a budget option.. But there’s a catch that’s got me genuinely annoyed: the notch is apparently sticking around. Yes, that notch. The one Apple itself moved past three years ago with the Dynamic Island on the iPhone 14 Pro. In 2026. At six hundred dollars. Let’s talk about why that’s a problem.
According to the specs floating around, the 17e brings a 6.1-inch display with Ceramic Shield and a 60Hz refresh rate. Under the hood, there’s supposedly an A19 chip with 8GB of RAM and storage options hitting 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB. Camera setup looks like a single 48MP rear shooter and a 12MP front camera. You’re getting a 4050mAh battery with 10W wireless charging, aluminum frame, glass back, and iOS 26 out of the box. On paper, it sounds competent enough. But competent at $600 in 2026 while keeping a design element from 2017 feels like Apple phoning it in.
Here’s what bothers me about the notch situation. Apple spent years telling us it was necessary for Face ID, then engineered around it with Dynamic Island and basically admitted it was always a compromise they could solve. Fine. But if Dynamic Island has been standard on flagships since 2022, why can’t it trickle down to a $600 device launching four years later? This feels less like technical constraints and more like artificial product segmentation. Apple’s drawing a clear line: premium buyers get modern design, budget buyers get the leftovers. The notch becomes this physical reminder every time you unlock the phone that you bought the cheap one.
The 60Hz display compounds the frustration. Smooth scrolling isn’t some niche feature anymore. It’s standard across the price range in 2026. Every swipe, every scroll, you’re getting a worse experience than competitors have offered at this price for years. Apple will probably argue most users won’t notice, but that falls apart the moment someone hands you a 120Hz phone. You can’t unsee smoothness. Pairing a 60Hz screen with a notch creates this weird time capsule where the phone feels designed for a different era.
That single 48MP camera could be solid for everyday shots, but without telephoto, ultrawide, or optical zoom, it’s bare bones. The 16e reportedly got criticism for underwhelming value, and if these rumors are accurate, Apple’s response was keeping virtually the same setup with a processor bump. Not exactly addressing the complaints head-on. The A19 chip will likely outperform competitors at this price, and iOS 26 will get updates for years. There’s real value in longevity and ecosystem integration. But that value gets harder to sell when the phone looks dated out of the box.
The target market seems to be students, first-time iPhone buyers, or people wanting a backup device. Real users with real budgets. At $600, they deserve better than yesterday’s design language with updated internals. If these leaks pan out, Apple’s betting that iOS exclusivity and brand cachet will override practical concerns about outdated hardware. They’re probably right, which stings. This phone will likely sell because it’s the cheapest entry into the ecosystem, not because it’s exceptional value for money. The notch represents that calculation, a black rectangle symbolizing the gap between what Apple could deliver at $600 and what they’re apparently choosing to deliver. February 2026 will tell us if customers accept that gap or push back.
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