据传闻，苹果公司可能计划将经济实惠的iPhone型号（如iPhone 16e）纳入其常规产品周期。此前，iPhone SE系列的发布时间较为不规律，但今年的iPhone 16e发布时间与之前的产品周期大致吻合。有消息称，iPhone 17e正在开发中，并已进入试生产阶段。这表明苹果可能计划每年都推出新的经济型iPhone，而不是像之前那样不定期发布。这意味着苹果可能正在探索不同的iPhone产品线，以满足消费者的需求，就像之前的iPhone mini一样。

📱 iPhone 16e的发布时间暗示着苹果可能正在将其经济型iPhone型号纳入年度产品周期。之前的iPhone SE系列发布时间并不固定，而iPhone 16e的发布时间与之前的产品周期大致吻合。

🏭 爆料称iPhone 17e正在开发中，并已进入试生产阶段。这意味着苹果至少计划连续发布iPhone“e”型号，也可能意味着该公司将继续每年发布新的经济型型号。

📉 苹果通常会保留前几代型号在市场上销售，并且价格会自然下降。因此，新的iPhone 17e并不一定意味着苹果会取消旧型号。这可能意味着苹果正在尝试不同的iPhone产品，以了解哪些产品能引起消费者的共鸣，就像iPhone mini一样。

Rumors about iPhone 17e production suggest Apple's budget-friendly iPhone might be a regular part of its product cycle moving forward.

Questions around Apple's somewhat sporadic launch of the iPhone SE were revisited this year, when it launched the iPhone 16e, the fourth generation of Apple's more affordable model, this past February. The previous three iPhone SEs launched in March 2016, 2020, and 2022 respectively, so that roughly lines up with this year's product cycle.

Here's the wrinkle: Because this year's device was called the iPhone 16e (instead of the iPhone SE 4), Apple followers are speculating on whether the "e" model will now sync up with the regular batch of iPhones released annually.

And according to a credible leaker, reported by 9To5Mac, this looks to be the case. The source shared on the Chinese social media app Weibo that the iPhone 17e is underway. "There will still be 17e next year, and it is almost in the trial production stage​​​," the source wrote (translated to English via Google Translate).

So, per the leak, Apple is working on an iPhone 17e, and it's in Foxconn's small-scale production phase, which occurs before mass production, as 9To5Mac explained. At the very least, this means Apple is planning a consecutive iPhone "e" model launch, and it could mean the company will continue to release a new budget model annually.

Typically, Apple leaves models from previous generations on the market, and their prices naturally drop. So, a new iPhone 17e doesn't necessarily mean Apple will do away with older models. It could also mean that Apple is experimenting with different iPhone offerings to see what resonates with consumers, like it did with the iPhone mini (RIP).