Apple's cheapest iPhone is apparently sticking with a screen refresh rate that most of the Android world moved past years ago.
Long-time leaker Digital Chat Station posted what's claimed to be the iPhone 18e's spec sheet on Weibo, and the headline detail is a 6.12-inch LTPS OLED panel that still runs at 60Hz. That's the same refresh rate as the iPhone 17e, which launched in March, and the same rate Apple has used on every budget iPhone going back years. Sub-$200 Android phones have shipped with 90Hz or 120Hz screens since the early 2020s, so a 60Hz panel on a phone that typically starts well north of $500 looks like a deliberate line Apple refuses to cross on this model.
The camera setup is reportedly just as conservative on paper. The leak points to a single 48MP rear sensor, with no detail yet on whether it gets any hardware changes over the 17e's camera. Rivals at this price tier, including Google's Pixel A-series and Samsung's Galaxy A-series, have offered ultrawide lenses for several generations, and companies like Nothing and Xiaomi now pack triple rear camera arrays with telephoto lenses into mid-range phones. A single-camera iPhone in that company would stand out, and not in a good way.
There is an upgrade worth noting on the front of the phone. The selfie camera is tipped to jump to 24MP, double the 12MP sensor on the iPhone 17e. It's not clear whether Apple will extend the landscape-orientation selfie trick from its flagship lineup down to this camera, which lets a phone capture a wider shot without the user physically rotating it.
Power should be where the iPhone 18e actually pulls ahead. The leak ties the phone to Apple's A20 chipset, a jump that would keep it running comfortably for years after release given how far the A-series tends to outlast its Android rivals on long-term software support and performance. That follows earlier reporting suggesting the phone could carry 9GB of RAM, up from what's on the current model.
Digital Chat Station's post doesn't give a firm release date, only that the phone is expected to arrive next year. Apple's recent pattern offers a guide: the iPhone 16e launched in February, and the iPhone 17e followed in March. A similar Q1 window for the 18e looks like the safest bet right now, though none of this is official until Apple says so itself.
For now, treat every number here as a leak and not a spec sheet. Apple hasn't confirmed a name, a date or a single feature, and the usual string of leaks, case renders and supply-chain chatter will likely fill in the gaps before any announcement.
MDFiled by The Mobile Desk
Phones from leak to launch to price cut: what was announced, what it costs where, and when it goes on sale. Indian launches and prices included, not appended.
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