Apple’s cheapest 2027 iPhone is starting to look a lot less cheap, at least on paper. A leaked diagram circulating on Weibo suggests the iPhone 18e will share the same 6.3-inch display and the same 4,430mAh battery as the standard iPhone 18, a big step up from the iPhone 17e it replaces. If the leak is right, the gap between Apple’s budget iPhone and its mainstream model is about to get much narrower, with one familiar exception.
The diagram comes from Weibo leaker Fixed Focus Digital, who shared an annotated side-by-side drawing of the two phones’ internals, labeled with the codenames “Taycan” for the iPhone 18 and “Nevera” for the iPhone 18e. The leaker said the drawing was already circulating online and broadly matched what their own sources had told them, singling out the shared battery as an example of parts the two phones will have in common.
What the leak says: a bigger screen and a bigger battery
The headline numbers are straightforward. Both phones are listed with a 6.3-inch display and a 4,430mAh battery. For the iPhone 18e, that would mean a screen growing from 6.1 inches on the iPhone 17e, and a battery growing from 4,005mAh, an increase of about 11 percent. The standard iPhone 18 would get the same 4,430mAh cell, a larger jump over its predecessor.
The rest of the leaked spec sheet fills in the picture. Digital Chat Station, another Weibo leaker with a long track record on Apple hardware, expects the 18e to run Apple’s next-generation A20 chip built on a 2nm process, up from the 3nm A19 in the 17e. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has separately said both spring 2027 iPhones will carry 9GB of RAM, up from 8GB. The 18e is also tipped to keep a single 48-megapixel rear camera, possibly with an upgraded 24-megapixel front camera.
| iPhone 17e (current) | iPhone 18e (leaked) | iPhone 18 (leaked) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Display | 6.1-inch OLED, 60Hz | 6.3-inch or 6.12-inch, 60Hz | 6.3-inch, up to 120Hz |
| Battery | 4,005mAh | 4,430mAh | 4,430mAh |
| Chip | A19 (3nm) | A20 (2nm) | A20 (2nm) |
| RAM | 8GB | 9GB | 9GB |
| Rear camera | Single 48MP | Single 48MP | 48MP main |
| Launch | Early 2026 | Spring 2027 | Spring 2027 |
The leakers disagree on the screen size
Not every detail lines up. Digital Chat Station has previously said the 18e will keep a 6.12-inch OLED panel, not the full 6.3 inches in the Fixed Focus Digital diagram. The two sources agree on the number that shapes how the phone feels day to day, though: 60Hz. Both say the 18e keeps a standard 60Hz LTPS display with no ProMotion, while the standard iPhone 18 steps up to 120Hz.
That refresh rate is the dividing line Apple seems determined to keep. The 18e may borrow the 18’s screen size, battery, chip, and memory, but the smoothness of scrolling and animations stays reserved for the more expensive model. It is the same playbook Apple has used before: share the expensive parts that are hard to see, keep the visible difference for the upsell.
Spring 2027, alongside the iPhone 18 and iPhone Air 2
Both phones are expected to launch in spring 2027, possibly in April, alongside the second-generation iPhone Air, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. That would repeat the split launch pattern Apple used this year, with the Pro models and the Duo arriving in the fall and the standard and budget models following in the spring.
The timing matters for anyone shopping now. The standard iPhone 18 is already tipped to get a 120Hz display, the A20 chip, and a bigger battery, and our iPhone 17 Pro vs iPhone 18 Pro comparison found only a $100 gap between the two Pro models. If the 18e really does arrive with the same chip, memory, screen size, and battery as the standard 18, the decision for spring buyers gets simpler and harder at the same time: the budget phone covers the basics, and the extra money buys a smoother screen and a better camera system.
What this means if you are waiting for the 18e
First, the usual warning: this is a leaked diagram, not an Apple announcement, and the two most reliable leakers already disagree on the screen size. Treat the 6.3-inch figure as plausible rather than confirmed, and the 4,430mAh battery as the more solid claim, since both the diagram and earlier reporting point the same way.
Second, the battery upgrade is the real story. An 11 percent larger battery plus a more efficient 2nm chip should mean noticeably better battery life than the 17e, which was already the longest-lasting budget iPhone Apple had made. For a phone bought on value, that is the upgrade that matters most.
Third, do not expect a price. Apple has said nothing about the 18e, and no leak has put a number on it yet. The 17e set the entry point for the current lineup, and the 18e will likely sit in the same part of the range, but the extra screen and battery could push it up. If you need a phone before spring, the 17e remains the budget pick. If you can wait, the 18e is shaping up to be the first budget iPhone that does not feel like a compromise on the fundamentals, only on the refresh rate.
Sources: MacRumors, Digital Chat Station, Fixed Focus Digital via Weibo, Ming-Chi Kuo, Bloomberg. Apple has not confirmed any iPhone 18e specifications.
