iPhone 18e specs leak, and Android phones still have the upper hand with this key feature

The iPhone 17e launched earlier this year, and colleague Aamir Siddiqui praised the device at the time. However, he lamented Apple’s decision to stick with a 60Hz screen, much like previous budget iPhones. Now, a new leak has revealed apparent iPhone 18e specs, and there’s bad news if you were hoping for a 120Hz display.

Long-time leaker Digital Chat Station has posted purported iPhone 18e specs on Weibo, and it’s tipped to have a 6.12-inch 60Hz LTPS OLED screen. This would be broadly in line with the iPhone 17e display.

This would be very disappointing news if confirmed, as even sub-$200 Android phones have offered 90Hz or 120Hz screens since the early 2020s. So Apple’s apparent decision to withhold a high-refresh-rate panel looks increasingly miserly. Imagine if the Pixel 10a or Galaxy A57 launched with 60Hz screens?

The leak also points to a single 48MP rear camera, although it’s unclear whether this will have any hardware upgrades over the iPhone 17e. Either way, this would be another lamentable choice in 2027. Rivals like Google and Samsung have long offered decent ultrawide cameras on their mid-range phones, enabling wider shots or ultra-stabilized video capture. Brands like Nothing and Xiaomi have gone a step further by offering flexible triple rear cameras, including telephoto cameras, on their mid-tier phones.

Thankfully, it looks like the iPhone 18e could get a couple of notable upgrades. For one, the selfie camera could be a 24MP shooter, up from the previous phone’s 12MP sensor. There’s no word if this selfie camera will follow in the footsteps of flagship iPhones by letting you take photos in portrait or landscape orientation without rotating the phone accordingly.

Finally, the iPhone 18e is tipped to arrive with an Apple A20 chipset. This would result in an extremely powerful mid-range phone that theoretically stays speedy for years. This claim also comes after we heard that the iPhone 18e could get 9GB of RAM.

Otherwise, Digital Chat Station says the phone is expected to launch next year. There’s no word on a release window, but the iPhone 16e launched in February and the iPhone 17e launched in March. So a Q1 release seems likely.