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Leaks arrive like late-night texts: urgent, intriguing, and often a little unreliable. A Geekbench entry that surfaced this week claims the iPhone 17e — Apple’s rumored budget model — is running iOS 26.1 with 10GB of RAM and posting a single-core score of 2,560 and a multi-core result of 8,553. The details are specific. The story? Less convincing.
Shared on X by leaker Abhishek Yadav, the listing identifies the device as "iPhone99,11" and lists a motherboard name that doesn’t match known Apple hardware. Those are small things. But they matter. Very much.
On paper, the numbers don’t look terrible for a mid-range Apple chip. Rumors have suggested the 17e might ship with a binned A19 variant, so modest Geekbench results could line up with a toned-down silicon. A jump from 8GB to 10GB of RAM would be welcome. It would also be noteworthy, given Apple’s conservative approach to memory changes in past budget models.
Then come the anomalies. The reported base clock of 3.76 GHz is lower than you’d expect from Apple’s next-generation cores. The device identifier breaks Apple’s usual naming patterns. And the motherboard string reads like a ghost — not matching parts we’ve seen in recent regulatory filings or teardown leaks. Together, those inconsistencies point to two likely possibilities: a spoofed benchmark or a different engineering prototype mistakenly linked to the 17e.
Can Geekbench be faked? Yes. Synthetic benchmarks are easy to manipulate with modified system files or patched binaries, and engineering units sometimes run debug firmware that skews identifiers and performance numbers. That doesn’t mean every odd listing is fraudulent, but it does mean you should treat single-source synthetic scores with skepticism.
If the 10GB claim turned out to be real, what would change? Multitasking would improve, large-photo editing and heavy browser sessions would feel snappier, and Apple could advertise a tangible spec bump for its budget line. But those benefits come at a cost: higher memory pressure on the supply chain and a potential price shuffle that Apple may not want for an entry-tier device.
For now, this is a tease rather than confirmation. Watch for matching listings, regulatory mentions, or credible teardown photos before adjusting expectations. Until then, keep the faith — and the healthy dose of skepticism that every good reader brings to a leak.
Source: gizmochina
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