We’re nonetheless months away from Apple’s anticipated reveal of the most recent iPhone, which we anticipate will occur within the fall. Within the meantime, loads of rumors are swirling about what the upcoming system, doubtless known as the iPhone 17, may appear like, from a redesigned digicam module to a slimmer “Air” model of the handset.
We would even see a contemporary blue colour possibility for the Professional fashions, and there are rumors about elevated RAM on a minimum of a number of the upcoming iPhones. Studies additionally counsel Apple will overhaul the appear and feel of its software program with the launch of its subsequent model of iOS.
Maybe the most important information is that iPhones may get pricier, because of tariffs. President Donald Trump has stated Apple should pay a 25% tariff on iPhones made exterior the US. This might virtually definitely result in a value hike for customers. We’ll have to attend and see how Apple responds, and if customers actually do find yourself shouldering that further value.
Here is what analysts and leakers predict concerning the iPhone 17 lineup.
A slimmer iPhone 17 ‘Air’
One of many hottest rumors surrounds a potential iPhone “Air,” a thinner model of Apple’s flagship system that will change the iPhone Plus possibility.
The Air may characteristic a 6.6-inch display, making it barely smaller than the iPhone 16 Plus and iPhone 16 Professional Max however nonetheless larger than the baseline mannequin, in line with analysts Jeff Pu and Ming-Chi Kuo. A Bloomberg report from March helps these rumors, and notes that the iPhone Air may measure 5.5mm thick. The report additionally suggests the cellphone will value round $900, placing it on par with the iPhone 16 Plus and sustaining its place within the iPhone hierarchy. Nevertheless it’s not clear if tariffs will have an effect on that value.
See additionally: Considering About Shopping for a New iPhone? Here is Why You Ought to Wait
For Apple to slim down a tool, it might have to make {hardware} trade-offs, and that may embody the cellphone’s digicam. In line with each Kuo and Bloomberg, it is potential this model of the iPhone 17 would have just one major digicam, doing with out the ultrawide and 5x telephoto lenses which were staples of Apple’s premium iPhones for years. This might place the slim iPhone in the identical camp because the $600 iPhone 16E in the case of cameras, as that cellphone has just one rear lens. The excellent news, although, is that the selfie digicam on the iPhone Air may get a lift; extra on that later.
Watch this: iPhone 17 Rumors: What Analysts Say Apple Is Doing Subsequent
One key problem might be sustaining a excessive battery capability, since a slimmer construct sometimes means much less house for the battery and thus a possible compromise on battery life — as is the case with the thin Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge. A Could report from AppleInsider suggests the thinner iPhone may use a silicon-anode battery to assist prolong battery life.
Together with tackling battery shortcomings, Bloomberg suggests Apple will pack the iPhone 17 Air with superslim bezels, a Digicam Management button and the Dynamic Island.
In Could, Pu famous the iPhone 17 Air will characteristic an A19 chip, whereas the baseline mannequin would have the identical A18 chip used within the iPhone 16. The Air may additionally embody the Apple-developed 5G modem, known as the C1 chip, which debuted on the iPhone 16E.
The next refresh charge throughout the board
Rumor has it that every one fashions of the iPhone 17 will characteristic a 120Hz show, bumping the non-Professional fashions up from their present 60Hz refresh charge. That could possibly be a welcome change, because the discrepancy between the Professional and non-Professional refresh charge is shocking; when Apple debuted the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus with a 60Hz show, there was a little bit of an outcry from people who anticipated extra in 2024. This rumored replace may treatment that — and probably convey the always-on show to the baseline mannequin.
What we doubtless will not see is a brand new anti-reflective show that Apple was reportedly engaged on, in line with MacRumors. A supply reportedly informed the publication that Apple scrapped plans for a extra scratch-resistant show coating that would have appeared on the iPhone 17 Professional and Professional Max. This might have made them the primary iPhones with an anti-reflective display, giving them a characteristic that CNET’s Patrick Holland deemed one of many greatest attributes of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Extremely. In line with MacRumors, “Apple bumped into issues scaling up the show coating course of, and it’s at the moment not a deliberate characteristic for the iPhone 17 Professional fashions.”
Digicam upgrades
It isn’t an iPhone launch with no digicam improve, and there have been loads of rumors about what the digicam module may appear like on Apple’s upcoming telephones. In January, a leaked picture from Majin Bu on X prompt the cellphone may characteristic a pill-shaped digicam bar, primarily resembling what you’d discover on Google’s Pixel 9 cellphone. In February, Bu adopted up with CAD renders of what is stated to be the iPhone 17 lineup, that includes horizontal digicam bars, in addition to bigger rectangular bars on the iPhone 17 Professional fashions.
iPhone 17 Lineup CAD pic.twitter.com/xednTkpJnq
— Majin Bu (@MajinBuOfficial) February 23, 2025
Entrance Web page Tech additionally shared iPhone 17 Professional renders in a video in February, depicting a bigger digicam bar that maintains the lens’ stacked structure. A separate video on the iPhone 17 Air reveals a smaller digicam bar, with one lens on the left.
In April, Bloomberg reported the “iPhone 17 Professional will look much more just like the 16 Professional than anticipated,” including, “From the entrance, the 17 Professional will seem fairly much like the 16 Professional. It is the again digicam that can look meaningfully completely different.” The most recent rumors counsel the iPhone 17 Professional’s three-lens digicam association might be maintained, however will sit on a brand new panel that stretches throughout the cellphone’s width.
Later in April, Bu once more posted a picture of the purported iPhone 17 lineup, displaying these wider digicam bars with the stacked lenses nonetheless configured to the left.
iPhone 17 Lineup pic.twitter.com/oUEEH9bJn5
— Majin Bu (@MajinBuOfficial) April 22, 2025
Not till subsequent 12 months, for the twentieth anniversary of the iPhone, will Apple be “making ready a serious shake-up” for the cellphone’s design, Bloomberg says. That features a (long-rumored) foldable model and a “daring new Professional mannequin that makes extra in depth use of glass.”
One other camera-related rumor is that the selfie digicam on all iPhone 17 fashions, together with the Air, might be upgraded to 24 megapixels, in line with Pu. That is a good bump from the present 12-megapixel front-facing digicam on the iPhone 16 lineup, although it is vital to do not forget that extra megapixels do not robotically imply higher pictures. Nonetheless, given how a lot folks more and more depend on their entrance cameras to snap selfies and document movies for TikTok and Instagram, this may certainly be a welcome development.
A sky blue iPhone 17 Professional
It isn’t clear what colours might be included within the iPhone 17’s lineup. However in April, Bu stated the iPhone 17 Professional and Professional Max may embody a sky blue possibility. In an article, Bu wrote that “sources near the availability chain verify that a number of iPhone 17 Professional prototypes have been made in varied colours, with Sky Blue at the moment the frontrunner.”
The New iPhone 17 Professional Potential Colour
Full Article:https://t.co/IKBZ8tmRou— Majin Bu (@MajinBuOfficial) April 21, 2025
Bu describes the sky blue colour as being “much more gorgeous than the much-loved Sierra Blue of the iPhone 13 Professional, with a brightness and refinement that make it irresistible.” (My colleague Jeff Carlson is not so thrilled about this rumor.)
iOS 26 (not 19) may convey a contemporary look
Concerning what’s on the within, Apple is reportedly trying to revamp its cellular working system — beginning with the way it’s named. The follow-up to iOS 18 might be known as iOS 26, in line with Bloomberg, based mostly on the final two digits of the upcoming 12 months. iPadOS, MacOS, WatchOS, TVOS and VisionOS will all reportedly observe this identical mannequin, creating extra uniformity throughout the working techniques.
The looks of iOS 26 and Apple’s different working techniques can even reportedly get a refresh. In line with Bloomberg, this “contains updating the type of icons, menus, apps, home windows and system buttons.” Sources reportedly informed the publication that Apple is “working to simplify the best way customers navigate and management their units,” and that the design borrows from the Imaginative and prescient Professional‘s working system. As an example, VisionOS options extra round app icons and translucent navigation panels. It is potential that what you will see in your future iPhone may extra intently mirror this aesthetic.
The software program overhaul would additionally convey consistency throughout Apple’s units. Bloomberg notes this is able to be the most important software program shakeup since macOS Massive Sur’s launch in 2020 and iOS 7’s launch in 2013.
Different potential options
Rumors on what frames the iPhone 17 lineup will characteristic have gone backwards and forwards. In February, Pu prompt the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Professional and iPhone 17 Professional Max will all have aluminum frames. He famous that the iPhone 17 Air could possibly be the outlier with a titanium body.
There have additionally been contradictory reviews on whether or not the Dynamic Island on the iPhone 17 lineup will look any completely different. In Could, Pu stated all iPhone 17 fashions will use a brand new metalens know-how for the proximity sensor, which may enable Apple to cut back the scale of the Face ID sensor and the Dynamic Island, in line with 9to5Mac. Kuo, alternatively, stated in January that the Dynamic Island would stay “largely unchanged” within the iPhone 17 lineup in comparison with the iPhone 16. We’ll must see what finally ends up being true.
In February, Kuo famous Apple will swap out Broadcom’s Wi-Fi chips for in-house chips throughout the iPhone 17 lineup, stating this is able to “improve connectivity throughout Apple units.” It isn’t but clear what precisely this is able to imply, however it might be fascinating if Apple’s C1 chip have been additionally accompanied by its personal Wi-Fi chip.
In April, tipster Digital Chat Station famous that given the usage of Apple Intelligence and AI on a “giant scale,” the iPhone 17 lineup will include 12GB of RAM, as a substitute of the present 8GB. Kuo famous the iPhone 17 Air and Professional fashions would sport that elevated 12GB of RAM, however that Apple was nonetheless deciding whether or not to equip the baseline mannequin with 8GB or 12GB of RAM. In Could, Pu famous the baseline would stay at 8GB.
We’ll proceed to replace this piece as extra rumors floor, so be sure you observe alongside.
