The iPhone 17 is still a year away, but a few rumors have surfaced about the upcoming phone. Of course, there’s nowhere near a clear picture of what Apple is planning, but the details we’ve seen raise some interesting questions about how significant the 2025 iPhone update will be.
The launch of Apple’s new iPhone line
With iPhones, it’s pretty easy to guess the release date. For more than a decade, every numbered iPhone has been unveiled in September (with the exception of the iPhone 12, which was pushed back a month due to COVID-19). In other words, it’s highly likely that the iPhone 17 will be unveiled in September 2025, with a launch about a week after that.
The iPhone 16 certainly fits into that pattern, with Apple holding an event on September 9. The four new models hit stores on September 20, according to tomsguide.com.
The price of the iPhone 17 is much harder to determine with so much time in advance. We now know that Apple hasn’t raised the prices of this year’s iPhone models, with the iPhone 16 starting at $799 and the iPhone 16 Pro Max ending the range at $1,199. For now, we’d assume these prices will remain in place for the iPhone 17, but a lot can happen until September 2025.
There is talk of an iPhone 17 Slim to replace the “Addition”which reliable leaker Ice Universe claims will arrive in 2025 alongside the other models. More on that below, but a price detail now: It’s going to be expensive, with one report suggesting it could cost more than the $1,199 Pro Max models.
The iPhone 17 Slim is rumored to be exactly what the name suggests: a new, thinner version of the iPhone. Well-connected Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman believes this is part of a plan to achieve “a new class of Apple devices that should be the thinnest and lightest products in the entire technology industry.”
The iPhone 17 Slim will reportedly have a 6.6-inch screen and could feature a redesign reminiscent of how the iPhone X shook up the iPhone lineup when it ditched the Home button and introduced the notch in 2018. That said , talk of it being aluminum rather than titanium is a little concerning given the price talk going around.
A slim phone
Ming-Chi Kuo claims that the iPhone 17 Slim will prioritize thinness above all else, to the point where the phone could only have a single main camera lens. While this seems like a very strange and disappointing downgrade, Kuo later stated that the phone could be one of the first iPhones with an Apple-made modem.
To make way for the iPhone 17 Slim, analyst Jeff Pu claims there will be no iPhone 17 Plus.
Beyond the Slim, it doesn’t look like the iPhone 17 will change much in terms of looks. According to analyst Jeff Pu, the iPhone 17 will still be a 6.1-inch device, with no plans to grow another 0.2 inches like this year’s Pro models. While Pu claims that the Dynamic Island will shrink on the iPhone 17 Pro, the regular model will remain the same.
But despite the similar look, two things could change for the better. The first is that, for the first time, the base iPhone 17 could benefit from the 120Hz ProMotion screen for smoother performance and gameplay at up to 120fps. (Additional reports of the iPhone 17’s 120Hz display support this claim.) Planned LTPO OLED panels will be able to drop to 1Hz with the always-on display, just like the Pro models.
Second, the screen itself could be a bit sturdier. According to leaker Instant Digital on Weibo, the iPhone 17 panel will be “made of a super-resistant AR (anti-reflective) coating” to make it “more scratch resistant than you think”. Maybe the days of needing a screen protector will soon be over?
Apple’s A-series chips are no slouch, offering some of the best smartphone performance available. The A18 Pro silicon that powers the iPhone 16 Pro models has proven to be a particularly strong performer, as you can see in the iPhone 16 Pro benchmarks.
And yet, the A19 chipset you imagine Apple will use in the iPhone 17 series could be a giant leap forward. It could be built on the 2nm process, which means higher transistor density for better performance and efficiency.
Higher efficiency means less power drain, which means longer battery life. In this regard, Apple would make a change with the iPhone 17 series, building its own batteries for the first time. It appears that the purpose is to provide “a significantly improved performance compared to the existing one”, which sounds extremely promising.
Notable upgrade
Analyst Jeff Pu said that the iPhone 17 could feature 8GB of RAM. However, in a report to investors, Pu said the iPhone 17 Pro models could come with 12GB of RAM, a notable upgrade over the 8GB found in current models — and likely a needed boost given Apple’s push into intelligence artificial on the device. Ming-Chi Kuo also believes that the higher-end iPhones will have 12GB of RAM.
Renowned leaker Majin Bu stated that the entire iPhone 17 could use a new adhesive to hold the batteries in place, making them easier to replace without risking damage to the devices. Apple previously used the same technology on the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus, but it seems ready to implement it on all four phones in the iPhone 17 line.
All in all, it looks like the iPhone 17 will be a serious upgrade — especially if the 120Hz ProMotion screen and 2nm SoC materialize.
The iPhone 16 phones launched in September are certainly noteworthy, if not revolutionary, upgrades, with Apple focusing on new AI features coming to the phone rather than significant hardware improvements. It looks like the iPhone 17 line could be a departure from this, should they introduce an iPhone 17 Slim into the mix.
