iPhone 17 Rumors, From a Slim ‘Air’ Model to a 25% Tariff Threat

We’re nonetheless months away from Apple’s anticipated reveal of the latest iPhone, which we anticipate to occur within the firm’s typical September window for launching the following version of its well-liked line of smartphones. Within the meantime, loads of rumors are swirling about what the upcoming machine, possible referred to as the iPhone 17, might seem like. 

From a redesigned digicam module to a slimmer “Air” model of the iPhone 17, there’s been a lot of buzz about what Apple’s subsequent lineup will convey. We’d even see a recent blue shade possibility for the Professional fashions. 

However the greatest information might be that iPhones get pricier because of tariffs. President Donald Trump threatened that Apple telephones made exterior the US can be subject to a 25% tariff, which might tack $200 or extra on to the costs of the iPhone 17 sequence if all that additional price was handed alongside to the buyer. We’ll have to attend and see how Apple and CEO Tim Prepare dinner reply to this proclamation.

And the rumors aren’t nearly exterior appearances; reviews counsel Apple will overhaul the feel and appear of its software program with the launch of iOS 19 as properly. There are additionally rumors about elevated RAM throughout all 4 anticipated gadgets.

This is what analysts and leakers predict in regards to the iPhone 17 lineup. 

A slimmer iPhone 17 ‘Air’ 

One of many greatest rumors surrounds a attainable iPhone “Air,” a thinner model of Apple’s flagship machine that might substitute the iPhone Plus possibility. 

The Air might function a 6.6-inch display screen, making it barely smaller than the iPhone 16 Plus and iPhone 16 Pro Max however nonetheless greater than the baseline mannequin, in response to analysts Jeff Pu and Ming-Chi Kuo. A Bloomberg report from March helps these rumors, and notes that the iPhone Air might measure 5.5mm thick. The report additionally suggests the cellphone will price round $900, placing it on par with the iPhone 16 Plus and sustaining its place within the iPhone hierarchy. 

For Apple to slim down a tool, it might have to make {hardware} trade-offs, and which may embody the phone’s camera. In line with each Kuo and Bloomberg, it is attainable this model of the iPhone 17 would have just one foremost digicam, doing with out the ultrawide and 5x telephoto lenses which have been staples of Apple’s premium iPhones for years. This could place the slim iPhone in the identical camp because the $600 iPhone 16E on the subject of cameras, as that phone has just one rear lens. The excellent news, although, is that the selfie digicam on the iPhone Air might get a lift; extra on that later. 

Watch this: iPhone 17 Rumors: What Analysts Say Apple Is Doing Subsequent

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One key problem will likely be sustaining a excessive battery capability, since a slimmer construct sometimes means much less area for the battery and thus a possible compromise on battery life. Bloomberg suggests Apple is targeted on tackling that shortcoming. The report additionally notes that the iPhone 17 Air is anticipated to have superslim bezels, a Camera Control button and the Dynamic Island.

The cellphone will possible function an A18 or A19-branded chip, Pu suggests. This could reportedly match the chip within the baseline iPhone 17. It might additionally embody the Apple-developed 5G modem, referred to as the C1 chip, which debuted on the iPhone 16E.

A better refresh price throughout the board

Rumor has all of it fashions of the iPhone 17 will function a 120Hz show, bumping the non-Professional fashions up from their present 60Hz refresh rate. That might be a welcome change, because the discrepancy between the Professional and non-Professional refresh price 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 might treatment that — and probably convey the always-on display to the baseline mannequin. 

What we possible will not see is a brand new anti-reflective display that Apple was reportedly engaged on, in response to MacRumors. A supply reportedly instructed the publication that Apple scrapped plans for a extra scratch-resistant show coating which might have appeared on the iPhone 17 Professional and Professional Max. This could have made them the primary iPhones with an anti-reflective display screen, giving them a function that CNET’s Patrick Holland deemed one of many best attributes of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. In line with MacRumors, “Apple bumped into issues scaling up the show coating course of, and it’s at the moment not a deliberate function for the ‌iPhone 17 Professional‌ fashions.”

Digital camera upgrades 

It is not an iPhone launch with no digicam improve, and there have been loads of rumors about what the digicam module might seem like on Apple’s upcoming telephones. In January, a leaked image from Majin Bu on X advised the cellphone might function a pill-shaped camera bar, primarily resembling what you’d discover on Google’s Pixel 9 cellphone. In February, Bu adopted up with CAD renders of what is mentioned to be the iPhone 17 lineup, that includes horizontal digicam bars, in addition to bigger rectangular bars on the iPhone 17 Professional fashions. 

Entrance Web page Tech additionally shared iPhone 17 Pro 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 just like the 16 Professional. It is the again digicam that may look meaningfully totally different.” The newest rumors counsel the iPhone 17 Professional’s three-lens digicam association will likely 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, exhibiting these wider digicam bars with the stacked lenses nonetheless configured to the left. 

Not till subsequent 12 months, for the twentieth anniversary of the iPhone, will Apple be “preparing a major shake-up” for the cellphone’s design, Bloomberg says. That features a (long-rumored) foldable version and a “daring new Professional mannequin that makes extra intensive use of glass.”

One other camera-related rumor is that the selfie digicam on all iPhone 17 fashions, together with the Air, will likely be upgraded to 24 megapixels, in response to Pu. That is a good bump from the present 12-megapixel front-facing digicam on the iPhone 16 lineup, although it is vital to keep in mind that extra megapixels do not mechanically imply higher images. Nonetheless, given how a lot individuals more and more depend on their entrance cameras to snap selfies and document movies for TikTok and Instagram, this can absolutely be a welcome development.

A sky blue iPhone 17 Professional

It is not clear what colours will likely be included within the iPhone 17’s lineup. However in April, Bu mentioned the iPhone 17 Professional and Professional Max might embody a sky blue possibility. In an article, Bu wrote that “sources near the availability chain affirm that a number of iPhone 17 Professional prototypes have been made in varied colours, with Sky Blue at the moment the frontrunner.” 

Bu describes the sky blue shade as being “much more beautiful than the much-loved Sierra Blue of the iPhone 13 Professional, with a brightness and refinement that make it irresistible.” (My colleague Jeff Carlson isn’t so thrilled about this rumor.)

iOS 19 might convey a recent look

Relating to what’s on the within, Apple is reportedly seeking to revamp its mobile operating system with the discharge of iOS 19. In line with Bloomberg, this “consists of updating the fashion of icons, menus, apps, home windows and system buttons.” Sources reportedly instructed the publication that Apple is “working to simplify the way in which customers navigate and management their gadgets,” and that the design borrows from the Vision Pro‘s working system. As an illustration, VisionOS options extra round app icons and translucent navigation panels. It is attainable what you may see in your future iPhone might extra carefully mirror this aesthetic.

The software program revamp would reportedly lengthen to iPad and Mac, subsequently bringing consistency throughout Apple’s gadgets. Bloomberg notes this could be the largest software program shakeup since macOS Huge Sur’s launch in 2020 and iOS 7’s launch in 2013.

Different attainable options

The rumors on what frames the iPhone 17 lineup will function have gone backwards and forwards, however Pu lately advised the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Professional and iPhone 17 Professional Max will all have aluminum frames. He famous that the iPhone 17 Air might be the outlier with a titanium body. 

Moreover, the iPhone 17 Professional Max might have a narrower Dynamic Island, because of a smaller Face ID sensor. Pu has mentioned the Dynamic Island on different iPhone 17 fashions would reportedly keep the identical measurement. 

In February, Kuo famous Apple will swap out Broadcom’s Wi-Fi chips for in-house chips throughout the iPhone 17 lineup, stating this could “improve connectivity throughout Apple gadgets.” It is not but clear what precisely this could imply, however it might be attention-grabbing if Apple’s C1 chip have been accompanied by its personal Wi-Fi chip, too.

In April, tipster Digital Chat Station famous that given the usage of Apple Intelligence and AI on a “giant scale,” all of the telephones will include 12GB of RAM. Digital Trends notes this aligns with earlier ideas from Kuo, which supplies the rumor some added weight. The iPhone 16 lineup tops out at 8GB of RAM, so this could be a notable leap. 

We’ll proceed to replace this piece as extra rumors floor, so you should definitely observe alongside.