Andrew O'Hara
We're halfway to the launch of the iPhone 17 lineup. Here are the most compelling rumors so far that may push you to upgrade.
September is iPhone season. This year, rumors say we'll see iPhone 17, iPhone 17 "Air," iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max.
Rumors have been swirling fast this year about the upcoming models. With many pro-level features trickling down and redesigns in the works, it's going to be an interesting cycle.
Of everything we've heard, these are the rumors that been most compelling.
ProMotion for all
This new change may finally put an end to the constant feedback Apple faces every year. The base model phones will no longer be capped at 60Hz.
Apple will be bringing ProMotion to all iPhone 17 models with the ability to adjust the refresh rate on the fly, up to 120Hz.
The comments come every time we talk about or review base models. Many are indignant that a phone would ship with 60Hz in modern times.
We've long maintained your average user does not care about this. They don't know their refresh rate, let alone get fired up at how low it is.
We still stand by that sentiment.
But what this does, is allow those who do care about this to get on a more affordable device. And that's certainly a win.
48MP telephoto
Apple is finally getting around to upgrading that third camera on iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max. Completing the trio of shooters.
The new pro-level phones will have three 48MP camerasAll three rear-facing cameras will be 48MP. Right now, only the ultra wide and wide lenses are 48MP while the tele lens is 12MP.
This means not only will we get higher resolution zoom shots, but we could get more digital zoom at the same time. You'll be able to crop in and still have a usable image.
It's not going to be 100X zoom that are on some Android devices, but this will be more practical and increase the look of all telephoto shots.
All-new Air model
One of the biggest ways Apple will spur upgrades is with a whole new device. Speculatively named the iPhone 17 "Air" or iPhone 17 "Slim."
This phone will replace the existing Plus model, as it's the lowest performing model of the lineup with reportedly only 8% of iPhone 16 sales.
A mockup of the iPhone 17 AirApple will hope to woo customers with a more affordable price point than the Pro duo in a new super-slim design.
Recently, Samsung revealed its prototype Galaxy S25 Edge. While not official, it seems to be roughly 5.8mm thick.
The iPhone 16 Pro (left) and the rumored thickness of the iPhone 17 Air (right)There's been plenty of speculation on how thick the iPhone 17 Air will be, but the latest say Apple may be targeting a thickness of 5.5mm.
Comparably, the iPhone 16 Pro is 8.25mm. 5.5mm would shave off more than a third of this.
Before everyone assumes "Bendgate 2.0" is coming, Apple tests these things. It knows what people are saying and will be amply prepared.
Sure, it will be guaranteed to bend with enough force, but the new design and middle-of-the-road price tag will probably make it incredibly popular.
Upgraded cooling system
Before you skip past the new cooling system, hear us out. It's much more important than its boring name implies.
It's no secret that iPhones get very warm, which impacts everything from performance to battery life. Apple finally got serious about this with the iPhone 16 lineup, which does stay cooler than previous models.
But the iPhone 17 will go even further with a vapor cooling chamber. These are liquid-filled blocks inside the device that replace a traditional heatsink
How vapor cooling chambers work. Source: Celsia Inc.When heated, the liquid evaporates and moves around the chamber as vapor, spreading the heat around. That vapor condenses down to a cooler liquid, which returns to a wick structure to be heated again at the source.
If your phone runs cooler, it will charge faster, battery will last longer, it will keep higher sustained performance, and high-end games will maintaining better performance and higher frame rates.
A new thermal system doesn't sound like something fun, but — holy smokes — does it have a lot of implications in use.
A19 chipset
Speaking of performance, we'll also have Apple's latest silicon - the A19 and A19 Pro.
By the sounds of it, the iPhone 17 and 17 Air will use the A19 while the A19 Pro will be yet again reserved for the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max.
Playing Assassin's Creed on iPhone 16 ProEarly on, it seemed the A19 chips would rely on a new 2nm process. But yields aren't up to snuff yet, meaning it may not yet be feasible for Apple to use.
Even if Apple doesn't move to 2nm in 2025, the new processors are always one of the reasons to upgrade.
They include so many crucial elements of the phone from the Thunderbolt controller for the Pro phones, to the Neural Engine for Apple Intelligence, to the ISP for picture quality.
It includes the memory too, which will increase to 12GB on the iPhone 17 Pro Max, sticking with 8GB for the others.
Rest assured, Apple will make a big deal about the upgraded performance of the whole iPhone 17 lineup. If you have an older phone, faster may be what you're looking for.
Always-on display
Backtracking, we need to revisit that new universal ProMotion display. Everyone talks about the higher 120Hz refresh rate, but equally important is the lower frame rates.
This is what enables your phone to save battery life and to even support the always-on display. You'll finally be able to see your battery, widgets, and more while your phone is in its "off" state, just like the Pro phones.
StandBy mode can be always on for all phonesEven better - StandBy mode will now always be on. Right now, users put their phones in StandBy mode only to have it automatically shut off after a few moments.
The only way for it to stay on is for the phone to have an always-on display. And the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 air will get that.
Redesigned Pro models
Early on, the purported iPhone 17 Air gave us pause. It was going to have this big redesign, but would be priced below the Pro phones.
We'd be surprised if Apple reinvigorated the budget models without also giving some sort of new design to the Pro phones too.
Majin Bu shares a rumored redesign coming to the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 ProAccording to Ming Chi Kuo, and the sometimes reliable Majin Bu, Apple may be doing just that.
The two pro-level phones will get a new aesthetic that has a primarily glass back with a metal camera bump on the top. That camera bump will also run the full width of the phone, rather than be left-aligned.
This will help visually distinguish them from older models and will be the first change to the back of the iPhone since the iPhone X era.
There's been much debate on how this will look, how the cameras will be oriented, but the rumor seems to be catching on as we inch towards release.
New front-facing camera
Finally, Apple is also finally ready to upgrade the front-facing camera on all four models. Apple used to use a 7MP camera until the iPhone 11 when it finally moved to a 12MP sensor.
But that was the last real upgrade. Now they will all reportedly have 24MP sensors, doubling the resolution.
The selfie camera will be getting a long-awaited upgradeSelfies are really important for users. We have many treasured photos ourselves of our partners and kids that while heartwarming, are technically bad photos.
They always suffer in low light and 12MP isn't much when the other cameras are all going to be at 48MP. We also love how this won't be gatekept behind the Pro models.
More "Pro" for less
We're going to have vapor cooling, promotion, A19 chip, better front-facing camera, and an always-on display for the non-pro phones. That is going to make them a lot more compelling to users.
While many will still be excited for the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Air, the inclusion of all these "pro" features and the iPhone 17 Air, we may see more people upgrade than usual for the lower-cost devices.
Stay tuned to find out how things come together.
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17 Comments
Nice writeup, AI. My compliments!
The CAD image by Majin Bu is of a case with an iPhone 17 model inside, no? Too bad as I was excited to see something I have wanted for a very long time: side buttons that are recessed (a la the old home button). I'd actually want the power/standby button moved back to the upper right, more separation of the volume up, volume down buttons, and different shape and textures for the buttons. No idea about the usefulness of the camera control button as I have an iP12.
My pet theory on the new camera arrangement is that the square camera bumps of recent models are getting too big and will start encroaching on things like MagSafe, battery design, etc. So, moving them to the top is the least worst option so as to accommodate other stuff in the phone. Don't like the design fashion of a camera lens bump on top of a camera cluster bump. My wish remains for a phone that is flush in the back. The top side of an iPhone 17 Pro will have: main back camera, ultra-wide back camera, a telephoto back camera, a front camera, an infrared camera, a dot projector, infrared light, an LED flash, and a speaker. Yowsers.
Regarding the vapor chamber, people have to remember energy is conserved. If the SoC is using 8 Watts of power, all the heat it generates has to come out of the phone. The only thing the vapor chamber is doing better than thermal paste and a solid metal interface plate to the SoC is that is able to move more heat off the SoC per square area. That heat still has to get out of the phone. Apple needing to use a vapor chamber is sign that chip is getting smaller or hotter relative to old SoCs. You may get more performance, but your phone will still be hot. That's the point. Move heat from the SoC to the surface of the phone as efficiently as possible, spread the heat across the surface of the phone as wide as possible.
TBD on whether I get a model from this years lineup. My iP12 is still holding up. Needs a nee battery, but I'm managing.
I miss the exciting days of annual phone releases, but not caring anymore sure saves a lot of money. I guess my interest peaked a couple years ago because of everything listed here nothing makes me want a new one.
No doubt the next generation iPhone will have a lot of great features.
Upgraded zoom on the camera will be fantastic and useful as will the selfie camera upgrade.
Magsafe charging speed upgrade and overall battery capacity increase would be nice to have.
Maybe it is time to lose the sim tray as well and further make the device resistant to water and dust.
On the AI side I welcome more RAM, faster memory bandwidth, more capable GPU and NE.
Perhaps in this iteration we also see their own developed 5G modem and further integration with satellite networks?
It may also be useful to upgrade the Bluetooth stack to 6.0 as it will help FindMy, AirTags etc as and when the other devices in the eco system adopt it.