Although the rumored iPhone 17 Air might be getting plenty of attention right now — so much thinner — the potential trade-offs of a scaled-back camera and reduced battery life could leave you eyeing the next Pro model instead, likely called the iPhone 17 Pro.
Speculation about the iPhone 17 started before the iPhone 16 was even released, but the details are likely to solidify as we approach the release date for the new iPhone. Here’s what we’ve heard so far.
iPhone 17 release date: When is the next iPhone coming out?
Over the last several years, Apple has consistently announced its new phones in the first half of September. This will likely be the case with the full iPhone 17 lineup, with the exception of the iPhone 17E, which could arrive in early 2026, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo and a report from The Information.
The iPhone 17 lineup may be the last to follow this fall-release model. Starting with the iPhone 18, Apple will reportedly split its phone releases so that lower-cost iPhones launch in the first half of the year and the higher-end Pro models become available later in the year. But that isn’t expected to happen until 2026, so you can likely still expect the iPhone 17 Pro to become available this fall.
Preorders for a new iPhone typically begin the Friday after the announcement, with the phone shipping a week later.
iPhone 17 Price: Will tariffs increase the cost of the next iPhone?
President Donald Trump has raised, lowered and paused tariffs a dizzying number of times since February, all of which could potentially affect the cost of the iPhone 17.
Apple, which could move much of US iPhone production from China to India, has escaped many of the tariff hikes thanks to a reciprocal tariff exemption list that includes many phones, laptops and other electronics that Apple produces.
But all the reprieves appear to be temporary, so tariffs could still potentially affect prices by the time of the iPhone 17 release.
Regardless of how tariffs play out, Apple has plans to raise iPhone prices later this year, The Wall Street Journal reported. Apple apparently plans to ascribe the price increase to better features and design costs so it can avoid pointing the finger at tariffs and incurring the wrath of Trump (like Amazon temporarily did).
CNET Managing Editor Patrick Holland, who’s been reviewing phones for CNET since 2016, points out that the iPhone is overdue for a price bump. He noted that Apple has never increased the price for an iPhone Pro ($999) since the iPhone X was first introduced in 2017.
So yes, you should expect to pay more for the iPhone 17, regardless of tariffs.
New iPhone 17 colors
Rumors of a new color for the iPhone started in April, when Twitter user and leaker Majin Bu (not the Dragon Ball Z character) posted that the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max could get a sky blue option. The latest MacBook Air models come in sky blue, which could give you some idea of the soft hue we’ll see on the iPhone if it goes in the same direction.
For reference, the iPhone 16 and Plus made a splash last year when they debuted pink, teal and ultramarine color options, alongside the standard white and black. The iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max introduced a new color, desert titanium — a restrained shade of peach — alongside the classic natural titanium, white titanium and black titanium options.
iPhone 17 Pro camera bump redesign
The iPhone 17 Pro’s camera has been the subject of multiple rumored changes, most notably that Apple could add a horizontal camera bar that spreads across the width of the phone. The front-facing “selfie camera” could also be getting an upgrade.
Back in January, Bu posted a leaked image on X suggesting that the phone could feature a pill-shaped camera bar that looked a lot like the camera bar on Google’s Pixel 9 phone.
That raised the question of whether the iPhone 17 Pro would align the three camera lenses in a single row or leave them stacked in its pyramid design, as it did with the iPhone 16 Pro.
In February, Bu posted CAD renders of what could be the iPhone 17 lineup, and Front Page Tech also shared iPhone 17 Pro renders in a video. Both showed horizontal camera bars for the iPhone 17 Pro models that keep the lens’ stacked layout.
And as for your selfies: the front-facing camera will reportedly be upgraded from the iPhone 16’s 12 megapixels to 24 megapixels on all iPhone 17 models, according to analyst Jeff Pu.
Pu wrote in March that the iPhone 17 Pro and the Pro Max will feature a 48-megapixel telephoto rear camera, up from 12 megapixels on the iPhone 16 Pro models. That would mean all three cameras on the iPhone 17 Pro models — Fusion, ultra wide and telephoto — would be 48 megapixels.
Leaked Specs: iPhone 17 vs. iPhone 17 Pro vs. iPhone 17 Pro Max
Specs for the iPhone 17 are more grist for the rumor mill.
Display
After the backlash over Apple not updating the 60Hz display on the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus, rumors of a 120Hz display (Pro Motion) on all iPhone 17 models could be welcome news, along with possibly adding the always-on display to the baseline model.
One feature you likely won’t see with the new iPhone 17 Pro models is an antireflective display, which CNET’s Patrick Holland called one of the best attributes of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. A source told MacRumors that Apple had to scrap plans for a more scratch-resistant display due to scaling issues with the coating process.
Additionally, Pu said the iPhone 17 Pro Max may reduce the size of its Face ID sensor, so it could have a narrower Dynamic Island, but the other iPhone 17 models would likely stay the same size.
Memory
Apple Intelligence and AI are likely to play more prominent roles with the iPhone 17. To support the new features, all the iPhone 17 models will step up to 12GB of RAM, tipster Digital Chat Station reported in April. Kuo has also suggested this could happen, according to Digital Trends.
Considering the iPhone 16 lineup had 8GB of RAM across all models, this could be a big upgrade for the iPhone 17.
Frame
There’s been plenty of discussion about whether the iPhone 17 Pro will ditch its titanium alloy frame for an aluminum one. The most recent rumors predict the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max will all have aluminum frames, according to Pu.
iPhone 17 battery life
The iPhone 17 Air might have to scale back on battery life to make a thinner design possible, although the latest rumor from AppleInsider is that it might use a silicon-anode battery that could help extend its battery life. However, rumors are that the iPhone 17 Pro will likely get a battery boost.
In May, Pu said the baseline iPhone 17 will likely feature Apple’s in-house A19 chip, while the Pro could have the A19 Pro chip. The iPhone 16 is powered by an A18 chip, which offers improved efficiency for better battery life.
Are new iPhone rumors and leaks to be trusted?
Here’s the part where I come in and say: Everything’s a rumor until Apple officially releases the next iPhone. Rumors and speculation leading up to the iPhone’s release are often based on insider knowledge or leaked information from teams working on the iPhone’s designs, but those designs are works in progress — not necessarily the final product.
