Apple has yet to send out invites for its mid-September iPhone 16 press event, but we already have a leak detailing some of the purported design choices and specs Apple has made for the iPhone 17 series.
It’s not unusual to see next year’s iPhone appear in rumors even before this year’s iPhone starts selling in stores. We’ve seen it happen quite a few times in recent years.
What’s interesting about this iPhone 17 leak is that it makes the 2025 Pro and Pro Max models sound more exciting than the ultra-slim iPhone 17 Air variant that has dominated iPhone 17 rumors so far. That is if you care more about specs bumps than the ultra-thin iPhone Apple is developing.
Rumors say the iPhone 17 Slim will replace the Plus version in Apple’s lineup next year. The handset might be slightly larger than the base iPhone and the smaller Pro, but it won’t be as big as the Pro Max. It won’t be a flagship, as Apple might need compromises to deliver an ultra-thin iPhone in the current landscape.
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I think the iPhone 17 Slim could be a big hit despite that. Also, I think I know what the first big iPhone 17 Slim compromise will be, and it’s all thanks to that slim Pixel 9 Pro Fold design. It’s the camera, of course, where Apple won’t have as much freedom as the iPhone Pros.
However, the iPhone 17 Slim could help Apple sell more iPhones in 2025 and 2026. Analyst Jeff Pu said in a note to investors that 9to5Mac saw that the iPhone 17 Slim will be a key device next year. It’ll be one of the factors that will help Apple sell more iPhones next year. The novelty factor would power iPhone 17 Slim sales, even though it won’t be a flagship.
Elsewhere in the note, Jeff Pu mentions some of the upgrades the iPhone 17 models will receive. The analyst says the iPhone 17 phones are getting a refreshed design without offering specifics.
Some design changes might apply only to the Pro models. Pu says the iPhone 17 Pro Max might feature a narrower Dynamic Island. However, it’s unclear if that means Face ID components will be placed under the screen.
The rumored iPhone 17 specs
Moving on to specs, the analyst claims all four iPhones should feature a 24-megapixel sensor to improve selfies. However, the iPhone 17 Pros will get more upgrades that concern the rear camera module. A 48-megapixel periscope lens will come to both iPhone 17 Pro variants. That’s an upgrade we can’t possibly get on the iPhone 17 Slim.
Finally, the analyst says the iPhone 17 Pro models will get a big memory bump. They’ll feature 12GB of RAM, a first for the iPhone. This implies that the regular iPhone and the iPhone 17 Slim will have 8GB of RAM.
As I explained earlier, Google gave the Pixel 9 phones a big RAM upgrade. It was all about on-device AI, of course. And it made me worry about the iPhone 16 ability to run Apple Intelligence features in the coming years. The iPhone 16 models should all get 8GB of RAM, which will probably be enough for Apple’s first Apple Intelligence year. But what about the AI features in iOS 19 and iOS 20?
I said at the time that Apple’s RAM decisions for the iPhone 17 might inform us of whether the iPhone 16 phones will be worth keeping around after the first couple of years. If Pu’s information is accurate, Apple will boost the RAM of the iPhone 17 Pros significantly. This implies the Pros might get additional AI features via iOS 19 compared to the regular and Slim variants.
Even if Pu’s information is correct, there’s a lot of speculation here. Apple has about a year until the iPhone 17 series hits production, so there’s plenty of time for Apple to revise its plans.
Meanwhile, the iPhone 16 series will probably hit stores on September 20th. Apple will announce the launch event in the coming weeks.
