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5 Reasons to Skip This Year's iPhone 17 Pro

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Apple will launch its new iPhone 17 series in two months, and the iPhone 17 Pro models are expected to get a new design for the rear casing and the camera area. But more significant changes to the lineup are not expected until next year, when the iPhone 18 models arrive.

iphone-16-pro-ghost-hand.jpg

If you're thinking of trading in your iPhone for this year's latest, consider the following features rumored to be coming to the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max models – as well as a rumored new premium iPhone model for 2026. Taken together, they may just give you pause for thought.

Under-Display Face ID

The iPhone 18 Pro models are expected to feature under-display Face ID, placing the TrueDepth camera beneath the screen – though the front-facing camera will remain visible.

While The Information's Wayne Ma claims these models will ditch the Dynamic Island for a single pinhole cutout, other sources disagree. Display analyst Ross Young and Bloomberg's Mark Gurman both report that the Dynamic Island will still be present, just smaller, contradicting claims of its complete removal.

C2 Modem

Apple plans to include its next-generation C2 modem in the iPhone 18 Pro models, according to supply chain analyst Jeff Pu. The chip will succeed the C1 modem, which debuted in the lower-cost iPhone 16e as Apple's first in-house cellular modem. The C2 is expected to bring faster speeds, improved power efficiency, and support for mmWave 5G in the United States – a feature missing from the C1.

Apple's modem roadmap is part of a long-term strategy to reduce reliance on Qualcomm, which currently supplies 5G modems for the rest of the iPhone lineup. The company has been working on developing its own cellular chips for years, aiming for deeper integration and greater control over power management and performance.

A20 Chip

Apple's upcoming A20 Pro chip, set to power the iPhone 18 Pro models, will reportedly be built using TSMC's third-generation 3nm process – the same node expected for the A19 Pro chip in this year's iPhone 17 Pro, according to analyst Jeff Pu. This suggests that year-over-year performance gains between the A19 Pro and A20 Pro may be modest, at least in terms of raw CPU and GPU improvements.

However, Pu notes that the A20 Pro will feature a more advanced packaging method known as CoWoS (Chip on Wafer on Substrate). This technology enables tighter integration between the processor, unified memory, and the Neural Engine, which could potentially enhance performance in AI-related tasks. The shift could be part of Apple's broader push to support on-device Apple Intelligence features in future iPhones, as the company ramps up its machine learning capabilities.

New Camera Image Sensor

Samsung is working on a new three-layer stacked image sensor, reportedly intended for the iPhone 18. The sensor, referred to as PD-TR-Logic, integrates three layers of circuitry, which would improve camera responsiveness, reduce noise, and increase dynamic range. The leak comes from a source known as "Jukanlosreve," who claims the sensor is being developed specifically for Apple's 2026 iPhone lineup.

Sony has long been Apple's sole image sensor supplier, so Samsung's entry would be a big shift in the iPhone’s camera supply chain. Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo in 2024 said he expected Samsung to begin shipping 48-megapixel Ultra Wide camera sensors to Apple for iPhones as early as 2026, which is when the iPhone 18 Pro models are expected to be released.

2026 Foldable iPhone

Foldable-iPhone-2023-Feature-Homescreen.jpg

Tired of the classic iPhone form factor? Multiple rumors suggest that Apple's first foldable iPhone will launch in the fall of 2026, with the device coming alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max models. Rumors suggest that the foldable ‌iPhone‌ will feature a display that's around 5.5 inches when closed, and 7.8 inches when opened up. It will fold in half like a book, similar to the Galaxy Fold devices, rather than the Galaxy Flip.

The foldable ‌iPhone‌ could be as thin as 4.5mm when unfolded, and 9 to 9.5mm when it's closed, which would make it incredibly thin when used in its full-screen mode. Apple put considerable effort into hinge design, and the device is expected to have almost no visible crease. It will use under-display cameras, though it may feature some kind of Touch ID authentication feature rather than Face ID due to space constraints. It will, of course, be expensive. In the past, Kuo has said he expects Apple to price the foldable ‌iPhone‌ at $2,000 to $2,500, and that was before Apple was facing steep tariffs in China.
With the iPhone 18 lineup, Apple is going to change the way that it releases new iPhones. The more expensive iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max iPhones will launch in the fall of 2026 as usual, alongside the new foldable iPhone, but the more affordable iPhone 18 and iPhone 18e models won't come out until spring 2027.

Article Link: 5 Reasons to Skip This Year's iPhone 17 Pro
 
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https://www.macrumors.com/2025/07/10/5-reasons-to-skip-this-years-iphone-17-pro/
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Reactions: baconcat_8964, Smeg84, SFjohn and 2 others
I was actually just thinking about this. I still like my iPhone 15 Pro. Yes the battery isn't great and capacity has dropped to 87% but it does everything i need.

Is still pocketable, light, and the screen is uniform.

I'm tempted to replace the screen protector (oleophobic coating is largely gone) and just continue with it

But i worry the battery capacity will drop further. And £95 for a battery replacement is kinda steep to me.

But still cheaper than £999 or £1099
 
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Reactions: knarzie, ActionFigures, Markwebbvt and 3 others
Skip the 17Pro for rumors that might or might not materialize? No. I'm also not a fan of being an Apple first-adopter for their new technology changes; I learned that lesson a very long time ago. I have a 14Pro, and it's time for the upgrade with the 17Pro or 17ProMax (I upgrade every three years now instead of every other year when carriers were subsidizing a portion of the cost of the phone).
 
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I'd like to skip it (I own a 15 Pro). It's just that skipping this year means I should also skip next year because I know we can expect big changes for the twentieth anniversary model in 2027. And I won't want to skip that one, just like the iPhone X purchase was concluded as soon as I saw its unveiling and I was coming from an iPhone 7. So upgrading after just 1 year is wasteful. Let's see what the 17 brings in 2 months.
 
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Not sure my iPhone 11, with a lightly-cracked screen, can last another year.

I do like the idea of a better camera sensor though (less noise, which I assume means better in low light, and more dynamic range).

On the flip side, when the 18 is close to being released, the thread on here talking about how cool the 19 is going to be will make me stuck again. So I'll probably get the 17. Probably.
 
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Reactions: knarzie, SFjohn, uacd and 1 other person
MR left out the biggest reason. Lack of innovation!!!! Apple is working more on the 20 year anniversary device and this years is a bandaid device with a terrible update to their OS’es using iOS Vista which they are now even walking back so there really is zero upgrade. I’ve said it before, Cook is going to be the downfall of Apple. And Apple definitely needs to have some humble pie.
 
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Reactions: jeremyw013, DOD250, SFjohn and 6 others
daneoni said:
But i worry the battery capacity will drop further. And £95 for a battery replacement is kinda steep to me.

But still cheaper than £999 or £1099
Click to expand...
You could literally replace the battery 10 times before it's cost the same as a new phone.

Your current battery will last you at least another year before it drops below 80%. Replace it at that point and you'll have 2-3 years of perfectly fine battery life again. You'll be able to skip not just the 17, but the 18, 19 and 20, possibly even the 21 - especially if you get the battery replaced a second time. By then it won't support new software updates, so it will be time to upgrade. For less than £200, you can basically enjoy your current phone for 6+ years in total. That is what the lifespan of any phone should be.

The time to upgrade is when the phone no longer does what you need it to do - not when the battery needs replacing. You don't buy a new TV when the batteries in the remote need replacing. You don't buy a new car when the battery needs replacing, you just replace the battery. The battery is the consumable/disposable part. Not the phone.
 
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Reactions: WackyHackster, Markwebbvt, uacd and 3 others
I'm waiting for the 20 year "XX" model which I guess will be 2027 with the allegedly drastically new design.
 
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