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Alleged iPhone 17 Pro Chassis Offers First Look at All-Aluminum Body
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With the move to aluminum, I’m less concerned about weight savings as I am about a softer, more scratch-prone device. Scratches on the softer aluminum reveal a bright silver cut in that anodization. These Ti 16 Pros are bulletproof. Mine looks as pristine as day one. And I don’t use a case.
and it gets lighter anyway: if the phone doesn't lose weight, your pocket will for sure. does it really matter if you carry a lighter phone or less money around ? 😂
The switch to aluminum and the rumors of vapor chamber cooling all point to a 17 pro design that has been optimized for cooling performance, which I am very excited for!
Better cooling means higher sustained performance, faster charging, more comfortable feel in hand, all while reducing heat damage to the battery! This iPhone should have a very very long service life.
That being said, I do worry that moving from a "glass sandwich" design back to a unibody chassis will mean that all repairs start by removing the display. Seems like two steps forward, one step back for those of us who care about right-to-repair.
Better cooling means higher sustained performance, faster charging, more comfortable feel in hand, all while reducing heat damage to the battery! This iPhone should have a very very long service life.
That being said, I do worry that moving from a "glass sandwich" design back to a unibody chassis will mean that all repairs start by removing the display. Seems like two steps forward, one step back for those of us who care about right-to-repair.
It's Aluminum, it's so ugly you want to throw up. When will Apple Genius shine to figure out how to make these latest iPhones not so disgustingly ugly?
Aluminum is lighter at the same volume, sure, but it's also much less strong, so you need a larger volume to attain the same strength. I have a Ti spork at my desk that is incredibly strong and light, because Ti can be made extremely thin while still resisting bending, denting, and other damage better than an equivalent volume of Al.
It's just too ugly to look past. Apple is supposed to be design-led. Jobs and Ives would never have released this, it has all the nooks and crannies of the 1990s beige boxes.
Apple removes a feature
An alleged iPhone 17 Pro production leak may provide a first look at the device's milled all-aluminum chassis, which this year includes the camera bump – in contrast to last year's iPhone 16 Pro model that features a glass camera module attached to an all-glass back panel.
Originally shared by leaker Majin Bu, the image below could be of a moulding, but it still lines up with rumors that Apple has done away with the previous models' glass sandwich and titanium frame in favor of a more encapsulating aluminum chassis that has a rear cutout to house a glass section around the Apple logo for wireless charging.
The iPhone 17 Pro models adopt an oversized rectangular camera module that spans the width of the case. Reports suggest it will be the same color as the iPhone itself, rather than being part of a two-tone design.
The iPhone 17 Pro models will be the first high-end iPhones with aluminum frames since Apple split the lineup into Pro and non-Pro tiers. In recent years, aluminum has been reserved for lower-end models like the iPhone SE and iPhone 16. High-end models used stainless steel until the iPhone 15 Pro, which switched to titanium – a change Apple touted as a major upgrade.
Aluminum is roughly 40% lighter than titanium at similar volumes, so we could see the iPhone 17 Pro models carrying less weight. Aluminum is also a far better thermal conductor than titanium, so heat generated by the A19 Pro chip and battery may dissipate faster. Apple is also rumored to be using a new internal design that incorporates a vapor chamber heatsink to improve thermal performance.
While titanium generally offers a denser, more premium feel with subtle reflectivity, Apple's use of aluminum should allow for richer color options. This year, Black, White, and Gray are said to be accompanied by new Dark Blue and Orange colors.
We'll know the official look soon – Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 17 lineup next month, with September 9 rumored as a potential iPhone event date. If that timing is accurate, then the most likely date for Apple to announce the event is Tuesday, August 26, since the company typically provides two weeks' notice.
Update: This article originally credited a Korean blog for the image. Apologies: the error has now been corrected.
Article Link: Alleged iPhone 17 Pro Chassis Offers First Look at All-Aluminum Body
IFans 😡🤬
Apple brings it back and charges more for it
IFans ☺️🙏👏🥳
Never gets old 😂
Not a fan of the switch back to aluminum. I feel like this is more of a cost cutting measure than anything else.
One thing I have not seen mentioned, titanium is more durable and doesn't scratch as easily:
Mohs hardness rating: Aluminum vs. Titanium
One thing I have not seen mentioned, titanium is more durable and doesn't scratch as easily:
Mohs hardness rating: Aluminum vs. Titanium
- Titanium is harder than aluminum on the Mohs scale (1-10).
- Titanium has a Mohs hardness of 6.
- Aluminum has a Mohs hardness of 2.5-3.
- A human fingernail has a Mohs hardness of approximately 2.5.
- Knife: The tip of a knife has a hardness of about 5.5
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Great looking forward to my $1049.00, premium iPhone 17 Pro being made from recycled soda cans. Would hate to see what it looks like if you accidentally drop it.
An alleged iPhone 17 Pro production leak may provide a first look at the device's milled all-aluminum chassis, which this year includes the camera bump – in contrast to last year's iPhone 16 Pro model that features a glass camera module attached to an all-glass back panel.
Originally shared by leaker Majin Bu, the image below could be of a moulding, but it still lines up with rumors that Apple has done away with the previous models' glass sandwich and titanium frame in favor of a more encapsulating aluminum chassis that has a rear cutout to house a glass section around the Apple logo for wireless charging.
The iPhone 17 Pro models adopt an oversized rectangular camera module that spans the width of the case. Reports suggest it will be the same color as the iPhone itself, rather than being part of a two-tone design.
The iPhone 17 Pro models will be the first high-end iPhones with aluminum frames since Apple split the lineup into Pro and non-Pro tiers. In recent years, aluminum has been reserved for lower-end models like the iPhone SE and iPhone 16. High-end models used stainless steel until the iPhone 15 Pro, which switched to titanium – a change Apple touted as a major upgrade.
Aluminum is roughly 40% lighter than titanium at similar volumes, so we could see the iPhone 17 Pro models carrying less weight. Aluminum is also a far better thermal conductor than titanium, so heat generated by the A19 Pro chip and battery may dissipate faster. Apple is also rumored to be using a new internal design that incorporates a vapor chamber heatsink to improve thermal performance.
While titanium generally offers a denser, more premium feel with subtle reflectivity, Apple's use of aluminum should allow for richer color options. This year, Black, White, and Gray are said to be accompanied by new Dark Blue and Orange colors.
We'll know the official look soon – Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 17 lineup next month, with September 9 rumored as a potential iPhone event date. If that timing is accurate, then the most likely date for Apple to announce the event is Tuesday, August 26, since the company typically provides two weeks' notice.
Update: This article originally credited a Korean blog for the image. Apologies: the error has now been corrected.
Article Link: Alleged iPhone 17 Pro Chassis Offers First Look at All-Aluminum Body
Horrible. They would have to make something truly revolutionary for me to consider buying a new iPhone going forward.
Same here, almost died in a rollover wreck last year and it survived without any damage auto dialing 911.
Unless you have really big hands, I have no idea how you use the iPhone 14 PM with one hand comfortably.
I have average sized adult male hands. I find my 16 PM way too big to use with one hand. Hence I always use it with two. And even with two it's way too tall for my liking. I'll be moving onto the 17 Pro next month and then the even shorter folding iPhone next year.
I can tell a huge difference from 20 grams alone. When I picked up the 15 PM and then the 15 Plus the difference was obvious and noticeable. A lighter phone is easier to use in-hand and nicer in-pocket. Whether that weight difference matters to you or anyone else is entirely subjective.
Lots of comments indicate people think aluminum was the default material before the switch to titanium. It was not. The iPhone (Pro model) was made of beautiful stainless steel since the iPhone X. This was a much more premium feel and durability over the previous aluminum frames we were coming from.
While I miss the shine of the stainless steel, the titanium provides far superior durability whenever I drop my phone. I don’t use a case, and drops happen frequently. The stainless steel would end up with gouges or sharp edges in the corners that I would sometimes have to file down a bit. With the titanium frame, nothing happens! I will not be upgrading this year. Will keep using both my blue iPhone 15 Pro Max and my black 16 Pro Max at least until 2nm silicon is out, and then will have to reevaluate.
I believe (like many analysts on the business networks) the switch to aluminum solves a need for more broken phones, after years of stagnant revenue growth amid a lengthening replacement cycle (the phones got too good from a hardware and build quality perspective) and a share price that has underperformed the Nasdaq-100 for the last ~4 years.
While I miss the shine of the stainless steel, the titanium provides far superior durability whenever I drop my phone. I don’t use a case, and drops happen frequently. The stainless steel would end up with gouges or sharp edges in the corners that I would sometimes have to file down a bit. With the titanium frame, nothing happens! I will not be upgrading this year. Will keep using both my blue iPhone 15 Pro Max and my black 16 Pro Max at least until 2nm silicon is out, and then will have to reevaluate.
I believe (like many analysts on the business networks) the switch to aluminum solves a need for more broken phones, after years of stagnant revenue growth amid a lengthening replacement cycle (the phones got too good from a hardware and build quality perspective) and a share price that has underperformed the Nasdaq-100 for the last ~4 years.
It’s a phone, I am not sure how anyone could argue that it is a big deal. But Aluminum will be lighter, dissipate heat better, and be less expensive. It may even be more eco-friendly. I like Ti as much as any long time cyclist would, but on a phone it is pretty irrelevant outside of the coolness factor if one cares.
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They’re clearly using the same camera that captured all those sightings of Bigfoot
Someone at Apple did the math, they can make the phones cheaper and as fragile as full glass backed models so they still get PAID for all the repairs.
Nobody’s saying an iPhone is hard to use because of its weight. But if it’s something you carry all day, every day, making it lighter and less bulky is just common sense, or at least it should be.
Comfort and convenience are about improving the experience for something that’s always with you. Keys for example: they’re small and light for a reason. By your logic, should we all carry 50 of them or make them bigger and heavier, just because we’re not mice?
I have to ask, how long are you using your phone for? I will read emails, news etc. If I’m going to work I may be reading news for 30 - 45 mins but that is probably the longest I ever have my phone in my hand.