Weight, for sure. The Pros are heavier than last year, even in full Al. The added thermal characteristics of Al are a marketing point, but it will never be clear to us how much of a difference that makes vs. the form factor differences (ie, if the entire Al chassis of the new generation were stainless steel, how would that perform thermally with the new vapor chamber and reduced glass vs. what we have now?) But the fact of the matter is it would be too heavy.
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iPhone 17 Pro Max Are you disappointed with Aluminum
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I think we will see thorium in phase 1 and move to uranium in future iterations.
Did the 16 Pro have overheating issues? I find my 15 Pro is the hottest phone I’ve ever used, almost anything I do on it causes it to become noticeably warm, followed by it beginning to drop frames. By far my least favorite part of it. If going back to aluminum fixes that, I won’t care.
Whoah, how come I didn’t know about that😃 And I was about to buy s25u! Was scared off by some reports of faulty OIS. Now after seeing 17 lineup I thought maybe s26u worth the wait…
Fair enough. I’d like to know how much they’d weigh using stainless steel with the same feature set, and how that compares to the last stainless steel models, but I guess we’ll never know.
I’m undecided whether to get a Space Black Air or a Deep Blue 17 Pro.
My worry is that aluminium is a softer metal than the titanium and may suffer more significant damage if dropped. I also like to use iPhones naked quite a bit.
Apple called the Air the most durable iPhone ever, how true that is I guess we’ll find out next week! But it has a strong titanium frame.
My worry is that aluminium is a softer metal than the titanium and may suffer more significant damage if dropped. I also like to use iPhones naked quite a bit.
Apple called the Air the most durable iPhone ever, how true that is I guess we’ll find out next week! But it has a strong titanium frame.
They way I see this, they felt like the major redesign was enough of a selling point.
Then they left room for improvement to have things to do for the following models. Silicon carbon batteries, better materials, colors people actually want (black Pro), new features like capacitive buttons or extra sensors.... All likely to come in revisions of this new form factor.
But above all I'm just not the biggest fan of this bulbous shape Pro has became this year, personally. Feels like we are going backwards and Air is more like it. Except it's still gen1 and seems compromised for now.
My local Apple Store says I will not be able to actually see the new iPhones until Friday 9/19/25. Until then, how can we comment on "look and feel?" Maybe you have special access.
I can and will comment that having such limited color choices for the iPhone Pros sucks.
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It's like they chose the worst possible time to make Pro model fatter and bulkier. Release it alongside Air... Seriously?
I don't need as thin as possible but barebones barely operational or extremely thick with overkill specs and battery. I want something in-between with premium materials and feel still having great camera.
I don't need as thin as possible but barebones barely operational or extremely thick with overkill specs and battery. I want something in-between with premium materials and feel still having great camera.
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Same specs on paper doesn't mean it will perform the same. They could use a slower clock speed, lower voltage, etc. because they need to manage the heat more strictly on the Air.
Stainless steel is just as bad (or worse) as titanium. It has very poor thermal conductivity and is extremely heavy. If they hadn't move from stainless to titanium on the Pros, they would have started losing sales of Pros because they were getting way too heavy.
Aluminum has always been the ideal metal for a phone because it's light and conducts heat very well. Other materials were just marketing gimmicks.
All iPhone frames are metal alloys, none are any pure metal, plus of course the framing design means everything. So one needs to physically handle each phone, one cannot hypothesize based on "aluminium is a softer metal..."
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Nonsense. It is really simple: engineers use different alloys in different devices for design engineering purposes.
Personally I am just because when you think of premium flagship, you also think of premium quality/design. Just thinking of Aluminum on such a device sounds "cheap". not sure why they couldn't try titanium with vapor chamber
I don't care much about the material since I only keep it for 1 or 2 years.
How about wrapping your phone to make it look expensive and premium ?
Aluminum is soft. That frame holds the structural integrity. Even if with a case if it’s soft and the phone falls with frame hitting the ground it can hurt the frame causing dents.
Even with aluminum they could have added premium form factor. Look at the frame of iPhone 4s and current pixel pro xl line up.
No, and I think making more of the body metal will decrease the likelihood of shattering because now there's only one side of the phone that is at high risk of glass directly impacting concrete rather than two. I like the look of Apple's natural titanium, but I will take the better durability and heat properties of aluminum over titanium every single time.
Even for "aluminum" iPhones, there is still much stainless steel used in the midframe for structural integrity. This is why the phones don't bend easily.
Apple no longer reveals the exact material contents, but you can be certain the latest phones from iPhone 11 through 17 still contain a lot of stainless steel.
Aluminum will dent more easily than titanium but Apple has two choices. Let the phone quickly overheat and throttle with Ti, or use Al to delay the effect.
You are thinking raw pure aluminum - that is very soft.
Have you seen how they make alloys (mixture of metals) and temper the material to make very strong aluminum bodies ?
And the fact they precision machine the casing instead of forged or cast.
Just get a case to protect it.
I will get a case for my Air even though it will get thicker - just to protect it - that's normal operating procedure.
I really liked the titanium in the 15 and 16 Pros. But I HATED the stainless steel of the 11/12/13/14 Pros from day 1!
So I can live with aluminum - slightly "worse" that titanium but waaaaaaay better than stainless steel, at least for me 😁
So I can live with aluminum - slightly "worse" that titanium but waaaaaaay better than stainless steel, at least for me 😁
I always use case and tempered glass protection for my smartphones. I know the marketing term apple uses so called serious 7000 aluminum that resolved bend gate problem with iPhone 6s Plus. That was my first iPhone.
I always use soft cases and even with case if the phone falls and frame hitting some hard concrete surface….
This can happen to the frame. This is my MacBook Pro M1. I presume it uses the same aluminum used in iPhone 6s Plus (7000). I am still clueless what caused this dent.
They switched to aluminum something they will not undo. But with aluminum they can add premium look and feel by making it shiny like pixel 10 Pro. But brushed aluminum it’s the worst in terms of look and feel
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Personally very happy with the change. I never really liked phones being pretty much all glass as it makes them very fragile and I prefer the iPad or MacBook design with the increased amount of metal. Maybe one day wireless charging through metal can be figured out and then the glass window can be removed too
I’ve got an iPhone 6S, the original SE, and an iPhone 8. I’ve always used soft gel cases and dropped them plenty of times, but they’re all still in perfect condition without any marks or dents. I’ve shared pictures of them here before. Honestly, I’m glad Apple is bringing back aluminum.
I’m not, it would have to be thicker and heavier to achieve the same strength, might as well buy a Pro at that point.
And it would dent and scrape more easily when dropped.
Is 7000 series Aluminium not a premium material then? The only reason people like yourself consider it a less premium material is because Apple marketed Stainless Steel and Titanium is more 'premium' in the past.
This grade of aluminium is definitely a more superior and more innovative material for this type of application and fits with Apples enviromental marketing. I think the only people who will care are the few that carry iPhones without cases and will see the softer material experience much chips and dents. I'd rather have a lighter and better heat managing device.