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Here's What's Rumored for the Regular iPhone 17 This Year

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Rumors indicate that the lowest-end iPhone 17 model will have the same overall design as the lowest-end iPhone 16, so what is actually changing this year?

iphone-16-teal.jpg

Below, we recap three key features that are coming on the regular iPhone 17, according to sources such as Ross Young, Ming-Chi Kuo, and Jeff Pu.

ProMotion Display

The regular iPhone 17 and the ultra-thin "iPhone 17 Air" are expected to feature ProMotion, for a variable refresh rate up to 120Hz.

ProMotion has been limited to the Pro models since it debuted on the iPhone 13 Pro and the iPhone 13 Pro Max back in 2021.

ProMotion support would result in smoother-looking scrolling and videos, and the technology contributes to longer battery life. It could also pave the way for an always-on display, so long as the refresh rate can ramp down to as low as 1Hz.

Upgraded Front Camera

All four iPhone 17 models are expected to have a 24-megapixel front camera, up from 12 megapixels on all iPhone 16 models.

With a higher 24-megapixel resolution, photos can maintain their quality even when cropped to a greater degree, providing more flexibility in post-processing.

Kuo said the upgraded camera will "significantly improve" image quality.

Apple-Designed Wi-Fi 7 Chip

Apple's first custom-designed Wi-Fi chip is expected to debut in all iPhone 17 models.

The chip is expected to support Wi-Fi 7, which allows for data transmission over the 2.4GHz, 5GHz, and 6GHz bands simultaneously, with a supported router. Benefits include faster Wi-Fi speeds, lower latency, and more reliable connectivity.

The entire iPhone 16 lineup already supports Wi-Fi 7, so the spec is not much of a surprise, but the fact that the chip will be designed by Apple is notable.

A19 Chip

The A19 chip in the regular iPhone 17 is expected to be made with TSMC's newer third-generation 3nm process, which is known as "N3P."

Expect year-over-year performance and power efficiency gains as usual.

Article Link: Here's What's Rumored for the Regular iPhone 17 This Year
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2025/03/18/base-iphone-17-rumors/
Last edited:
MacRumors said:


Rumors indicate that the lowest-end iPhone 17 model will have the same overall design as the lowest-end iPhone 16, so what is actually changing this year?

iphone-16-teal.jpg

Below, we recap three key features that are coming on the regular iPhone 17, according to sources such as Ross Young, Ming-Chi Kuo, and Jeff Pu.

ProMotion Display

The regular iPhone 17 and the ultra-thin "iPhone 17 Air" are expected to feature ProMotion, for a variable refresh rate up to 120Hz.

ProMotion has been limited to the Pro models since it debuted on the iPhone 13 Pro and the iPhone 13 Pro Max back in 2021.

ProMotion support would result in smoother-looking scrolling and videos, and the technology contributes to longer battery life. It could also pave the way for an always-on display, so long as the refresh rate can ramp down to as low as 1Hz.

Upgraded Front Camera

All four iPhone 17 models are expected to have a 24-megapixel front camera, up from 12 megapixels on all iPhone 16 models.

With a higher 24-megapixel resolution, photos can maintain their quality even when cropped to a greater degree, providing more flexibility in post-processing.

Kuo said the upgraded camera will "significantly improve" image quality.

A19 Chip

The A19 chip in the regular iPhone 17 is expected to be made with TSMC's newer third-generation 3nm process, which is known as "N3P."

Expect year-over-year performance and power efficiency gains as usual.

Article Link: Here's What's Rumored for the Regular iPhone 17 This Year
Click to expand...
I can't decide between 17 and 17 Air

iPhone 17 - dual speaker and dual cameras.

iPhone 17 Air - 6.9 inches, 5.5mm thinner and rumored to feature high-density battery.

Which one should i buy this september?
 
  • Disagree
Reactions: sos47
mjkidk said:
Only reason I'd upgrade my iPhone 15 base model is for ProMotion/Always-On display... guess I'd get 6GB -> 8GB of ram as well at least. Don't see a point in on-device LLM though, so maybe I'm good w the 15 for a couple more years.
Click to expand...

Same here, I mean my iPhone 15 screen looks fine to me and I could wait until iPhone 18-19 to get a more substantial upgrade package.
 
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Froilan said:
I can't decide between 17 and 17 Air

iPhone 17 - dual speaker and dual cameras.

iPhone 17 Air - 6.9 inches, 5.5mm thinner and rumored to feature high-density battery.

Which one should i buy this september?
Click to expand...

According to this rumor, Apple isn't going to offer the 6.9" Air and will have a 6.5".


To answer your question, you should just keep the phone you currently own, unless there is an issue with it.
 
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Disregard the naysayers and complainers. This is a very solid smartphone with great specs. Between a Pixel 9 (or 10) and an iPhone 17, it's the iPhone, every time.
 
WarmWinterHat said:
According to this rumor, Apple isn't going to offer the 6.9" Air and will have a 6.5".


To answer your question, you should just keep the phone you currently own, unless there is an issue with it.
Click to expand...
I'm confused because some sources say the iPhone 17 Air will have a 6.6-inches display, while others say 6.9-inches. But thanks! I'll get the base iPhone 17 instead of the 17 Air to save money. 😊
 
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I/0 said:
This will be the only good looking iPhone in this year’s lineup.
Click to expand...
Agree. Apple is literally all over the board with their iPhone product design, from grotesque to svelt w/ a bump. This is best looking of them all. Cheers to the middle child!
 
Now that the camera humps are as big as a medium sized dog, they have no excuses not to use them to also hold a bigger front camera that's as good as the rear one, or even to add an extra ultrawide camera.
That would change the game for many content creators and Apple seems to be very serious about that.
 
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A high refresh display should be the absolute basic by now. Annoying that Apple is artificially holding this back when cheap Androids have had this for ages and even TVs are capable of 120hz. It's pathetic.
 
Faster charging please,
More optical zoom in Pro series
Faster wireless charging
Better battery life
Anti glare coating on screen
Anti flare (better) for camera lens
More Siri languages, better Europe support (Maps)
 
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