iPhone 17 Base Model Rumored to Feature Larger Display

[nathansz]

I think a lot of people really underestimate how important battery life is on a mobile phone and how instrumental that factor is in deciding which model to purchase.

I think a lot of people really overestimate the number of people for whom battery life is an instrumental factor in deciding which phone to purchase

Not everyone uses a phone as heavily as others

I have no problem with my iPhone mini 12 battery all day

 

[turbineseaplane]

Not everyone uses a phone as heavily as others

I have no problem with my iPhone mini 12 battery all day

Same for me with my 13 Mini.

The occasional times I need more longevity are when I pull out one of my MagSafe Battery packs.
It's maybe 3x per year.

 

[EugW]

I think a lot of people really overestimate the number of people for whom battery life is an instrumental factor in deciding which phone to purchase

Not everyone uses a phone as heavily as others

I have no problem with my iPhone mini 12 battery all day

Outside these threads, I have NEVER met a real world person who has said to me, "Yeah, I really don't really care about battery life, I just want a smaller screen". Like never, not even once.

Of course, this is anecdotal, but this is after 17 years of owning iPhones. (I started with the iPhone 3G.)

 

[nathansz]

Outside these threads, I have NEVER met a real world person who has said to me, "Yeah, I really don't really care about battery life, I just want a smaller screen". Like never, not even once.

Of course, this is anecdotal, but this is after 17 years of owning iPhones. (I started with the iPhone 3G.)

Outside these threads, I have NEVER met a real world person who has said anything about phone batteries

 

[EugW]

Outside these threads, I have NEVER met a real world person who has said anything about phone batteries

I have met many who have said they wished they had longer battery life. Many.

 

[velemar1]

The 13 mini remains to this day the best iPhone Apple ever made.

 

[CharlesShaw]

The 13 mini remains to this day the best iPhone Apple ever made.

To be fair, such a statement would be difficult to argue, as each model of iPhone would need to be scored individually on a multitude of attributes affected by the available technology at the time, including the OS and cellular data speed. And with the size and style variations, it could never be objective.

I do think the 13 mini was a good value in year two for $599 from Apple, and the features from the iPhone 13 still feel current. Lightning is old, but it's a rugged port when removing pocket lint, and the phone indeed fits in pockets.

Funny, a friend visited recently with a naked 13 Pro Max that needed charging and I directed him to my "USB-C charging area" because the phone looked so new to me.

 

[seek3r]

Sure it will be larger (as large as the 16 Pro). Otherwise the old cases would fit. There was a time (iPhone 4-iPhone 6) when old cases were still fitting newer models. This would be more environment friendly than discontinuing the Apple leather case. This company nowadays is only trying to cash in as much money as possible.

The iPhone 4/5/6 cases were absolutely not interchangeable dude... do you mean just the one year s bumps? Because if so I'd argue people upgraded their phones more often back then, these days smartphones are a maturing platform and people upgrade less often, so in practice folks actually probably need to buy new cases less often?

 

[EugW]

The iPhone 4/5/6 cases were absolutely not interchangeable dude... do you mean just the one year s bumps? Because if so I'd argue people upgraded their phones more often back then, these days smartphones are a maturing platform and people upgrade less often, so in practice folks actually probably need to buy new cases less often?

I think s/he may have meant iPhone 4 vs 4S, 5 vs 5S, and 6 vs 6s, but as you suggest, that was probably irrelevant to most people.

 

[Benjamin Nabulsi]

6.3 then 6.5 then iPad mini, it's insane whoever is making these decisions at Apple!

 

[seek3r]

6.3 then 6.5 then iPad mini, it's insane whoever is making these decisions at Apple!

At this rate they’ll eventually bring back the “mini” and it’ll be the size of the regular 13

 

[123]

I'm an adult male, 5'9", and I have a 16 Pro. I have to say the 6.3" Pro is almost too big for my hands and I'm missing the 6.1" size. These companies need to realize many people just don't have hands as big as they think we do. I hope we start to see 5.8" to 6.1" size phones again.

Hindsight is 20/20, I wish I had bought the 15 Pro last year instead of the 16 Pro this year just for the smaller size and lighter weight.

The 15 Pro will be my last phone from Apple if they don't get their **** together. Heavier, bigger is the opposite of what I want. And I really don't understand why they think it is a good idea to make all phones almost the same and then talk about the mini "cannibalizing" their other lines when the mini is the only one that is actually somewhat different. Makes no sense.

 

[CarlJ]

Outside these threads, I have NEVER met a real world person who has said to me, "Yeah, I really don't really care about battery life, I just want a smaller screen".

I can think without putting any effort into it of 3 close friends who are using iPhone 12 minis or 13 minis, who are okay with the battery life and would happily upgrade to an iPhone 16 mini today if there were one, but simply don't want larger phones.

 

[CarlJ]

At this rate they’ll eventually bring back the “mini” and it’ll be the size of the regular 13

Today's "small" Apple Watch is 42mm. 2015's "large" Apple Watch was 42mm.

 

[EugW]

Today's "small" Apple Watch is 42mm. 2015's "large" Apple Watch was 42mm.

And Apple has been using more screen space as the OS progresses. What was "large" in 2015 is no longer large in 2025. I currently have a 40 mm, and will be moving to a 42 mm when the time comes, both for myself and my wife. The good news is that the newer Watches are also a bit thinner, albeit still not exactly thin.

This is what I was talking about for iOS too. iOS 26 in 2025 is different than it was 5-10 years ago, and works better now with bigger screens. As iOS progresses, it feels more and more cramped on smaller iPhones.