iPhone 17 Is Apple's Most Popular Lineup Ever

[Lwii2boo]

RE: the Air, yesterday my 11 year old son was telling me that the iPhone Air is a "bad" phone. I asked him why he thought that and he said some other kid had said it in the playground at school. For context, almost no one in his age group even has a smartphone yet (though most will be getting a used one for high school so it's a hot topic for discussion). If kids are bad mouthing the Air in primary school playgrounds it really has a reputation problem, whether deserved or not.

No offense intended but I would not give any consideration about their opinion.

They will just repeat what they heard or make judgments based on appearance for the vast majority of them.

Having a relevant view requires some understanding not just feelings/intuition

 

[ericgedi77]

RE: the Air, yesterday my 11 year old son was telling me that the iPhone Air is a "bad" phone. I asked him why he thought that and he said some other kid had said it in the playground at school. For context, almost no one in his age group even has a smartphone yet (though most will be getting a used one for high school so it's a hot topic for discussion). If kids are bad mouthing the Air in primary school playgrounds it really has a reputation problem, whether deserved or not.

You can blame Youtube and the influencer culture for that.

 

[ValerieDurden]

I hardly see any of these in public. Maybe it's just me lol

I see a lot of 17 Pro’s mostly in Cosmic Orange, I’ve seen maybe 2 Air’s total.

 

[SactoGuy18]

The "regular" iPhone 17 has been a particularly hot seller in China, especially since it now has the LTPO variable refresh rate display that the iPhone Pro models had for some time.

 

[avheatherim]

I would be curious what these stats look like next to data about carrier subsidization. It seemed to me there were a LOT of carrier deals fully subsidizing the 17 and 17 pro models (on a 3-year timeline) against prior year iPhones. But that's just my perception. I did get a 17 PM as a serial upgrader. No ragrets. Big screen 4 life 🫡 and the battery life is crazy.

 

[erikkfi]

I'm always shocked people buy iPhones in Q2 before remembering not everyone thinks in terms of the next release date.

 

[code-m]

You clearly haven’t held one. The Air is a delight to hold unlike the other iPhones. IMO, it’s the only iPhone out of the entire lineup which Jobs would have loved

I have held it several times not only at the Apple Store but many other retailers. Meh it’s thin and light but so is the standard iPhone 17. One has Aluminium the other has Ti. I have an iPhone 16 Pro that is Ti so meh, after awhile your muscles get used to the weight and it’s negligible but guess what isn’t the screen size is a bit too large on the Air to hold comfortably.

 

[FattiesGoneWild]

The internet clowned on it and hated it. But still bought it, making it the best selling iPhone EVER! The 18 will be even bigger. Welcome to the 🤡 show.

 

[nyc1]

Sorry, but I think the 17 pro/pro max is pretty ugly and looks-wise is a downgrade. I think it looks cheap looking compared to the titanium 16 PM. The Air looks and feels much more premium than the 17 PM especially since it has a gold colorway and is made with titanium, but it needs a better camera array.

Not sure what happened to make the 17 so popular because when the rumors and leaks showed the new 17 pro design, a lot of people seemed to hate it, and the spec bumps didn't seem that big compared to the 16 lineup.
Maybe people were just itching for a new look, and peoples upgrade cycles happened to coincide with this year more than last.

 

[Chuzwuzzin]

No offense intended but I would not give any consideration about their opinion.

They will just repeat what they heard or make judgments based on appearance for the vast majority of them.

Having a relevant view requires some understanding not just feelings/intuition

Yes of course (I seriously considered an Air myself and I wouldn’t consult 10 year old kids as part of my decision making), but nonetheless it surprised me that this opinion had somehow made it to the playground - not just some tech forum I occasionally inhabit 🙂

 

[Mac Fly (film)]

I take this as vindication that people do in fact care about 120Hz displays, despite being told every time I mentioned it by someone in the comments that nobody cares.

Quick edit: I'll grant that buyers of the 17e likely in fact do not care.

I don’t think people even knew what 120 Hz was, but it’s more that storage now starts at 256 GB, a limit many people find themselves hitting (internal storage), and reviews were so positive across the board. Usually reviewers have a few complaints, but they mentioned that this it’s the most complete regular iPhone ever.

 

[Frantisekj]

The regular 17 was a perfect upgrade coming off an XS. Everything is better, most of all the cellular and wifi. Base storage is huge (for me) and the 120Hz took me by surprise by how much I appreciate it. Battery lasts me two to three days. And flat sides like my beloved 5s!

Those are the reasons why is it so successful. Apple finally gave people what they ask for. Same as with Neo and M5. But with current memory shortages it leads to continuous Mac shortages.

 

[Frantisekj]

Yes but it means Apple can do hardly anything and people still buy it. Give me a 7000 silicon carbon battery, 100w charging, 10x optical zoom already

You have to take into account that Apple has to manage to get such technology in best quality, test it well first and then get it in needed quantity that is much higher then other manufacturers (they have many different models) and in great price. That is one of reasons they build Air I think. To adopt new ideas in lower scale so they can implement them faster. But Air on other hand haven't brought any significant new technology I guess. If it would have variable aperture already that would be other story.

 

[CarAnalogy]

It's always amazing when the media talks about how bad the economy is, yet the Pro models are still selling like crazy. It makes me wonder, are not so many families being impacted economically, OR is this a status thing where people don't want to be seen using anything less than a Pro model?

I think it's just that so many people use the cellular network operator cartel perpetual indenturement model, aka contract subsidy.

 

[bbreux]

Apple's iPhone 17 models are its most popular iPhones to date, Apple CFO Kevan Parekh told the Financial Times. Both Parekh and Apple CEO Tim Cook attributed Apple's stellar Q2 2026 performance to iPhone sales.

"The iPhone 17 family is now the most popular line-up in our history... we believe we gained market share during the quarter," said Parekh. Cook told Reuters that iPhone demand was "off the charts," and that supply was constrained despite the impressive sales.

"And there's just a little less flexibility in the supply chain at the moment for getting more parts," Cook said. Apple's iPhone sales were held back by the A19 and A19 Pro chips that it gets from TSMC, as TSMC also manufactures AI chips.

Parekh said that memory had an "increasing impact" between the first and second quarters of 2026.

Issues with chip supply and increasing problems acquiring RAM could potentially have an impact on the iPhone 18 lineup that Apple is expected to introduce this September. The lineup will include Apple's first foldable iPhone.

The current iPhone 17 family includes the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, iPhone 17e, and iPhone Air.

Article Link: iPhone 17 Is Apple's Most Popular Lineup Ever

I believe it, the iphone 17 series has been apple’s most premium phone since the launch of the X. When the design first came out everyone hated it…what happened? 🤔😂

 

[trusso]

I take this as vindication that people do in fact care about 120Hz displays, despite being told every time I mentioned it by someone in the comments that nobody cares.

Quick edit: I'll grant that buyers of the 17e likely in fact do not care.

My money’s on the increased base storage, but you believe what you will.

 

[CarAnalogy]

My money’s on the increased base storage, but you believe what you will.

Probably that too. But I did recently do a very informal and unscientific poll and "regular users" do in fact notice the screen improvement, even if they don't understand why.

But, they finally did so many long overdue things with the 17 it's hard to point to one specific reason for so many upgraders.