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iPhone 17 Pro Ditches Titanium, Here's Why
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In all honesty I expect they went Aluminum to offset the impact of the tariffs so they didn’t need to increase prices.
But but but. They went from 187g with the 15 Pro to 199g and now to 204g. I can definitely feel the difference between my 15 pro and my sister's 16 Pro and now it gains another 4g. So I can tell you that if I get a 17 Pro, I will feel the difference for sure. Even if they added just 5g every year, over time it adds up!
Because aluminum is better. In every way. Thankfully they finally have come back to it.
It says the Air has a 5 core GPU, not a 6 core, so as not to overheat. And it won't have the same constant thermal performance of the Pro. But it will still probably be better than the 16 Pro was, because of the terrible material choice.
"apple ability to recycle aluminum at scale"
This might be the dumbest thing I will read today. Aluminum is and has been for a long time one of the most recycled metals in the world and the fastest recycled. A soda can is recycled on average multiple times a year. Everyone recycles aluminum like crazy. Apple has nothing special here.
This might be the dumbest thing I will read today. Aluminum is and has been for a long time one of the most recycled metals in the world and the fastest recycled. A soda can is recycled on average multiple times a year. Everyone recycles aluminum like crazy. Apple has nothing special here.
I’ll tell you why they ditched titanium. The 17 Pro is the exact same weight as my 14 Pro (206g). Apple probably didn’t want to exceed that weight with heavier titanium. Here I was looking forward to a lighter iPhone than my 14 Pro. 
Each generation was larger with more metal, glass, and a bigger and heavier battery.
All of the info on why they may have switched back is fine, but this info was also available to them when they switched to titanium in the first place. So why did they make the initial switch if it meant all of the downsides listed in this article?
Tariffs didn’t affect iPhones since they are exempt. The increase on the Pros was likely to cover R&D. They completely redesigned the interior. You might notice that the standard iPhone 17 did not see a price increase because they didn’t redesign it. The Air has no comparison, so you can’t really say if it had a price increase. Technically, the iPhone Pro did not see a price increase since they doubled the storage, a move they’ve done in the past.
Yet you and everyone else was eating it up like hotcakes when it was announced 2 years ago lol
This is the real reason. Cut costs. Save money for THEM. Make it cheaper to make iPhone and sell it at the same price. Companies don't do things out of the kindness of their hearts. They do it for fiscal reasons.
You just don't get it. It's not just an aluminum frame. It's a solid aluminum alloy body, like a top-end professional camera, that's tougher and stronger than Titanium bezels that has been used for previous version.
Apple's iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max replace the titanium frame introduced two years ago with a new aluminum design. Here's why.
Apple introduced titanium to the iPhone with the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max back in 2023, with the change even becoming the device's marketing tagline. While the devices were said to be more durable, they also suffered from complaints about overheating.
The titanium frame provided excellent rigidity and durability, but aluminum is lighter and offers better heat dissipation, which Apple has prioritized alongside the introduction of the A19 Pro chip and a new vapor chamber cooling system. Aluminum's thermal conductivity is substantially higher than titanium's, helping to distribute heat away from critical components under heavy workloads.
Titanium's machining complexity, slower production speeds, and higher scrap rates may have also contributed to the decision. Titanium frames require specialized tooling and precise CNC milling, while aluminum is less expensive and easier to produce at scale.
Aluminum also has a smaller carbon footprint than titanium, especially when sourced through Apple's low-carbon smelting partnerships. Apple's ability to recycle aluminum efficiently at scale may better align with its environmental strategy, while titanium's more energy-intensive production makes it less suitable for widespread use.
The new aluminum chassis on the iPhone 17 Pro series also enables new color options, with Apple introducing a new dark blue and a vibrant orange finish. Titanium's limitations in anodization are believed to have constrained Apple's ability to offer brighter finishes in previous Pro models.
However, titanium will not disappear entirely but instead become a defining feature of the newly introduced iPhone Air, an ultra-thin model measuring 5.6mm thick. The use of titanium is likely necessary to maintain structural rigidity while achieving unprecedented thinness.
Article Link: iPhone 17 Pro Ditches Titanium, Here's Why
They weren’t exempt for a period of time though, and the instability was likely added to the equation too. However, this is just an assumption.
Everyone puts a case on their iPhone anyway so it don’t really matter about losing Titanium.
So happy they did that. I never liked Titanium for consumer electronics. Even the Titanium Powerbook with its 10 GB 4200 RPM drive with the first model. It should have been plastic at those specs.
Of course they do it to cut costs. How do you think they’ve maintained the $999 pro level entry price for 7 years despite rampant inflation over the last four years? Every company looks for ways to scale and increase manufacturing efficiency in order to maintain prices. This happens every year, only in most years you don’t see it quite so dramatically. Keep in mind the dollar is worth a lot less than it was 7 years ago, yet Apple has maintained the prices. They do it by cost reduction every year. As material prices increase every year, Apple has to find some ways to reduce costs to offset those. While Qualcomm and TSMC and other parts vendors jack up their prices, Apple always finds ways to compensate.
Only one model saw a price increase, the 17 Pro. The 17 and the 17 Pro Max stayed the same. Apple did the same thing a couple years ago when they increased the price of the Pro Max models by doubling its base storage while adding $100 to its original $1099 price. IIRC, there was a redesign back then, too, though not quite as dramatic as this year’s. This year, it was the smaller Pro’s turn. 2 of the 3 returning models saw no price increase. You can technically say the Air had a price increase over the 16 Plus of $100 but they are completely different devices and aren’t really comparable.