iPhone 17 Pro Models Rumored to Feature Aluminum Frame Instead of Titanium Frame

[Veinticinco]

Can’t wait for their “most durable iPhone ever” with “all-new titanium” called the iPhone 18 Ultra next year…

In all seriousness, the success of the AW Ultra should signpost Apple towards producing a similar chunky and "rugged" iPhone, with significantly more battery capacity and a flush casing. Instead they're going the opposite route, which nobody is asking for.

Is there a reason they don't use magnesium? It's lighter and stronger than aluminum, steel and titanium. A lot of cameras have magnesium frames for the weight savings and strength.

Magnesium may be lighter but it definitely isn't stronger and has poorer thermal conductivity. Used as a cheaper alternative to titanium in car parts. I also remember the Mg alloy used in the G4 TiBooks, as they were the areas that delaminated and fractured most.

 

[The_Martini_Cat]

Hoping they'll bring back the blue titanium for the 18🍸😸 Very happy with my blue-colored titanium blue! Aluminum, well, I would have to wait and see if there are reports of bending.🍸🙀

I go caseless & kept my 15 Pro Max because I like the blue titanium.

 

[bluespark]

I vastly prefer steel or titanium for a premium phone. Why would they switch to an inferior material?

Inferior? One day, transparent aluminum is going to save the planet.

 

[conmee]

Paper mâché would be lighter still.

Papier-mâché? I think I’ve made my point…

 

[Reason077]

Jony Ive won't know whether to laugh or cry when he sees this design.

 

[netsped]

So they finally realized that new colors and bigger camera lenses aren't innovative enough, now they'll start messing with materials and camera housing size. That takes courage.

Current design is alright, give us a new battery technology that literally lasts days and degrades slower.

Camera quality is enough, give us the best Photos app to browse and edit thousands of high quality photos.

Phone as a whole is quite good, polish your OS.

 

[bdrolshagen]

I find this to be an utterly unattractive design, not only for the lenses area on the back. But... buttons all over all important edges, really? Usability anybody? Worse than any (*droid based) other manufacturer's device. This completely derailed design is a reason for me to not buy the device, and even more sharply watch any other (device's) mis-designs this lost group of wannabe-designers happens to present to "the(ir) world". Let's hope this won't turn into reality...

 

[AF_APPLETALK]

If they polished the aluminum like they did on the edges of the 5 and 5S, I could see the materials switch working okay

 

[Siliconguy]

I vastly prefer steel or titanium for a premium phone. Why would they switch to an inferior material?

Titanium costs more.
Titanium has poor thermal conductivity compared to aluminum.
Titanium is one of the least "Green" materials ever.

When the titanium phone was first announced I wrote a post about how the metal is extracted and purified. It's pretty extreme, titanium really wants to be an oxide. So does aluminum, but titanium is even more determined.

 

[Reason077]

Inferior? One day, transparent aluminum is going to save the planet.

Your phone likely already contains some transparent aluminium in the form of the sapphire glass camera lens cover. Okay, it's actually transparent alumina (aluminium oxide), not metallic aluminium. But still...

 

[Allen_Wentz]

I really don't like the look of the render, and it makes no sense. Apple wouldn't increase the size of the camera bump unless it needed to add space for more cameras or something else that requires more depth in that particular space.

Since the earliest camera bumps personally I have always felt that a rectangular camera bump like the new one suggested would make the most sense. It makes the flat phone more stable while leaving space to place any lenses , strobes, whatever wherever is most effective.

 

[John_Blackthorne]

Make it lighter and the Pros appear heavier.

All to accentuate the lightness of the new product so it sells better.

 

[Allen_Wentz]

Total copy of Android phones with the horizontal black camera area.

Apple should try to be original.

Personally I just want Apple to make good phones. If some phone running the free data-scraping Android OS does something good before Apple does I could care less if Apple does it second.

 

[newyorksole]

I imagine the space between all the lenses and tech won’t be black for every phone… why would it?

I would think they’ll match the space to the rest of the phone.

I notice no difference between aluminum and titanium btw lol.

 

[raghu8912]

I vastly prefer steel or titanium for a premium phone. Why would they switch to an inferior material?

every material has it's own advantages and disadvantages.
it depends what you are looking for in a material.

Material Selection for Design, Material Science 101.

 

[jcshas]

I really hope Apple reduces the camera bump

 

[Berkehan]

Looks disgusting

 

[jblank]

So how we will celebrate this innovative move from titanium to aluminium? Groundbreaking!

They should just go straight to Uranium. That's innovation!

 

[smorrissey]

Good good, aluminum good, titanium bad...

 

[t0rqx]

Classic, first change materials making customers believe the increased cost is justified. Then downgrade all materials and keep the high pricetag for increased margin.

Also the article mentions that Apple is allegedly considering aluminium just for lowering the carbon footprint, maybe tell Apple to lower their prices for a true carbon footprint reduction as it will let the USA print less money, which means less tree cutting and all production that comes with it.

Now THAT would be innovative, not to mention courageous.

 

[Cwoods]

Considering they just transitioned the Apple Watch to titanium this kind of makes no sense and it probably a false rumor. However, a titanium chassis and aluminum/glass back would be fine.

If they go back to aluminum across the board an aluminum Apple Watch with a sapphire crystal would be an instant buy.

 

[GUNSTAR1]

Id prefer Titanium but the thermals take a hit. Id much rather go back to Steel as it would make a good middle area of thermal conductivity and strength against nicks.

 

[Jeeve Stubbs]

Aluminium is more than enough for most users, less expensive, and more environmentally-friendly.

 

[bb9]

Well, it will likely not be Canadian aluminum.

 

[MidwestMacGuy]

"It is unclear why the iPhone 17 Air would have a titanium frame..."

Well, let's see, titanium bends less easily than aluminum, and the iPhone "air" is going to be particularly thin, where rigidity and resistance to bending might be a particular concern, so might that perhaps be the very non-mysterious reason?

That shouldn’t have been too hard to figure out.