Apple reportedly plans big changes for future iPhone 17s

Apple could shake up the design of its smartphones next year, even though it has barely evolved since the iPhone 12. The 2025 vintage should even mark a clear break, whatever the model.

Apple obviously intends to mark a real difference between the range ofiPhone 17 and previous generations. The iPhone 17 “Air” would replace the iPhone 17 Plus, but not only that: this model would be very thin with a thickness of 6 mm forcing Apple to “sacrifice” the photo system on the back (the smartphone would be content with a single 48 mpx sensor).

Read The future “iPhone 17 Air” would be the thinnest iPhone ever created by Apple

But that's not all. According to the usually very reliable sources on the site The Informationthe four iPhone 17 models would make do with an aluminum chassis. A major change for the two “pro” smartphones, whose structure had been stainless steel for years, before switching to titanium with the iPhone 15 Pro.

The design on the back of the future iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max would also be very different: the upper half would incorporate a rectangular aluminum bump to house the system (it is made of glass on current models). The bottom half would be made of glass to support inductive charging.

The compromises of the iPhone 17 Air

Regarding the iPhone 17 Air, The Information predicts that its thinness will prevent it from integrating a SIM card drawer. It will therefore be an eSIM-only iPhone, as is the case with models sold in the United States since the iPhone 14. Elsewhere in the world, smartphones have retained access to the SIM card. Its absence in the iPhone 17 Air may also pose a small problem in China: local regulations require the presence of such a drawer.

The Chinese regulator could, however, soften its position, as it did for the cellular Apple Watch (the watch only includes an eSIM). Furthermore, the modem developed by Apple for the iPhone 17 Air would do without access to millimeter 5G (mmWave); these ultra-fast networks with very short range are hardly used outside the United States. mmWave access is supported by US iPhone 5G models, unlike those sold in the rest of the world.

Previous rumors have reported a technical sheet including a 6.6-inch screen, an A19 chip, 8 GB of RAM, the integration of Face ID in a Dynamic Island.