The iPhone 17 Series Gets the Biggest iPhone Design Refresh in Years Leave a comment

Apple has largely caught with the identical iPhone design for the reason that iPhone 11 debuted in 2019, however change is afoot in Cupertino. Whereas the iPhone 17 could resemble iPhones of the previous few years, there’s a completely new digicam format for the iPhone 17 Professional fashions. Additionally, there is a brand-new iPhone! The iPhone Air replaces what was speculated to be the iPhone 17 Plus. It, too, encompasses a new look, and it is the thinnest iPhone Apple has ever made.

The adjustments on the usual iPhone 17—usually Apple’s hottest iPhone mannequin—aren’t as drastic. The corporate introduced the brand new handsets alongside new Apple Watches and AirPods Professional at its annual September occasion on the Steve Jobs Theater at Apple Park in Cupertino, California.

Preorders can be found on Friday, with the iPhone 17 beginning at $799, the iPhone Air costing $999, and the iPhone 17 Professional and Professional Max seeing a rise to $1,099 and $1,199. The iPhone Air is eSIM solely globally, and extra iPhone fashions than ever have eSIM-only variations all over the world. Here is all the pieces it is advisable know.

The iPhone Air

Apple’s iPhone Air is becoming a member of a slew of different telephones that launched in 2025 that tout unimaginable thinness, just like the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge and the Honor Magic V5. It is 5.6-mm thick—an unimaginable feat, as that is even thinner than Samsung’s handset and a 2.65-mm drop from the iPhone 16 Professional.

That is about seven bank cards stacked on high of one another. With it comes weight financial savings of 24 grams in comparison with the common iPhone 16, and this combo can dramatically alter how the cellphone feels in your hand, particularly contemplating it sports activities a big 6.5-inch display. It is also the one iPhone this yr using titanium to assist with the sturdiness of the body. Talking of which, Apple says this cellphone makes use of its new Ceramic Protect 2 materials on the entrance for 3X higher scratch resistance and 4X higher drop safety. The again glass makes use of the unique Ceramic Protect glass combination.

There’s nonetheless a digicam bump, besides it is now horizontal (ahem, like a sure Google cellphone), however as you will see, there are compromises: You solely get one digicam. It could possibly simulate a 2X optical zoom like most iPhones as we speak, however in contrast to Samsung’s skinny cellphone, there is no ultrawide digicam, making it much less versatile for shutterbugs.

This cellphone debuts Apple’s C1X modem, which permits for sub-6 5G however no millimeter wave 5G, and it additionally options the first-ever Apple N1 wi-fi networking chip. The N1 has Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread help, which may enhance native sensible residence controls with supported gadgets.

It nonetheless maintains options from earlier iPhones, just like the Dynamic Island, which takes up much less area on the entrance, the Motion Button, and Digicam Management. The selfie digicam has been upgraded to 24 megapixels and helps Apple’s Heart Stage expertise, which retains you within the body. The selfie digicam has a sq. sensor, so you may take selfies in panorama or portrait orientation with out having to modify the cellphone into panorama orientation. Apple has additionally added the flexibility to shoot movies with each the entrance and rear cameras on the identical time.

Apple says inside is a “high-density battery,” which probably alludes to silicon-carbon battery expertise to attain this degree of thinness. The cellphone is powered by the brand new A19 Professional chip, options Apple’s ProMotion 120-Hz refresh charge for the show, and has magnetic Qi2 25W wi-fi charging. It is out there in black, white, gentle gold, and light-weight blue.

You may suppose this super-thin iPhone could have restricted battery life, however Apple remains to be claiming the identical video playback numbers because the iPhone 16 Plus: 27 hours. That is probably why Apple is promoting a brand new low-profile MagSafe energy financial institution to assist customers preserve their slim cellphone topped up. Let’s simply see how usually it is advisable use it.

The iPhone 17 Professional

The very first thing you will discover in regards to the iPhone 17 Professional and the iPhone 17 Professional Max is the redesigned digicam array on the again, which Apple calls the Digicam Plateau. Gone is the square-shaped digicam module in favor of an extended, horizontal digicam bar. Perhaps it means the iPhone lastly will not rock on a desk. There’s additionally a barely completely different coloration tone under, indicating the cut up between the brand new aluminum chassis and the glass.

You heard that proper, Apple’s priciest fashions are reverting to aluminum as a substitute of the titanium of yesteryear. Aluminum handles warmth higher and is cheaper and lighter, to not point out a greater carbon footprint. (It is one hundred pc recycled aluminum.) Now the one titanium mannequin within the firm’s lineup is the iPhone Air. You’d suppose this could carry a worth drop, however alas.

Apple can be debuting a vapor-chamber cooling system on these telephones, serving to them preserve cool beneath load. That is one thing Android telephones have used for years, so it will be fascinating to see the way it impacts efficiency throughout the board, whether or not you are capturing 4K video or taking part in a graphically demanding recreation.