In just a few months from now, Apple will unveil the iPhone 17 series. After a year of rumors and gossip from all over the world, there are still contradictory reports and last-minute leaks that are leaving us with some suspense ahead of the official reveal.
Whatever the case, there are plenty of reasons to expect major design changes on the iPhone 17. These are the biggest rumored changes we’re anticipating.
Dynamic Island changes
This is the most controversial rumor so far. While at first it was expected that Apple would make the Dynamic Island smaller for the iPhone 17 Pro models, display analyst Ross Young says the company won’t make changes to this year’s models, as the iPhone maker has no plans add Face ID components under the display.
Now, Weibo leaker Digital Chat Station says Apple will introduce a redesigned Dynamic Island on every iPhone 17 model. At the moment, it’s unclear what the new design would look like. However, it seems these might be software changes instead of the actual hardware.
Bigger iPhone 17 models
Following the slight increase in the size of the displays on the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max, rumors suggest the iPhone 17 will feature a 6.3-inch display, and the iPhone 17 Air will feature a 6.6-inch screen. While a Plus model would’ve had a 6.9-inch screen size comparable to the current Pro Max size, it seems Apple decided to make this ultra-thin device slightly smaller.
Thinner bezels
Weibo leaker Digital Chat Station also believes all iPhone 17 models will have bezels as thin as the ones on the iPhone 16 Pro models. However, it’s unclear if Apple plans to offer the same display technologies on the 17 Pro and base models.
For the first time since Apple added ProMotion and Always-On Display technologies to the Pro models, Apple plans to add these features to the base model.
Some rumors suggest only ProMotion will make its way to the iPhone 17 instead of AOD, or that Apple plans to add a higher static refresh rate to the base model. Still, it seems Apple might not consider these technologies worthy of being exclusive to the Pro models, as it uses other features to differentiate the devices.
New materials
Apple is reportedly planning to change the materials it uses for different iPhone models. According to the latest rumors, this is what’s coming to the new iPhones:
- iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max: Aluminum finish with glass.
- iPhone 17 Air: Titanium and glass.
If these rumors are accurate, it would mean the breaking of a pattern introduced with the iPhone X, which is when the higher-end iPhone started having a more “premium” finish while the base models would have a simpler one.
We’ll have to wait to see how Apple is going to explain these changes. After all, if the company regretted using titanium, it wouldn’t continue to use it on the iPhone 17 Air.
Camera bar
Forget about the cooktop-like design on the iPhone Pro models. According to rumors, the iPhone 17 Air and the Pro models will rock a new camera bar design. The LiDAR Scanner and the flash will in turn be on the right side of the camera module.
Meanwhile, it seems the base-model iPhone 17 will continue to offer the same design as the iPhone 16, making it less enticing than the Air or Pro models from a design perspective.
Lower Apple logo
One of the latest iPhone 17 design change rumors comes from leaker Majin Bu. They believe Apple will lower the placement of the Apple logo due to the new camera bar design. The leaker offered a first look with the MagSafe coil next to the new logo placement.
While it won’t make a huge difference since most people put a case on their iPhone as soon as it’s out of the box, it’s interesting to see Apple tweaking this design element.
