- With the iPhone 17, Apple will move the entire lineup to aluminum frame.
- The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max might get a larger rectangular camera bump made of aluminum.
- Apple will ditch the all-glass back design and shift to a new part-aluminum, part-glass design.
Apple is planning some significant changes for the iPhone 17 lineup. We have already heard several rumors about the iPhone 17 Slim or iPhone 17 Air, which is teased to be the slimmest iPhone ever. A new report sheds some light on the major design changes coming to the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max.
According to a report from The Information, the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max will be the first-ever Pro iPhones to feature an aluminum frame, since Apple delineated its iPhone lineup into standard and Pro models. In recent years, lower-end models like the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, and iPhone SE feature aluminum frames. Whereas, the premium iPhone Pro models used to feature stainless steel, and Apple upgraded to a Titanium frame with the iPhone 15 Pro models.
With the launch of the iPhone 17 lineup next year, Apple is planning to move the entire lineup back to aluminum frames. Previously, analyst Jeff Pu also suggested that the entire iPhone 17 series could be made of aluminum. Well, this seems a downgrade which no one would expect. This change might make the iPhone lighter, thinner, and even cheaper. That said, we won’t appreciate it on the high-end Pro models. The stainless steel and Titanium frames give a premium look, which we aren’t very sure about the aluminum frames.
Moving on, the rear of the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max will have a new part-aluminum, part-glass design. The top half of the back will house “a rectangular camera bump made of aluminum rather than traditional 3D glass”. We’ll continue to see the bottom half made of glass to support wireless charging. Compared to the existing models, the iPhone 17 Pro models will feature a larger camera bump.
Apple introduced a glass back with the iPhone 8 and iPhone X models in 2017. Prior to that, all iPhone models, except the iPhone, iPhone 3GS, and iPhone 5C had an aluminum rear.
To sum up, we might get to see three major design changes with the iPhone 17 Pro & 17 Pro Max:
- Apple will move the entire lineup to aluminum frame, for unknown reasons.
- The iPhone 17 Pro models might get a larger rectangular camera bump made of aluminum.
- From an all-glass back design, Apple will shift to a new part-aluminum, part-glass design.
The new design philosophy would bring the most significant design changes to the high-end Pro iPhones in recent years. Apple is expected to launch the iPhone 17 lineup in September 2025. We’ll get to see the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and the much-rumored iPhone 17 Slim or iPhone 17 Air, whatever the tech titan names it.
