Technologies

Every iPhone 17 Pro Rumor: Better Cameras, New Designs

Rumored features could improve Apple’s new iPhone inside and out, but tariffs still loom as the launch approaches.

We’re just a few short months away from getting our hands on the rumored iPhone 17 Pro, along with the rest of the new iPhone lineup.

With Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference just days away, the latest rumors for the iPhone 17 Pro tout better video capabilities and improved battery technology. There’s even talk that audio clarity could get a boost, which we’ll get to in a bit.

And lest we forget, President Donald Trump’s tariffs still loom large amid the anticipation of the rumored iPhone 17. Each day brings more uncertainty about how much tariffs could raise the price of an iPhone, including a 25% tariff that Trump targeted at Apple after it announced US iPhone manufacturing would move to India — not the US — to avoid Chinese tariffs.

We’re tracking all the biggest leaks and rumors about the iPhone 17 Pro and spilling what we’ve heard so far.

iPhone 17 Pro release date: When is the next iPhone coming out?

Over the last several years, Apple has consistently announced its new phones in the first half of September. This will likely be the case with the full iPhone 17 lineup, with the exception of the iPhone 17E, which could arrive in early 2026, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo and a report from The Information.

The iPhone 17 lineup may be the last to follow this fall-release model. Starting with the iPhone 18, Apple will reportedly split its phone releases so that lower-cost iPhones launch in the first half of the year and the higher-end Pro models become available later in the year. But that isn’t expected to happen until 2026, so you can likely still expect the iPhone 17 Pro to become available this fall.

Preorders for a new iPhone typically begin the Friday after the announcement, with the phone shipping a week later.

iPhone 17 Pro price: Will tariffs increase the cost of the next iPhone?

President Trump has raised, lowered and paused tariffs a dizzying number of times since February, all of which could affect the cost of the iPhone 17 Pro.

Apple, which says it could move much of US iPhone production from China to India, has escaped many of the tariff hikes thanks to a reciprocal tariff exemption list that includes many phones, laptops and other electronics that Apple produces.

However, all the reprieves appear to be temporary, so reciprocal tariffs could still affect prices by the time the iPhone 17 is released.

Trump threatened Apple with a 25% tariff on all iPhones made outside the country in a social media post on May 23. Later that day, he said that all smartphones — not just iPhones — would be hit with the 25% tariff by the end of June if they don’t move operations to the US.

Regardless of how tariffs play out, Apple plans to raise iPhone prices later this year, The Wall Street Journal reported. Apple apparently plans to ascribe the price increase to better features and design costs so it can avoid pointing the finger at tariffs and incurring the wrath of Trump (like Amazon temporarily did).

CNET Managing Editor Patrick Holland, who’s been reviewing phones for CNET since 2016, points out that the iPhone is overdue for a price bump. He noted that Apple has never increased the price for an iPhone Pro ($999) since the iPhone X was first introduced in 2017.

So yes, you should expect to pay more for the iPhone 17, regardless of tariffs.

Read more: Thinking About Buying a New iPhone? Here’s Why You Should Wait

New iPhone 17 colors

Rumors of a new color for the iPhone started in April, when Twitter user and leaker Majin Bu (not the Dragon Ball Z character) posted that the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max could get a sky blue option. The latest MacBook Air models come in sky blue, which could give you some idea of the soft hue we’ll see on the iPhone if it goes in the same direction.

For reference, the iPhone 16 and Plus made a splash last year when they debuted pink, teal and ultramarine color options, alongside the standard white and black. The iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max introduced a new color, desert titanium — a restrained shade of peach — alongside the classic natural titanium, white titanium and black titanium options.

iPhone 17 Pro camera bump redesign

The iPhone 17 Pro’s camera has been the subject of multiple rumored changes, most notably that Apple could add a horizontal camera bar that spreads across the width of the phone. The front-facing «selfie camera» could also be getting an upgrade.

Back in January, Bu posted a leaked image on X suggesting that the phone could feature a pill-shaped camera bar that looks a lot like the camera bar on Google’s Pixel 9 phone.

That raised the question of whether the iPhone 17 Pro would align the three camera lenses in a single row or leave them stacked in a pyramid design, as it did with the iPhone 16 Pro.

In February, Bu posted CAD renders of what could be the iPhone 17 lineup, and Front Page Tech also shared iPhone 17 Pro renders in this video on YouTube:

Both showed horizontal camera bars for the iPhone 17 Pro models that keep the stacked lens layout.

Pu wrote in March that the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max will feature a 48-megapixel telephoto rear camera, up from 12 megapixels on the iPhone 16 Pro models. That would mean all three cameras on the iPhone 17 Pro models — Fusion, ultrawide and telephoto — would be 48 megapixels.

And as for your selfies, analyst Jeff Pu reports that the front-facing camera will be upgraded from 12 megapixels on the iPhone 16 to 24 megapixels on all iPhone 17 models.

Front Page Tech reported in April that the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max may also add a built-in video feature that allows you to record with the front and rear cameras simultaneously. The feature would let you overlay a shot of your face over an outward-facing video.

Leaked Specs: iPhone 17 vs. iPhone 17 Pro vs. iPhone 17 Pro Max

Specs for the iPhone 17 are more grist for the rumor mill. All of the information in the chart below is based on rumors, leaks and analysis we’ve gathered about the iPhone 17 base model, iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max. None of the information in this chart has been confirmed by Apple.

Rumored iPhone 17 specs compared

	iPhone 17	iPhone 17 Pro	iPhone 17 Pro Max
Release Date	First half of September 2025	First half of September 2025	First half of September 2025
Cost (based on iPhone 16 prices)	$829	$999	$1,199
Potential price with 25% Apple tariff	$1,036	$1,249	$1,499
New color option	—	Sky Blue	Sky Blue
Refresh rate	120Hz	120Hz	120Hz
Display	6.3-inch	6.3-inch	6.9-inch
Rear camera upgrade	—	48MP telephoto	48MP telephoto
Front camera upgrade	24 megapixels	24 megapixels	24 megapixels
Memory (RAM)	12GB	12GB	12GB
Battery	A18	A19 Pro	A19 Pro
Frame composition	aluminum	aluminum	aluminum

Audio

Among the latest rumors to surface comes from wccftech, which claims that the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max would get longer earpieces, citing a post on X from @duanrui1205. In theory, that could signal improved audio clarity. CNET got to learn first-hand how Apple tests, calibrates and tunes the audio (and video) on an iPhone. Additional improvements in audio quality could potentially elevate an already impressive feature.

Display

Apple Insider reports that the iPhone 17 could get a larger display than the iPhone 16. DSCC founder and Counterpoint Research VP Ross Young posted on X that the base iPhone 17 will be 6.3 inches, an upgrade from the iPhone 16’s 6.1-inch display. In theory, that means the iPhone 17 would have the same screen size as the iPhone 17 Pro.

The iPhone 17 Pro Max is rumored to continue with a 6.9-inch display, similar to the iPhone 16 Pro Max.

One feature you likely won’t see with the new iPhone 17 Pro models is an antireflective display, which Holland called one of the best attributes of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. A source told MacRumors that Apple had to scrap plans for a more scratch-resistant display because of scaling issues with the coating process.

Refresh rate

After the backlash over Apple not updating the 60Hz display on the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus, rumors of a 120Hz display (Pro Motion) on all iPhone 17 models could be welcome news, along with possibly adding the always-on display to the baseline model.

Memory

Apple Intelligence and AI are likely to play more prominent roles with the iPhone 17. To support the new features, all the iPhone 17 models will step up to 12GB of RAM, tipster Digital Chat Station reported in April. Kuo has also suggested this could happen, according to Digital Trends.

Considering that the iPhone 16 lineup had 8GB of RAM across all models, this could be a big upgrade for the iPhone 17.

Frame

There’s been plenty of discussion about whether the iPhone 17 Pro will ditch its titanium alloy frame for an aluminum one. The most recent rumors, according to Pu, predict that the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max will all have aluminum frames.

Dynamic Island

Pu predicted in May that all iPhone 17 models will use a new metalens technology for the proximity sensor, which could result in a smaller Face ID sensor and Dynamic Island, according to a report by 9to5Mac. However, Pu’s report contradicts Kuo, who said that the iPhone 17’s Dynamic Island would remain «largely unchanged» compared to the iPhone 16.

Dimensions

According to a report by 9to5Mac in May, the iPhone 17 Pro Max may be 8.725mm thick, compared with the iPhone 16 Pro Max, which clocks in at 8.25mm thick. That larger size could potentially make room for more battery.

In a post on X, Majin Bu showed a video of what looks like a thicker iPhone 17 Pro model, likely basing the design on the iPhone 17 Pro’s rumored dimensions:

iPhone 17 Pro is beautiful pic.twitter.com/d2osFRSVDS

— Majin Bu (@MajinBuOfficial) May 28, 2025

iPhone 17 battery life

At the beginning of May, Pu said the iPhone 17 Pro could have the A19 Pro chip. By the end of the month, Pu predicted the iPhone 17 base model will have the same A18 chip used in the iPhone 16, MacRumors reported.

The iPhone 17 Air was originally expected to scale back on battery life to make a thinner design possible, although the latest rumor from AppleInsider is that it might use a silicon-anode battery that could help extend the battery life.

Are new iPhone rumors and leaks to be trusted?

Here’s the part where I come in and say: Everything’s a rumor until Apple officially releases the next iPhone. Rumors and speculation leading up to the iPhone’s release are often based on insider knowledge or leaked information from teams working on the iPhone’s designs, but those designs are works in progress — not necessarily the final product.

Technologies

Google races to put Gemini at the center of Android before Apple’s AI reboot

Google is using its latest Android rollout to position Gemini as the AI layer across phones, Chrome, laptops and cars.

Google is using its latest Android rollout to make Gemini less of a chatbot and more of an operating layer across the phone, browser, car and laptop, just weeks before Apple is expected to show its own Gemini-powered Apple Intelligence reboot at WWDC.
Ahead of its Google I/O developer conference next week, the company previewed a number of Android updates, including AI-powered app automation, a smarter version of Chrome on Android, new tools for creators, a redesigned Android Auto experience, and a sweeping set of new security features.
Alphabet is counting on Gemini to help Google compete directly with OpenAI and Anthropic in the market for artificial intelligence models and services, while also serving as the AI backbone across its expansive portfolio of products, including Android. Meanwhile, Gemini is powering part of Apple’s new AI strategy, giving Google a role in the iPhone maker’s reset even as it races to prove its own version of personal AI on the phone is further along.
Sameer Samat, who oversees Google’s Android ecosystem, told CNBC that Google is rebuilding parts of Android around Gemini Intelligence to help users complete everyday tasks more easily.
“We’re transitioning from an operating system to an intelligence system,” he said.
As part of Tuesday’s announcements. Google said Gemini Intelligence will be able to move across apps, understand what’s on the screen and complete tasks that would normally require a user to jump between multiple services. That means Android is moving beyond the traditional assistant model, where users ask a question and get an answer, and acting more like an agent.
For instance, Google says Gemini can pull relevant information from Gmail, build shopping carts and book reservations. Samat gave the example of asking Gemini to look at the guest list for a barbecue, build a menu, add ingredients to an Instacart list and return for approval before checkout.
A big concern surrounding agentic AI involves software taking action on a user’s behalf without permissions. Samat said Gemini will come back to the user before completing a transaction, adding, “the human is always in the loop.”
Four months after announcing its Gemini deal with Google, Apple is under pressure to show a more capable version of Apple Intelligence, which has been a relative laggard on the market. Apple has long framed privacy, hardware integration and control of the user experience as its advantages.
Google’s Android push is designed to show it can bring AI deeper into the device experience while still giving users control over what Gemini can see, where it can act and when it needs confirmation.
The app automation features will roll out in waves, starting with the latest Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel phones this summer, before expanding across more Android devices, including watches, cars, glasses and laptops later this year.
The company is also redesigning Android Auto around Gemini, turning the car into another major surface for its assistant. Android Auto is in more than 250 million cars, and Google says the new release includes its biggest maps update in a decade and Gemini-powered help with tasks like ordering dinner while driving.
Alphabet’s AI strategy has been embraced by Wall Street, which has pushed the company’s stock price up more than 140% in the past year, compared to Apple’s roughly 40% gain. Investors now want to see how Gemini can become more central to the products people use every day.
WATCH: Alphabet briefly tops Nvidia after report of $200 billion Anthropic cloud deal

Technologies

Waymo recalls 3,800 robotaxis after glitch allowed some vehicles to ‘drive into standing water’

Waymo issued a voluntary recall of about 3,800 of its robotaxis to fix software issues that could allow them to drive into flooded roadways.

Waymo is recalling about 3,800 robotaxis in the U.S. to fix software issues that could allow them to “drive onto a flooded roadway,” according to a letter on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s website.
The voluntary recall is for Waymo vehicles that use the company’s fifth and sixth generation automated driving systems (or ADS), the U.S. auto safety regulator said in the letter posted Tuesday.
Waymo autonomous vehicles in Austin, Texas, were seen on camera driving onto a flooded street and stalling, requiring other drivers to navigate around them. It’s the latest example of a safety-related issue for the Alphabet-owned AV unit that’s rapidly bolstering its fleet of vehicles and entering new U.S. markets.
Waymo has drawn criticism for its vehicles failing to yield to school buses in Austin, and for the performance of its vehicles during widespread power outages in San Francisco in December, when robotaxis halted in traffic, causing gridlock.
The company said in a statement on Tuesday that it’s “identified an area of improvement regarding untraversable flooded lanes specific to higher-speed roadways,” and opted to file a “voluntary software recall” with the NHTSA.
“Waymo provides over half a million trips every week in some of the most challenging driving environments across the U.S., and safety is our primary priority,” the company said.
Waymo added that it’s working on “additional software safeguards” and has put “mitigations” in place, limiting where its robotaxis operate during extreme weather, so that they avoid “areas where flash flooding might occur” in periods of intense rain.
WATCH: Waymo launches new autonomous system in Chinese-made vehicle

Technologies

Qualcomm tumbles 13% as semiconductor stocks retreat from historic AI-fueled surge

Semiconductor equities reversed sharply after a broad AI-driven advance, with Qualcomm suffering its worst day since 2020 amid inflation concerns and rising oil prices.

Semiconductor stocks fell sharply on Tuesday, reversing course after an extensive rally that had expanded the artificial intelligence investment theme well past Nvidia and driven the industry to unprecedented levels.

Qualcomm plunged 13% and was on track for its steepest single-day decline since 2020. Intel shed 8%, while On Semiconductor and Skyworks Solutions each lost more than 6%. The iShares Semiconductor ETF, which benchmarks the overall sector, fell 5%.

The sell-off came after a key gauge of consumer prices came in above forecasts, and as conflict in Iran pushed crude oil higher—prompting investors to shift away from riskier assets.

The preceding advance had widened the AI opportunity set beyond longtime industry leader Nvidia, which for much of the past several years had largely carried the market to new peaks on its own.

Explosive appetite for central processing units, along with the graphics processing units that power large language models, has sent chipmakers to all-time highs.

Market participants are wagering that the shift from AI model training to autonomous agents will lift demand for additional AI hardware. Among the beneficiaries are memory chip producers, which are raising prices as supply remains tight.

Micron Technology slid 6%, and Sandisk cratered 8%. Sandisk’s stock has surged more than six times over since January.