The anticipated reveal of Apple’s newest iPhone is just around the corner. For months now, rumors have been swirling about what the upcoming device, likely called the iPhone 17, could look like, from a redesigned camera module to fresh colors to a slimmer “Air” version of the handset. The phones are expected to debut in early September.

Perhaps the biggest looming question is whether iPhones could get pricier, especially with tariffs. President Donald Trump has said Apple will have to pay a 25% tariff on iPhones made outside the US. This would almost certainly lead to a price hike for consumers. We’ll have to wait to see how Apple responds and if shoppers really do end up shouldering that extra cost.  

Here’s what analysts and leakers predict about the iPhone 17 lineup. 

A slimmer iPhone 17 ‘Air’ 

One of the hottest rumors surrounds a possible iPhone “Air,” a thinner version of Apple’s flagship device that would replace the iPhone Plus option. 

The Air could feature a 6.6-inch screen, making it slightly smaller than the iPhone 16 Plus and iPhone 16 Pro Max but still bigger than the baseline model, according to analysts Jeff Pu and Ming-Chi Kuo. A Bloomberg report from March supports those rumors and notes that the iPhone Air could measure 5.5mm thick. The report also suggests that the phone will cost about $900, putting it on par with the iPhone 16 Plus and maintaining its place in the iPhone hierarchy. But it’s not clear if tariffs will affect that price.

See also: Thinking About Buying a New iPhone? Here’s Why You Should Wait

For Apple to slim down a device, it would need to make hardware trade-offs and that might include the phone’s camera. According to Kuo and Bloomberg, it’s possible this version of the iPhone 17 would have only one main camera, doing without the ultrawide and 5x telephoto lenses that have been staples of Apple’s premium iPhones for years. This would place the slim iPhone in the same camera camp as the $600 iPhone 16E, as that phone has only one rear lens. The good news, though, is that the selfie camera on the iPhone Air could get a boost; more on that later. 

One key challenge will be maintaining a high battery capacity, as a slimmer build typically means less space for the battery and thus a potential compromise on battery life — as is the case with the skinny Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge. A May report from AppleInsider suggests the thinner iPhone could use a silicon-anode battery to help extend battery life. Another feature that could play a critical role here is the AI-powered Adaptive Power feature arriving with iOS 26. This can help conserve battery by automatically adjusting your iPhone’s performance based on how you’re using it at the moment, according to Apple. Adaptive Power could therefore be especially helpful with making the iPhone 17 Air’s battery last longer.

Along with tackling battery shortcomings, Bloomberg suggests Apple will pack the iPhone 17 Air with superslim bezels, a Camera Control button and the Dynamic Island.

In May, Pu noted the iPhone 17 Air will feature an A19 chip, while the baseline model would have the same A18 chip used in the iPhone 16. The Air could also include the Apple-developed 5G modem, called the C1 chip, which debuted on the iPhone 16E.

Looking ahead, it’s possible Apple could take its hardware breakthroughs with the iPhone 17 Air and apply them to a foldable phone in 2026 — similar to how Samsung borrowed the slimmer design of the Galaxy S25 Edge and brought it to the Galaxy Z Fold 7 to make it feel as close to a standard, mainstream phone as possible, at least when closed. If the iPhone 17 Air takes off, that thinner form factor could shape Apple’s other future devices. 

A higher refresh rate across the board

Rumor has it that all models of the iPhone 17 will feature a 120Hz display, bumping the non-Pro models up from their current 60Hz refresh rate. That could be a welcome change, as the discrepancy between the Pro and non-Pro refresh rate is surprising; when Apple debuted the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus with a 60Hz display, there was a bit of an outcry from folks who expected more in 2024. This rumored update could remedy that — and possibly bring the always-on display to the baseline model. 

There’s been a lot of back-and-forth about whether the latest iPhones will have a scratch-resistant, anti-reflective display. A July report from MacRumors suggests that feature will in fact be arriving on the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max, just not the baseline iPhone 17 or the Air. This would make the Pro models the first iPhones with an anti-reflective screen, giving them a feature that CNET’s Patrick Holland deemed one of the best attributes of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. 

Camera upgrades 

It’s not an iPhone release without a camera upgrade and there have been plenty of rumors about what the camera module could look like on Apple’s upcoming phones. In January, a leaked image from Majin Bu on X suggested the phone could feature a pill-shaped camera bar, essentially resembling what you’d find on Google’s Pixel 9 phone. In February, Bu followed up with CAD renders of what’s said to be the iPhone 17 lineup, featuring horizontal camera bars, as well as larger rectangular bars on the iPhone 17 Pro models. 

Front Page Tech also shared iPhone 17 Pro renders in a video in February, depicting a larger camera bar that maintains the lens’ stacked layout. A separate video on the iPhone 17 Air shows a smaller camera bar, with one lens on the left. 

In April, Bloomberg reported the “iPhone 17 Pro will look a lot more like the 16 Pro than anticipated,” adding, “From the front, the 17 Pro will appear quite similar to the 16 Pro. It’s the back camera that will look meaningfully different.” The latest rumors suggest the iPhone 17 Pro’s three-lens camera arrangement will be maintained but will sit on a new panel that stretches across the phone’s width and is the same color as the rest of the phone.

Later in April, Bu again posted an image of the purported iPhone 17 lineup, showing those wider camera bars with the stacked lenses still configured to the left. 

Not until next year, for the 20th anniversary of the iPhone, will Apple be “preparing a major shake-up” for the phone’s design, Bloomberg says. That includes a (long-rumored) foldable version and a “bold new Pro model that makes more extensive use of glass.”

Another camera-related rumor is that the selfie camera on all iPhone 17 models, including the Air, will be upgraded to 24 megapixels, according to Pu. That’s a decent bump from the current 12-megapixel front-facing camera on the iPhone 16 lineup, although it’s important to remember that more megapixels don’t automatically mean better photos. Still, given how much people increasingly rely on their front cameras to snap selfies and record videos for TikTok and Instagram, this will surely be a welcome advancement.

Possible iPhone 17 colors

So, what hues will the iPhone 17 lineup arrive in? Bu has been posting renderings of what might be on the horizon.

The latest rumors suggest the baseline iPhone 17 could be available in: 

• Black
• Blue
• Silver
• Purple
• Green

Meanwhile, the iPhone 17 Air could come in:

• Black 
• Light blue
• Light gold
• Silver

And the iPhone 17 Pro models could arrive in:

• Black 
• Silver
• Dark Blue
• Orange

iOS 26 brings a fresh look

Apple has revamped its mobile operating system with iOS 26 (not iOS 19), which is named after the last two digits of the upcoming year. And with iPadOS, MacOS, WatchOS, TVOS and VisionOS following the same naming convention, the move is designed to bring more uniformity — naming-wise and appearance-wise — across the operating systems.

The new Liquid Glass interface brings a more transparent, lens-like look to the iPhone and other Apple devices. With iOS 26, the Camera app also adopts a more minimalistic design, and Photos once again makes it easier to find your albums by adding separate tabs for your Library and Collections, instead of forcing you to scroll through a single cluttered screen. Updates to Messages include being able to add backgrounds to chat windows and create polls in group chats, and a new screening tool can better detect spam texts and move messages from unknown senders to a dedicated folder. You can read more about iOS 26 features here.

Other possible features

It’s not just iOS 26’s Adaptive Power feature that could stretch the battery life on upcoming iPhones. It’s rumored the iPhone 17 Pro Max could be thicker to house a bigger battery, according to Ice Universe. The leaker says the top-of-the-line phone could go from 8.25mm on the iPhone 16 Pro Max to 8.725mm on the iPhone 17 Pro Max. In addition, leaker Instant Digital suggests the high-end phone could have around a 5,000 mAh battery, a notable increase over the 4,685 mAh on the iPhone 16 Pro Max, according to third-party tests. 

Rumors on what frames the iPhone 17 lineup will feature have gone back and forth. In February, Pu suggested the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max will all have aluminum frames. He noted that the iPhone 17 Air could be the outlier with a titanium frame. 

There also have been contradictory reports on whether the Dynamic Island on the iPhone 17 lineup will look any different. In May, Pu said all iPhone 17 models will use a new metalens technology for the proximity sensor, which could allow Apple to reduce the size of the Face ID sensor and the Dynamic Island, according to 9to5Mac. Kuo, on the other hand, said in January that the Dynamic Island would remain “largely unchanged” in the iPhone 17 lineup compared to the iPhone 16. We’ll have to see what ends up being true. 

In February, Kuo noted Apple will swap out Broadcom’s Wi-Fi chips for in-house chips across the iPhone 17 lineup, stating this would “enhance connectivity across Apple devices.” It’s not yet clear what exactly this would mean but it would be interesting if Apple’s C1 chip were also accompanied by its own Wi-Fi chip.

In April, tipster Digital Chat Station noted that given the use of Apple Intelligence and AI on a “large scale,” the iPhone 17 lineup will come with 12GB of RAM, instead of the current 8GB. Kuo noted the iPhone 17 Air and Pro models would sport that increased 12GB of RAM, but that Apple was still deciding whether to equip the baseline model with 8GB or 12GB of RAM. In May, Pu noted the baseline would remain at 8GB. 

We’ll continue to update this piece as more rumors surface so be sure to follow along. 

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