iPhone 17 Pro

In September, Apple will introduce the iPhone 17 Pro and the iPhone 17 Pro Max, two new high-end flagship devices that will be sold alongside the iPhone 17 and the new ultra-thin iPhone 17 "Air" that's replacing the iPhone 17 Plus.

We have a couple months to go until the new 2025 iPhones come out, but leakers, analysts, and others with insider information about Apple's plans have shared details on what we can expect from the new devices, and so we have quite a bit of insight into the changes that Apple has in store.

The iPhone 17 Pro models will see a revamp, with Apple adopting a new design for the rear casing and the camera area. Rumors suggest Apple could go with a part glass, part aluminum build, which would increase durability. The glass would allow wireless charging to continue to be available, but a partial aluminum frame would be less prone to breakage.

There could also be an update to the rear camera, with some rumors suggesting Apple is working on a horizontal camera bump that would be a major deviation from the current square-shaped camera arrangement. With this setup, there would be a centered, horizontal camera bump at the back of the iPhone, with the three lenses arranged in either a horizontal orientation or the standard triangle orientation, just with a larger bump.

120Hz ProMotion refresh rates are rumored for all models, so better refresh rates will no longer be a Pro iPhone exclusive, and Apple may also adopt a more resilient display cover that better resists drops and scratches.

There won't be size changes, because Apple increased the size of the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max last year, and there are no rumors of an updated size. The iPhone 17 Pro will continue to measure in at 6.3 inches, and the iPhone 17 Pro Max will be 6.9 inches.

Apple is designing new A-series chips for the iPhone 17 Pro models, built on the latest 3-nanometer node. We could see some improvements to efficiency and performance, with Apple set to use A19 Pro chips for the higher-end 2025 iPhones.

This roundup focuses on the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max. For an overview of all iPhone 17 models, we have a separate iPhone 17 roundup, and we also have specifics on the super thin iPhone 17 Air in that roundup.

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Per usual, there will be two separate Pro iPhone models, the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max. Apple increased the size of the Pro lineup last year, and we're expecting those same screen sizes. The iPhone 17 Pro will measure in at 6.3 inches, while the iPhone 17 Pro Max will measure in at 6.9 inches. Overall size isn't going to change, but rumors suggest we could see some "significant" design updates, specifically to the rear of the device.

Apple could eliminate the titanium frame that it's used for the last several years, instead transitioning back to aluminum. The iPhone 17 Pro models might have an aluminum frame and a back that's half glass and half aluminum instead of all glass. The half-and-half design would improve durability at the top where there's aluminum, while still allowing for wireless charging with the glass at the bottom.

While some rumors have said the iPhone 17 Pro will have a two-tone design with a camera bump that's a different color than the rest of the device, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman says that the camera area will be the same color as the rest of the iPhone, the same as the iPhone 16 models are now.

The iPhone 17 Pro could be thicker in order to accommodate a larger battery, with the thickness coming in at 8.725mm, up from 8.25mm.

Rumors suggest that Apple might redesign the camera bump. Rather than a square bump, Apple could adopt a larger "rectangular" camera bump that's made from aluminum instead of glass. A rectangular camera bump would be a major design change, and suggests that the lenses of the camera would be arranged horizontally.

Other rumors have described the bump as an "elongated oval shape," and still others say there won't be any camera design change at all.

An elongated camera bump with horizontally arranged lenses raises questions about how spatial video might work. In current iPhone models, spatial video uses two vertically aligned lenses (the Wide and Ultra Wide) for capturing footage simultaneously. When capturing video in landscape orientation, the horizontal separation between the lenses mimics the distance between human eyes and creates depth perception. The rumored horizontal camera layout would not allow the iPhone 17 Pro lenses to shoot spatial video in landscape orientation, unless Apple plans to implement new spatial video technology.

CAD renders said to depict the iPhone 17 lineup surfaced in February, showing off the alleged design of the iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone 17 Pro. It is not quite clear if the CAD renders are accurate, but they are in line with prior leaks suggesting the iPhone 17 Air and iPhone 17 Pro models will have new horizontal camera bump designs.

There is no change to the design of the iPhone 17 camera, while the iPhone 17 Air has a single lens rear camera with an elongated bump. The iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max feature a wide bump that houses three lenses in the same arrangement as the current design, but with a horizontal bump that adds more space between the lenses and the LiDAR and flash.

There is said to be a "glass section" around the logo that's integrated into an "overall metal chassis," which has previously been described as a half aluminum, half glass build. Presumably there's still a glass area where the MagSafe charger is located.

Leaker Jon Prosser also shared a render of an iPhone 17 Pro model that features a large, rectangular camera bump on the back. He claims the design is modeled after an iPhone 17 Pro that he saw, but Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that the render is based on a fake CAD drawing, even though it is similar to other CAD renders and leaks that we've seen.

The renders and the CAD design show unusual placement of the flash and the LiDAR sensor, which are typically located close to camera lenses for proper function. It is not clear why Apple would use this design, nor what the extra space would be used for, but it has shown up several times now, including in alleged machined parts.

The iPhone 17 Pro dummy models have an outlined area on the back that ranges from the camera module to the bottom of the chassis, which is where "the glass will change" for the rumored half aluminum, half glass design that we've heard about.

There will be a glass section at the back of the iPhone for wireless charging, while the rest of the device is expected to be made from aluminum. An aluminum frame will be less prone to breakage than glass, so the new iPhone 17 Pro models should be more durable.

3D printed mockups of the iPhone 17 models demonstrate the difference between the iPhone 17 Pro and the other iPhone 17 options.

Leaked iPhone 17 Pro cases provide a look at just how large the rear camera bump might be. There is an oversized rectangular cutout that spans the entire back of the case.

Color

The iPhone 17 Pro models could be available in the same sky blue color that Apple used for the M4 MacBook Air models, according to one leaker. Sky Blue is currently the "frontrunner" out of several color prototypes that Apple has designed.

The M4 MacBook Air has a subtle blue color that looks almost silver in some lighting conditions, and it is lighter than the sierra blue that Apple used for the iPhone 13 Pro.

All iPhone 17 models could get 120Hz ProMotion technology in 2025, which would mean ProMotion would no longer be a Pro-only feature.

While multiple rumors have suggested ProMotion display capabilities will expand to the entire iPhone 17 lineup, a Chinese leaker believes that's partially inaccurate. The leaker says that the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Air will get 120Hz displays, but that the displays will not support adaptive refresh rates down to 1Hz.

A 120Hz panel would allow for smoother scrolling, animations, and UI transitions, but it would not allow for always-on display functionality.

The iPhone 17 Pro models were going to be updated with a scratch resistant anti-reflective display coating, but it sounds like that might not happen this year after all. Apple ran into issues scaling up its display coating process, and it was too slow when taking into account millions of devices, so the coating plan was scrapped.

There have been mixed rumors about the size of the Dynamic Island. Analyst Jeff Pu claims that Apple is using metalens technology for Face ID that will allow for a narrower Dynamic Island across the iPhone 17 lineup, but Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo does not expect notable changes to the Dynamic Island and he believes it will be the same size.

The iPhone 17 Pro models will adopt Apple's next-generation A19 Pro chip. The A19 Pro will be built on an upgraded N3P 3-nanometer process that should bring efficiency and speed improvements compared to the A18 Pro.

RAM

The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Air models are expected to feature 12GB RAM, up from 8GB in the iPhone 16 Pro models.

Thermal Improvements

The iPhone 17 Pro will reportedly use vapor chamber cooling technology for improved thermal performance. Vapor chamber technology disperses heat across a larger surface area to prevent thermal throttling and to keep performance stable, and it could be a benefit for Apple's high-powered A19 chip.

All iPhone models coming in 2025 are rumored to have an upgraded 24-megapixel front-facing camera, which is an improvement over the 12-megapixel front-facing camera in the iPhone 16 models. The camera will notably improve image quality, and allow for more cropping in without a loss of quality.

Apple is expected to upgrade the Telephoto lens to 48 megapixels, a major improvement over the current 12-megapixel Telephoto lens. The iPhone 17 Pro models will be the first iPhones with three 48-megapixel lenses, as the Wide and Ultra Wide lenses have already been upgraded to 48 megapixels.

One leaker has suggested the new 48-megapixel Telephoto lens will offer 3.5x optical zoom (85mm equivalent) instead of the 5x zoom (120mm equivalent) that is currently available. 3.5x optical zoom could be better suited for portraits, and the higher resolution allows for more cropping in, allowing Apple to also simulate 5x optical zoom. Apple already uses this method for the Fusion camera in the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus, as the Wide lens enables a 2x digital crop that is the only "telephoto" option for Apple's more affordable iPhones.

The iPhone 17 Pro could support shooting 8K video, up from the current 4K recording maximum.

The iPhone 17 Pro models might offer dual video recording, a feature that would allow users to record video with the front and rear cameras simultaneously. Some apps already support this functionality, which is useful for content creators, but the built-in camera does not.

The iPhone 17 Pro's Wide camera could have a mechanical aperture that lets users adjust the size of the aperture to tweak the amount of light that reaches the lens. Current iPhones have fixed apertures, but a variable aperture will allow for more control over the depth of field.

With the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus, Apple introduced a new battery adhesive that can be loosened with a low-voltage electrical current, making the batteries easier to remove and replace. That same technology could be used in the iPhone 17 Pro models this year.

Battery life could increase, with rumors suggesting that the iPhone 17 Pro will be slightly thicker to accommodate a larger battery.

Apple apparently tested a 7.5W reverse wireless charging feature for the iPhone 17 Pro, which would allow the iPhone to provide wireless power to other Apple devices like AirPods and Apple Watch. Current iPhones are able to provide 4.5W of power to the Apple Watch and AirPods over USB-C, but there is no option for reverse wireless charging.

The iPhone 17 models could support the next-generation Qi 2.2 standard, based on a leaked image of a MagSafe charger with Qi 2.2 support. Qi 2.2 supports wireless charging speeds of up to 50W, though that does not necessarily mean that Apple's iPhones will be available to charge at 50W.

The iPhone 17 models are expected to support up to 35W wired charging speeds, which means there would be no change from the current charging maximum.

While the iPhone 17 Air will have Apple's 5G modem, the iPhone 17 Pro models will continue to use a 5G modem from Qualcomm.

All four iPhone 17 models that are coming in 2025 will have Apple's first custom-designed Wi-Fi chip with Wi-Fi 7 support. Wi-Fi 7 is already used in the iPhone 16 models, but Apple's chip design could bring additional efficiency and connectivity improvements, and it paves the way for a future all-in-one SoC.

Apple is aiming to create a wireless setup where the components are tightly integrated and more energy efficient, which will let the company cut down on the battery use of cellular, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth technologies.

Wi-Fi 7 supports data transmission over 2.4GHz, 5GHz, and 6GHz band simultaneously for faster speeds and lower latency with a supported router. Wi-Fi 7 supports peak speeds of more than 40Gb/s. Bluetooth 5.3 is also expected.

One rumor has suggested the largest of Apple's iPhones in 2025 will be called the "iPhone 17 Ultra" instead of "iPhone 17 Pro Max," but this is a rumor that we've heard twice before during the iPhone 15 and iPhone 16 rumor cycles, so there is a good chance that this information is not accurate.

The iPhone 17 models could see a price hike, as Apple's component costs are increasing due to tariffs. Apple will pair the potential price increase with new features and camera design changes to justify the price to consumers, rather than blaming tariffs.

Apple will unveil the iPhone 17 Pro models alongside the iPhone 17 and the iPhone 17 Air in September 2025.

Starting in 2026, Apple will split its iPhone lineup between fall and spring launches. The iPhone 18 Air, iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and a foldable iPhone will launch in the second half of 2026, while the standard iPhone 18 and the iPhone 18e won't launch until spring 2027.

The iPhone 18 Pro models that are coming in 2026 could have under-display Face ID, which would cut down on the size of the Dynamic Island. There might just be a single camera hole for the front-facing camera, with the camera cutout located in the top left corner. Later, in 2027, Apple could release an iPhone with an all-screen design, featuring an edge-to-edge display with no cutouts. Apple is essentially planning iPhone design updates every year through 2027.

Apple's first foldable iPhone is expected in fall 2026, and rumors suggest it will launch alongside the iPhone 18 Air and iPhone 18 Pro models. It is expected to have a "nearly invisible" crease when it's folded, thanks to a high-quality hinge.

The iPhone 18 Pro expected in 2026 could have a main rear camera with a variable aperture. A variable aperture lens would allow the iPhone to perform more like a DSLR camera, providing users with more manual control over the amount of light entering the lens.

A variable aperture lens would be able to better adjust to different lighting conditions, and it would also allow for more control over depth of field for sharper focus on subjects and smoother background blur.

The iPhone 18 Pro models may include the C2 chip, an upgraded version of Apple's C1 modem. The C2 is expected to feature improved power consumption and transmission speed, and it will include mmWave 5G support.

Apple's iPhone 18 models will use Apple's A20 chip, which could be manufactured on the next-generation 2-nanometer process. The 2nm process will ensure that the A19 has notable speed and performance improvements over the 3nm A19 chip that's coming in the iPhone 17 lineup.