Apple’s iPhone lineup this year will be especially exciting. There are five new iPhones coming, with the ultra-thin iPhone 17 Air potentially stealing the spotlight. I think that’s why Apple is reportedly bringing a redesign to the iPhone 17 Pro line too. Here are the details.
iPhone 17 Air will offer the new look that sells
Do you remember the days of people asking, “Is that the new iPhone?” I’m not sure that happens anymore.
The iPhone’s earlier generations offered more recognizable physical differences from year to year.
But for a long while, that’s no longer been the case.
Unless you’re paying extremely close attention, it’s hard to distinguish between an iPhone 16 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 14 Pro.
You can even go back further, like to the iPhone X in 2017 that introduced the notch. The difference between the Dynamic Island and notch can be easy to miss for lots of people.
That’s partly why the iPhone 17 Air sounds so compelling.
Apple’s replacement for the iPhone Plus is expected to feature an ultra-thin new design with a single rear camera.
In other words, it’s going to offer a new look that others can spot. And that may just garner the old question, “Is that the new iPhone?”
But that creates a potential problem for Apple.
Its flagship Pro line could be seen as dated.
And that’s not at all what Apple wants the 17 Air to accomplish.
Apple knows iPhone 17 Pro needs a redesign too, and plans to deliver
I’ve written before about how hard this year’s iPhone decision will be for typical Pro buyers. Many of us buy the Pro models because they’re the best iPhones available.
That will still technically be true this year, but the 17 Air’s new design is likely to lure plenty of Pro users away—despite the Pro models being superior on paper.
Which Apple doesn’t want, since the Pro models are expected to be more expensive than the 17 Air.
And that dilemma is exactly why Apple is making ‘significant changes’ to the iPhone 17 Pro’s design.
- switch to an aluminum frame
- larger, ‘rectangular’ camera bump
- aluminum top half of the back, and glass bottom half
- smaller Dynamic Island on the Pro Max
- and what sounds like rounded edges
Overall, whether these changes sound appealing to you or not, one thing is clear: they’ll make for a visually different look.
iPhone 17 Pro redesign: wrap-up
After years of Pro models looking nearly indistinguishable, Apple’s iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max will actually sport a new look.
Top comment by NotTheDrone
A smaller, thinner pro with titanium and smaller camera bump but still amazing camera improvements and longer battery life, that's what I would prefer in an iPhone pro. For Apple Inteligence I'm looking for Siri to answer questions like how long to get to destination X, what are my alternative routes, and what is the differenece in time on each route. That would be a game changer.
One that should keep the iPhone 17 Air from stealing all the spotlight. And help the Pro models garner some of the precious attention from onlookers that the Air is bound to get.
Apple doesn’t want users to have to decide between the cool iPhone and the powerful one. Instead, it plans for both the 17 Air and 17 Pro to offer a fresh look and compelling features of their own.
It’s going to be a fun year for the iPhone.
Do you think the iPhone 17 Pro redesign will make a difference to users? Why or why not? Let us know in the comments.
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