iPhone 17: Everything we know so far

Apple's September 9th “Glowtime” event is over and now we know everything we need to know about the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro. But what about next year?

If the iPhone 16 announcement didn't do much for you, or you don't need an upgrade for a year, you can still look forward to the iPhone 17. Of course, Apple hasn't said anything officially about the iPhone 17 yet. All we have are rumors, leaks, and news reports.

Luckily, there are already some of them about the next iPhone. Let's take a closer look. Here's what we know about the iPhone 17 so far.

A new model?

By far the biggest potential iPhone 17 development we've heard about so far involves a new addition to the iPhone family. According to multiple sources, including analyst Ming-Chi Kuo and The Information, Apple plans to kill off the Plus model and put a new, thinner iPhone in its place. People have been calling it the “iPhone 17 Slim” or “iPhone 17 Air,” but we don't yet know what the official name will be.

This new slim iPhone is said to be much thinner than existing iPhones and will have a display of around 6.5 or 6.6 inches. There isn't much more to say about it, however, as different sources disagree on what this phone actually is. The Information says it will be the most expensive and most premium phone in the new lineup, while Kuo says this will not be the case.

We'll have to wait a while to find out more.

ProMotion for everyone

One thing Apple usually does when there's a new generation of iPhone is to add features to the new base models that were previously reserved for the Pro models. It looks like ProMotion is next.

According to MacRumors, all four iPhone 17 models will feature a 120Hz refresh rate thanks to ProMotion display technology. That's a godsend that, while not quite comparable to Apple finally putting USB-C ports on iPhones, isn't far off either. Apple's base iPhones have relied on 60Hz displays for years, while competitors like Google have pushed even their budget phones to over 90Hz or more.

This is one of the main reasons why the base models of the iPhone have felt dated for a while now, so ideally Apple will fix this soon.

A19 chips

There is not much information about it yet, but Apple always builds newer and faster chips every year, at least in its Pro iPhone models. The iPhone 16 Pro models, for example, feature an A18 Pro chip, which is new this year.

Therefore, we can expect the new iPhones to include some sort of A19 chip. If precedent matters at all, this chip may only be in the iPhone 17 Pro models, while the regular iPhone 17 will get a slightly older chip. However, Apple does weird things all the time, so who knows what will happen next year in terms of chips.

A better selfie camera

Selfies taken with iPhones never look bad, but they could always be better. Rumor has it that the iPhone 17 will remedy this situation.

According to Apple analyst Jeff Pu (via MacRumors), all four new iPhone 17s will have a 24MP front-facing camera, compared to the 12MP on the iPhone 16 models. Who knows how much this will actually improve, but it's a significant increase.

Further camera upgrades

In another report from Kuo, the well-known Apple prognosticator said that the iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature a trio of 48MP camera lenses on the back for the first time (at least). The wide, ultra-wide, and telephoto lenses will all be 48MP next year, compared to the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max, which both have only 12MP telephoto lenses.

Hopefully this also means even deeper zoom levels.