iPhone 17 will have more trickled down features from the iPhone 16 Pro such as the 48MP Ultrawide sensor and be a lot thinner than before. Might be the first ever iPhone Air
  • Prediction: Being Apple’s best selling product in history, of course the latest technology will be focused on the iPhone 17 Pro that will push the boundaries of what is possible in a rectangle glass sandwich.
  • Actual: iPhone 16e released in early 2025, replacing the iPhone SE.

iPhone 17 Predictions

  • Plus out, Air in: Apple released a “Mini” version of the standard iPhone for the 12 and 13 model years. Due to lackluster sales, Apple opts for “Plus” version of the standard iPhone for 14, 15, and 16 model years. The word on the street is those “Plus” models are not selling well, so there’s a rumor going on that Apple is trying for a more stylish model of the iPhone, which will called “Air”

  • 48MP on Ultrawide: One of Apple’s standard practice is to have features from the previous Pro iPhones to trickle-down to the base iPhone. In this case, the 48MP sensor on the Ultrawide lens will surely make its way to the base iPhone.

iPhone 17 Pro Predictions

Despite the higher price, the iPhone Pro models remains on of Apple’s strong seller, accounting just slightly half of all iPhones sales year after year. The iPhone Pro 17 is expected to be popular amogst users who wanted a powerful camera in their hands.

Here are some of the expected features of the upcoming iPhone 17 Pro / iPhone 17 Pro Max

  • A19 Pro chip: If TSMC schedule to be believed, Apple will launch their first 2nm chip on the A19 and A19 Pro processor. It is expected the A19 Pro will have more graphic cores and a media pipeline to handle the extra processing from their camera sensors.
  • 48MP image sensor on telephoto: Apple introduced a new 48MP sensor on the Ultrawide sensor and a 5x magnification on the telephoto lens. It is expected that Apple will eventually put a 48MP sensor on the telephoto sensor, which theoretically can double the optical magnification to 10x.
  • Larger camera array: Apple engineers have found ways to bend the laws of physics, but there’s so much you can do. To make the sensor more sensitive to low light situations, one of the surest ways is to make the sensors and lenses bigger to collect more light.
  • Smaller dynamic island: The FaceID sensor array has been modified of the years to be smaller. A few years ago, they made Dynamic Island: punch hole screen and clever animation that makes use of the punch hole. It is expected that Apple aims to make Dynamic Island smaller.
  • All haptic buttons: Apple introduced a new button, Camera Controls, which is a haptic button with touch-sensitive controls. It is reported that Apple has been working on making all of the buttons into haptics, meaning the buttons do not move, but there’s a special vibrator to mimic the sensation of pressing a button. The result would make the iPhone one solid piece of glass sandwich, increasing the quality and feel of the iPhone.
  • eSIM only: With eSIM adoption on the rise, Apple is hoping to make future models of the iPhone an eSIM-only model, just like in the US. While there will be some places where you still need to use a physical SIM card, in advanced markets like the EU, US, and Japan,eSIM is widely adopted.