I recently wrote that it might not be a good idea to wait for the cheaper iPhone 17 release later this year if you’re looking for a new iPhone. Now, it looks like top insider Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman agrees with me, as he expects no “major new features” to be included in this particular new model.
In his Power On newsletter, he says the “standard iPhone 17 will follow the same pattern as recent years by not getting major new features.” As previously rumored by other leakers, the cheaper iPhone 17 is expected to maintain the same design introduced with the iPhone 16m. In contrast, the other models will get an innovative camera bar look. This new design will mix aluminum and glass and rearrange the camera components, with the LiDAR scanner, flashlight, and microphones on the other side of the Pro phones.
Still, it’s not that the cheaper iPhone 17 won’t get anything new. Unlike the iPhone 14, most likely the most boring iPhone ever released compared to its predecessor, the iPhone 17 will sport a few new changes, including the long-awaited ProMotion and Always-On Display technologies. Gurman also reports it will get “some small enhancements to its rear camera” and a new A19 chip.
However, the journalist believes everyone wanting to upgrade to a new iPhone and willing to pay around $800 should try to “reach another $100 or so and just get the skinny new iPhone 17 Air.” Gurman writes that despite a single rear camera and a few compromises due to the ultra-thin design, users “won’t be losing that much in others of the specifications” as they will be gaining a “remarkably thin and light phone (with considerably more screen real estate).”
Mark Gurman reports that the major features will be coming to the iPhone 17 Pro models, including major camera system upgrades with 48MP sensors across the back trio of cameras.
