As we ready ourselves for the launch of the iPhone 16 in September, the first iPhone 17 rumors are starting to emerge – and the latest leak may be enough to persuade you to wait until 2025 for your next iPhone upgrade.
The leak comes from the usually reliable Ice Universe on Chinese social media site Weibo (via MacRumors), and covers the four handsets we're expecting next year.
One of the rumors we've heard is that the Plus model is set to be replaced by a new Slim flagship, and that's the first reason you might want to skip the iPhone 16 – the arrival of a new, supercharged top-end iPhone 17 model that will apparently have a 6.65-inch screen and a starting price of $1,299 (about £1,000 / AU$1,950).
However, there's some confusion around the Slim model in this new leak: it's said to be the most expensive of the four, but has the same specs as the standard iPhone 17. It's possible that some of those specs have been mistakenly copied from the iPhone 16 Plus.
Always on
A second reason to hang on for the iPhone 17: all four models are apparently getting Low-Temperature Polycrystalline Oxide (LTPO) displays, which means ProMotion (variable refresh rate) support, and quite possibly always-on display modes too (both currently exclusive to the Pro and Pro Max handsets).
Reasons three, four and five to wait are specific to the Pro and Pro Max (and maybe the Slim) models: 12GB of RAM, three 48MP rear cameras, and an A19 Pro chip based on a new 3-nanometer manufacturing process. That would all likely mean a significant step up in terms of performance and photo and video capture.
Obviously we're still not sure what the iPhone 16 series is going to bring with it, let alone the iPhone 17 range; but based on the rumors we've seen so far, this year's upgrades are set to be more minor than what's rumored to be in the pipeline for 2025.
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There's little doubt that the iPhone 16 handsets will be the best iPhones that Apple has ever put out – but if you find them somewhat underwhelming when they're unveiled in a couple of months time, you can always start saving up for 2025.
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David Nield
Freelance Contributor
Dave is a freelance tech journalist who has been writing about gadgets, apps and the web for more than two decades. Based out of Stockport, England, on TechRadar you'll find him covering news, features and reviews, particularly for phones, tablets and wearables. Working to ensure our breaking news coverage is the best in the business over weekends, David also has bylines at Gizmodo, T3, PopSci and a few other places besides, as well as being many years editing the likes of PC Explorer and The Hardware Handbook.
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