iPhone 17 Rumors: Camera Bar, Thinner Phone and Everything Else We Could See

The iPhone 16 has been out for about six months, but it’s never too early to speculate what Apple’s next flagship device could look like. There’s already been plenty of buzz about what we could see with the next iPhone, likely called the iPhone 17, from a slimmer version of the upcoming handset to — finally — a new screen with a higher refresh rate on baseline models. 

Here’s what analysts and leakers are predicting about the iPhone 17 lineup, which is expected to be announced around September. 

A slimmer iPhone 

One of the biggest rumors surrounds a possible iPhone “Air,” a thinner version of Apple’s flagship device that would replace the iPhone Plus option. It could feature a 6.6-inch screen, making it slightly smaller than the iPhone 16 Plus and iPhone 16 Pro Max but still bigger than the baseline model, according to analysts Jeff Pu and Ming-Chi Kuo. Similarly, it’s likely the Air will be more expensive than the baseline 17, but cheaper than the Pro models — maintaining the Plus’ place in the iPhone hierarchy. 

To slim down a device, there will need to be hardware tradeoffs, and that may include the phone’s camera. It’s possible this version of the iPhone 17 would only have one main camera, Kuo speculates, doing without the ultrawide and 5x telephoto lenses that have been staples of Apple’s premium iPhones for years. This would place the slim iPhone in the same camp as the $600 iPhone 16E when it comes to cameras, as that phone only has one rear lens as well. The good news, though, is that the selfie camera on the iPhone Air could get a boost; more on that later. 

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Regarding what’s on the inside, the iPhone 17 Air will likely feature an A18 or A19-branded chip, Pu suggests. This would reportedly match the chip in the baseline iPhone 17. It could also include 8GB of RAM and, potentially, the Apple-developed 5G modem, called the C1 chip, which debuted earlier this month on the iPhone 16E.

What remains to be seen is what battery capacity could look like. A slimmer build typically means less space for the battery and, by extension, potentially a compromise on battery life. Hopefully, that’s not the case here, but we’ll have to see.

A higher refresh rate across the board

Rumor has it all models of the iPhone 17 will feature a 120Hz display, bumping the non-Pro models up from their current 60Hz refresh rate. That could be a welcome change, as the discrepancy between the Pro and non-Pro refresh rate is surprising; when Apple debuted the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus with a 60Hz display, there was a bit of an outcry from folks who expected more in 2024. This rumored update could remedy that — and possibly bring the always-on display to the baseline model. 

Apple could also upgrade its Ceramic Shield display by using an antireflective material that’s more scratch-resistant, MacRumors reported. 

Camera upgrades 

It’s not an iPhone release without a camera upgrade, and there have been plenty of rumors on what the camera module could look like on Apple’s upcoming phones. In January, a leaked image from Majin Bu on X suggested the phone could feature a pill-shaped camera bar, essentially resembling what you’d find on Google’s Pixel 9 phone. On Sunday, Majin Bu followed up with CAD renders of what’s said to be the iPhone 17 lineup, featuring horizontal camera bars, as well as larger rectangular bars on the iPhone 17 Pro models. 

Front Page Tech also shared iPhone 17 Pro renders in a video earlier this month, depicting a larger camera bar that maintains the lens’ stacked layout. A separate video on the iPhone 17 Air shows a smaller camera bar, with one lens on the left. Time will tell if these rumors end up being reality.

Another rumor is that the selfie camera on all iPhone 17 models, including the Air, will be upgraded to 24 megapixels, Pu reports. That’s a decent bump from the current 12-megapixel front-facing camera on the iPhone 16 lineup, though it’s important to remember that more megapixels doesn’t automatically mean better photos. Still, given how much people increasingly rely on their front cameras to snap selfies and record videos for TikTok and Instagram, this is sure to be a welcome advancement. 

Other possible features

The rumors on what frames the iPhone 17 lineup will feature have gone back and forth, but Pu recently suggested the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max will all have aluminum frames. The iPhone 17 Air could be the outlier with a titanium frame, he noted. 

Additionally, the iPhone 17 Pro Max could have a narrower Dynamic Island, thanks to a smaller Face ID sensor. Dynamic Island on other iPhone 17 models would reportedly stay the same size, Pu has said. 

Last week, Kuo noted Apple will swap out Broadcom’s Wi-Fi chips for in-house chips across the iPhone 17 lineup, stating this would “enhance connectivity across Apple devices.” It’s not yet clear what exactly this would mean, but it would be interesting if Apple’s C1 chip was accompanied by its own Wi-Fi chip, too.

We’ll continue to update this piece as more rumors surface, so be sure to follow along.