Apple is rumored to be preparing big changes for the iPhone 17 lineup that will see major revamps and the introduction of a new “iPhone 17 Slim” model, according to a new investor note from Haitong Securities’ Jeff Pu seen by Supercharged.
Pu outlines his expectations for the iPhone 16 and iPhone 17 generations in the note. While most of Pu’s forecast for the iPhone 16 has been extensively covered before, the note contains new information on the iPhone 17, including a planned redesign, camera upgrades, an entirely new model, and changes to the Dynamic Island.
Pu claims that Apple is preparing a redesigned “iPhone 17 Slim” model to replace the iPhone 16 Plus in 2025. This wouldn’t be the first time we hear of a Plus iPhone replacement, as esteemed displays analyst Ross Young claimed last week that Apple is working on a new iPhone smaller than the 6.7-inch iPhone 15 Plus. While Young did not elaborate on the exact display size, Pu says the iPhone 17 Slim will feature a 6.6-inch screen.
The iPhone 17 Slim will feature an aluminum housing that Pu says will be based on a “more complex” design than today’s iPhones. Interestingly, Pu adds that the iPhone 17 Pro will revert to an aluminum casing, a downgrade from titanium on the iPhone 15 Pro and the expected iPhone 16 Pro. However, the iPhone 17 Pro Max will continue to use a titanium design while gaining a smaller Dynamic Island cutout and Face ID sensor thanks to the adoption of the “metalens” technology.
Apple plans to push on-device AI features further with the iPhone 17 Pro following what Pu describes as limited AI capabilities heading to the iPhone 16 lineup. To cope with advanced on-device AI models, Pu states that Apple will increase the RAM capacity on the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max to 12GB, a notable increase from the 8GB RAM on the iPhone 15 Pro. No RAM changes are expected for this year’s Pro iPhone lineup, whereas the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus are rumored to see a modest RAM jump from 6GB on the base iPhone 15 to 8GB.
Pu also expects camera upgrades across the line with the iPhone 17. All models are expected to gain a 24-megapixel front-facing camera as first reported by Ming-Chi Kuo earlier this year. In addition, Apple will upgrade the telephoto camera’s sensor resolution on the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max from 12-megapixel to 48-megapixel, bringing resolution parity across all rear cameras on the Pro iPhone. As a reminder, the iPhone 16 Pro is expected to gain a 48-megapixel Ultra Wide sensor later this year.
