8 upgrades worth the money on iPhone 17 Series

September is iPhone season. This year, rumors say, we'll see the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 "Air," iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max.

So far, the rumors have been thick, and with so many pro features and new designs, this is going to be an interesting iPhone cycle.

1. ProMotion display for all versions

This year, the standard iPhone 17 models will no longer be limited to a 60Hz display refresh rate.

Illustration photo.

Apple will bring ProMotion to all iPhone 17 models with the ability to adjust the refresh rate on the fly, up to 120Hz. Thanks to that, users will get an iPhone 17 with a super smooth screen at a more suitable price.

2. 48MP telephoto lens

According to rumors, both the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max will have 48MP triple rear cameras. Currently, only the ultra-wide and wide-angle lenses have 48MP quality while the telephoto camera has a resolution of 12MP.

Illustration photo.

This means that not only will we get higher resolution zoom shots, but we can also get better digital zoom shots. While it won't be possible to get 100X zoom like on some Android smartphones, the long zoom shots will be more realistic and look better.

3. Brand new iPhone 17 Air model

This year, Apple will launch a completely new iPhone model - the iPhone 17 "Air" or iPhone 17 "Slim". This phone will replace the current iPhone Plus model.

The iPhone 17 "Air" or iPhone 17 "Slim" will be extremely thin.

With this iPhone, "Apple House" will hope to attract customers with a more affordable price than the iPhone Pro duo in a new super-slim design. The iPhone 17 Slim will "compete" with Samsung's Galaxy S25 Edge model. The iPhone 17 Slim is expected to be only about 5.5mm thick. Currently, the iPhone 16 Pro is 8.25mm thick.

4. Upgraded cooling system

Now, iPhones are getting hotter and hotter, affecting everything from performance to battery life. Apple finally got serious about the issue with the iPhone 16 series, making them cooler than previous models.

But the iPhone 17 will go one step further with vapor cooling chambers. These are liquid-filled blocks that replace traditional heat sinks. When heated, the liquid vaporizes and moves around the chamber as steam, spreading the heat everywhere.

If phones run cooler, they will also charge faster, batteries will last longer, phones will maintain higher performance, and gaming experiences will have better performance and higher frame rates.

5. A19 Chip

The iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Air are expected to use the A19 chip while the A19 Pro will be reserved for the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max.

Illustration photo.

The A19 chip is expected to be based on a new 2nm process. This chip will have many important components, from the Thunderbolt controller for the iPhone Pro to the Neural Engine for Apple Intelligence, ISP to ensure image quality. In addition, Apple will increase RAM up to 12GB for the iPhone 17 Pro Max, keeping 8GB RAM for other versions.

6. Always-on display

The ProMotion display not only offers a higher 120Hz refresh rate, but also a lower frame rate. This feature helps the phone save battery and even supports always-on display. Users will be able to see battery, widgets, and more when the phone is "off," just like the iPhone Pro line.

Illustration photo.

Even Stand By Mode will now always be on.

The only way to have an always-on phone is to have an always-on display. And the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 air will have that.

7. iPhone Pro models with new design

According to analysts Ming Chi Kuo and Majin Bu, the iPhone 17 Pro duo will have a new aesthetic design with a glass back accompanied by a metal camera cluster. This camera cluster will be horizontally across the width of the phone instead of being aligned to the left.

iPhone Pro 17 will have a new design.

This would help visually differentiate them from older iPhone models and would be the first change to the back of an iPhone since the iPhone X.

8. New front camera

Finally, Apple is ready to upgrade the front camera on all 4 new iPhone models. Apple used a 7MP front camera until the iPhone 11 and switched to a 12MP sensor. In the near future, the iPhone 17 series will all have a 24MP quality selfie camera, doubling the resolution, improving the quality of selfie photos.

iPhone 17 Air concept photo.

With all the above speculations, the 2025 iPhone generation will attract greater consumer interest.

David Pac

Update 10 February 2025