The material has been used in Apple’s Pro iPhone range since the 15s in 2023, though analyst Jeff Pu has suggested the supposed 17 Air will be the only device to use titanium for its frame - with the 17 Pro and Pro Max shifting back to aluminium to match the regular 17.
Pu explained that because the 17 Air - which will supposedly be replacing the Plus variant of the iPhone this year - will only be 5.5mm thick, Apple will be using the stronger titanium instead of the more malleable aluminium to ensure the device doesn’t bend, so that it can avoid a similar situation to the ‘Bendgate’ controversy with the iPhone 6 in 2014.
Even if titanium is incorporated into the 17 Air, iPhone analyst Ming-Chi Kuo suggested the handset would use a mix of the material and aluminium for its frame to keep its costs and weight down, all while boosting its strength.
As well as the change in materials, it has also been reported that Apple is planning to use Samsung’s top-tier screens across the iPhone 17 range, with all four devices supposedly set to use the South Korean company’s M14 OLED panels that boast up to 30 per cent higher brightness compared to the 2023 M13 displays.
These screens will reportedly all have fluid 120Hz functionality, meaning Apple will be bringing its ProMotion technology to the regular iPhone 17 and 17 Air after keeping the feature exclusive to the Pro models since 2021’s iPhone 13 Pro.
It has also been reported that Apple will be bringing 35W wired charging to all four iPhone 17s - allowing the handsets to top up more quickly than the current 16 models, which can charge with speeds up to roughly 30W.
