An attendee takes a selfie with Apple CEO Tim Cook during 2023's iPhone launch event (Photo by ... [+]
Apple is preparing a new design for the iPhone that will offer the slimmest profile yet, as well as one of the most expensive iPhones to date. You’ll just have to wait until next year to buy it.
Wayne Ma and Qianer Liu at The Information have details on the presumptively titled iPhone 17 Slim. This would be the first major design change in the iPhone since 2017’s iPhone X removed the home button, introduced FaceID and switched to an OLED display.
Given that the iPhone Plus is the lowest-selling of the current models, the suggestion that the iPhone Slim will replace it makes sense. However, it’s unlikely that the iPhone Slim will directly replace the iPhone Plus in the portfolio; given the premium nature of the design, the iPhone Slim could go straight in at the very top of the pile with an expensive price tag to match.
Multiple iterations of the slim design are under consideration. This is not unusual; with the introduction of a new Capture Button on this year’s iPhone 16 family, several prototypes were leaked over the winter months before one version was decided on, and details were passed to peripheral manufacturers to start work on the various cases and accessories demanded by consumers.
Whichever design is chosen, it is set to follow the recently announced iPad Pro by offering the slimmest experience possible for those willing to buy the new design. However, I would expect Apple’s marketing team to come up with a different promotional angle to the iPad Pro’s “Crush” advert which received negative feedback due to the destructive nature of the message.
Apart from the price, the other twist is the release date. This won’t be an iPhone 16 launched in September this year. Instead, Tim Cook and his team will bring this to market in 2025 as part of the iPhone 17 family. If that’s the case, then the new design cue could echo throughout the line-up of handsets, even if they aren’t as slim as this fashionable flagship.
