Launch date, launch date, colours and all the things else you must know

We already know the changes coming to our phones with iOS 26, however we’re tremendous excited to see what Apple’s latest iPhone 17 lineup will appear like. That is nonetheless greater than a month away — assuming Apple sticks to its regular launch schedule — so for now we are able to speculate what the brand new telephones will appear like. As with most unreleased iPhone fashions, rumors and leaks have trickled in concerning the {hardware} aspect forward of the official introduction. This is what we’re anticipating and what we are able to moderately assume we’ll get from Cupertino in September.

What are the newest iPhone 17 rumors and studies?

Surprisingly, the newest rumor is not concerning the precise iPhone 17 particulars themselves, however quite when they’re going to lastly be showcased. MacRumors highlighted a narrative initially reported by iphone-ticker.de that the Apple iPhone 17 occasion may very well be Tuesday, September 9, in response to info gleaned from German cell phone suppliers.

Whereas the iPhone occasions usually happen across the second week of September, we cannot know the precise date till Apple makes the official announcement.

When will the iPhone 17 collection be introduced?

Most years, the flagship smartphones are launched in September. It is a bit of early to have the precise dates; some years, Apple solely provides per week or two of lead time between sending invitations and internet hosting the occasion. However years of previous precedent present that someday in September needs to be when the 17 fashions make their debut. This household of smartphones often is the final to comply with that pattern, nevertheless. There have been hints that the introduction of the iPhone 18 assortment in 2026 might be split right into a pro-tier announcement within the fall and a normal mannequin announcement the next spring.

What is going to the brand new iPhone 17 lineup embrace?

Design leaks recommend that Apple is constructing an ultra-thin smartphone, more likely to be named the iPhone 17 Air to match Apple’s ultralight laptop computer designation. Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman, typically a strong supply of superior intel about Apple, reported in January that the iPhone 17 Air might be outfitted with a fundamental A19 chip and can solely have a single digicam lens. It might additionally use Apple’s new in-house modem, which was launched in February on the iPhone 16e. Extra particulars about this improvement might leak forward of September, however that is what we all know for now.

An investor notice from Apple analyst Jeff Pu indicated that the Air could have a titanium body. If his studies are correct, the light-weight smartphone would be the solely entry within the iPhone 17 lineup to make use of that steel; the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Professional, and iPhone 17 Professional Max are anticipated to be made from aluminum, which is oddly a lighter materials than titanium. Different hypothesis had steered that the Air would use a mix of aluminum and titanium, so the precise supplies is probably not recognized till the official announcement.

Moreover, an August 4 MacRumors report says the inner battery pack of the iPhone Air is simply 2.49mm thick — half the thickness of the iPhone 17 Professional battery. The leak was posted on the Korean-langauge Naver blog, the place they present the alleged batteries of the iPhone 17 Air and 17 Professional aspect by aspect. The identical account claimed the 17 Air’s battery capability was a mere 2,800 mAh, MacRumors notes. (That is beneath the battery capability of present iPhone 16 fashions.)

Every new roster features a base mannequin, however through the years, Apple has shaken up the number of telephones it provides. Almost definitely there might be an iPhone 17 and an iPhone 17 Professional. Apple has additionally dedicated to the scale issues philosophy, and has been constructing an iPhone Professional Max choice with a fair greater display and higher battery life; the 17 roster will nearly actually have one as properly.

The brand new Professional iPhones are stated to have a full-width “digicam island” on the rear, which might mark the primary time an Apple mannequin opted for that design. This function might be seen within the purported iPhone 17 “spotted in the wild.” The pics, highlighted on MacRumors, present a black cased iPhone (17 Professional?) with the distinct again panel. Is it the true deal? The twin angles lend a level of credibility in a social media panorama more and more polluted with AI-enhanced fakes, however your guess is nearly as good as ours.

The iPhone 17 Air appears primed to take the place of a possible iPhone 17 Plus. Because the iPhone 16e was solely simply launched in February at a surprisingly high price point, it appears unlikely that there might be a brand new addition to that decrease finish of the spectrum, the fashions that had been beforehand known as SE.

On the very least, it sounds just like the iPhone 17 Air will not take away the charging port and rely solely on wi-fi connectivity. Bloomberg stated that whereas Apple had investigated making the iPhone 17 Air and not using a single port, the corporate (fortuitously) modified plans. He additionally says that the rumored cellphone could have a 6.6-inch display and embrace the Dynamic Island and Digital camera Management button. Lastly, the value is rumored at $900 — seemingly greater than the usual iPhone 17 however lower than the Professional.

We have additionally gotten what appears to be a dependable have a look at what the colour lineup might be for the brand new smartphones. Macworld reported that the iPhone 17 might be obtainable in black, white, metal grey, inexperienced, purple and light-weight blue. The iPhone 17 Air will reportedly have 4 shade choices: black, white, mild blue and light-weight gold. Whereas the Air colours might be much less saturated, the visuals for the iPhone 17 Professional and iPhone 17 Professional Max will go daring. The choices for the Professional fashions are anticipated to be black, white, grey, darkish blue and orange.

On July 30, Tom’s Guide highlighted an X publish from Sonny Dickson — a longtime and customarily dependable leaker of unreleased iPhone info — exhibiting “dummy” iPhone 17 fashions within the new colours that had been the supply of the aforementioned Macworld story. Whereas these are actually simply mock-ups — not actual, leaked iPhones — it is fascinating to see how the design and shade rumors translate right into a real-world appear and feel.

What is going to iOS 26 be like?

Apple upended its numbering conventions with WWDC 2025, and can match the identify of every new working system to the yr it is launched. So when the subsequent wave of iPhones hits, they’re going to be working on iOS 26.

On the design aspect, the smartphone OS launched throughout the huge developer showcase took a contentious method dubbed Liquid Glass. Apple has been scaling down the quantity of transparency results within the subsequent beta exams of iOS 26, however it should nonetheless have a glass-like visible.

The function checklist contains huge and small updates. On the extra impactful aspect, the Telephone and Images apps have been redesigned. There might be a number of options leveraging synthetic intelligence, corresponding to dwell translation capabilities coming to Telephone, FaceTime and Messages. Apple can also be presently testing a delicate content material warning for baby accounts that can freeze FaceTime video if nudity is detected by on-device machine studying instruments. And the corporate can also be launching Visible Intelligence, which can use AI to seek for parts in a picture.

iOS 26 additionally has a litany of minor, high quality of life enhancements. Group texts are getting help for polls. And for the gradual risers on the market, iOS 26 will lastly allow you to escape the tyranny of the nine minute snooze alarm.

The subsequent iOS is now obtainable as a public beta. Listed here are our preliminary impressions of the Liquid Glass design and different new options. iOS 26 is compatible with all fashions again by iPhone 11.

Replace, August 6, 2025, 4:05PM ET: Added newest particulars concerning the potential iPhone 17 occasion date.

Replace, August 4, 2025, 5:23PM ET: Added newest battery leaks concerning the iPhone 17 fashions.

Replace, August 1, 2025, 8:15AM ET: Added new images exhibiting potential iPhone 17 colours.

Replace, July 30, 2025, 11:08AM ET: Added newest leaks and rumors concerning the iPhone 17, and up to date info on the iOS 26 public beta.

Replace, July 17, 2025, 4:40PM ET: Added newest details about iOS 26, attainable supplies for the Air, and the colour choices for the totally different fashions.

Replace, March 17, 2025, 2PM ET: Added particulars concerning the rumored worth and options of the iPhone 17 Air.

Replace, April 11, 2025, 3:45PM ET: Added particulars from Entrance Web page Tech’s new video that claims to disclose particulars from a leaked iOS 19 construct.

Katie Teague contributed to this story.