The Most Exciting Year for iPhone Upgrades in Ages Kicks Off Next Week
Thursday, February 13, 2025
This year’s iPhone lineup sounds like it is going to be the best one yet. It starts with the iPhone SE or what is now largely expect to be called the iPhone 16E. Apple announced that a new member of the family will be joining the fray next Wednesday and it is almost certainly the new ‘budget’ iPhone. I personally imagine that it will be quite a popular device. With upgrades having stalled, a more affordable device with Apple Intelligence, a modern design, a better display, and newer features like the action button and USB-C it’s likely to be a hit for folks still using models like the iPhone XR, iPhone 11, 2020 iPhone SE, and iPhone 12. It’ll be a less expensive way to bring your phone entirely up to date. What we’re expecting is essentially the core of the iPhone 16 for almost half the price. How can that not be a smash?
Once the iPhone 16E is out, that clears the deck for iPhone hardware announcements until the annual refresh in the fall. Three distinct models have been long rumored: iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17, and iPhone 17 Pro (also available in a Pro Max size). The iPhone 17 Air is perhaps the most interesting of all of this year’s new models. It’s expected to be incredibly light and thin, less than 6mm in fact. It’s going to be essentially the 12-inch MacBook of iPhones. While it will still have the latest chip, a great ProMotion OLED display, and other key iPhone features–it will likely have fewer cameras, fewer speakers, and potentially some other compromises. It will be entirely focused on making a statement, something Apple hasn’t done with the iPhone’s design in a while. The Air will likely drive more conversation than usual and it will almost certainly be easily identifiable out and about in the world. It’s the iPhone that I am planning to buy this year.
Next up is what has traditionally been the most boring member of the iPhone family, the standard iPhone 17. Like the iPhone 17 Air, it is expected to get a new design with a horizontal camera bar reminiscent of the Nexus 6P from many years ago. I say this device is boring because it’s probably going to be a run of the mill upgrade with better cameras, a better display, and some new colors. Sound familiar? That’s because they’ve essentially made the same sort of upgrades to the standard model every year since the iPhone 11. The one silver lining with the iPhone 17 is that it may have a ProMotion display.
Lastly, there’s the iPhone 17 Pro. As far as the rumors go, it’ll likely be a much more powerful, more premium, and more expensive version of the standard iPhone 17. Similar to the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Air, it will likely adopt the new camera design–though the actual layout is still being debated. Aside from being the objectively best model in the lineup, it will be the only way to get the largest form factor. Since there is no “Plus” model this time around, all of those folks who like a giant phone are going to have to pay not just a pretty penny but the prettiest penny.
Ultimately, this year’s lineup is clearly focused on looking different. Each one will be almost overwhelmingly identifiable as a brand new iPhone in the wild, more so than any other model in recent memory. Looking new is always a key driver of upgrades and the iPhone has looked largely the same to normal users since the iPhone 12 adopted the flat edges almost 5 years ago. Combined with more Apple Intelligence features likely to come this summer at WWDC, these are going to be very exciting iPhones and it all seemingly starts as early as next week.