Since the launch of the product, Apple has replaced aluminum alloy frames, stainless steel frames and titanium frames for its most high-end iPhones. Now, there are rumors that Apple will return to aluminum frames on three of the four iPhone 17 models.
In an investor note from research firm GF Securities, Apple supply chain analyst Jeff Pu said that iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max will all be equipped with aluminum frames. But what’s interesting is that he expects Apple’s rumored iPhone 17 Air model to have a titanium frame.
This will be a significant change for the Pro models, because all iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models use titanium frames, so the device weight is lower than the iPhone 14 Pro models with heavier stainless steel frames. Previously, there have been rumors that the iPhone 17 Pro model will use an aluminum frame.
Pu said that for environmental reasons, Apple plans to use aluminum metal in the iPhone 17 Pro model. Aluminum generally has a lower carbon footprint than titanium, and Apple aims to make all of its products and supply chain carbon neutral by 2030. Following the Apple Watch and the latest Mac mini, perhaps some iPhone 17 models will be promoted as Apple's first carbon-neutral iPhone.
It is unclear why the iPhone 17 Air uses a titanium frame. It may be that aluminum is lighter than titanium, which is consistent with the thin and light design of the device. Last year, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that the iPhone 17 Air’s body frame would use a mixture of titanium and aluminum, with less titanium used than the iPhone 15 Pro model. Apple definitely has its own reasons, and hopefully we’ll learn more details before the iPhone 17 series is released in September.