Apple’s upcoming iPhone 17 lineup will deliver the now-familiar incremental upgrades, such as camera tweaks and some new colours, but don’t expect seismic change.
Once dominant, Apple has long faced a much more brutal smartphone battle. The rising competition from South Korean and Chinese companies has resulted in stagnating iPhone sales.
Nonetheless, for years Apple has kept a steady course, refusing to follow the lead of rivals by, for example, introducing its own foldable phone.
The disappointing news is that Apple will be maintaining its holding pattern with the iPhone 17 series, which will be launched in a few weeks.
The only newsworthy development is expected to be the launch of the iPhone Air, a phone version of its laptop cousin. It will be slim and light, albeit at the cost of some battery life, and will feature Apple’s first in-house modem chip.
The iPhone 17 won’t look much different, but the 18 and 19 lines will
The exciting news, just revealed by Bloomberg, is that the company is “planning three straight years of major iPhone redesigns”.
The pivot will kick off next year with the release of the first foldable iPhone, internally codenamed ‘V68’.
It will reportedly have two screens, four cameras, a book-style hinge, Touch ID (instead of Face ID), and an ultra-thin, crease-minimised display.
Granted, it’s unlikely to significantly advance foldable technology. Nonetheless, it is likely to get Apple’s many fans excited again. Given Apple’s marketing prowess, it could also become a big hit.
That’s something the company could do with following a rough couple of years.
In 2027, the iPhone celebrates its 20th birthday and Apple plans a design overhaul in its honour. Early rumblings point to a curved-glass, all-screen model that ditches the notch and sets a new aesthetic benchmark.
Of course, Apple’s other devices will also see refreshes from 2026-2029. But the iPhone remains the sun around which those other devices revolve.
With phones accounting for around half of Apple’s annual revenue, it appears that Apple is no longer inclined to play it safe, as competitors like Samsung, Huawei, Xiaomi, and Oppo garner media attention and captivate consumers with more groundbreaking devices.