iPhone 17 may miss out on this upgrade while the rest level up

Apple may be playing it safe with the base iPhone 17 this year. While the rest of the iPhone 17 lineup is shaping up to bring some big changes – if the rumors are to be believed – a new leak suggests the standard model could be keeping things pretty familiar.

Apple analyst Jeff Pu now says that the base iPhone 17 model won’t come with an upgraded processor. The information was shared in a research note with equity research firm GF Securities. Reportedly, the base iPhone 17 model may come with the same A18 chip that’s currently in the base iPhone 16.

The chip is said to be manufactured again with TSMC’s second-gen 3nm process, according to the analyst. 

Meanwhile, that’s not the case (reportedly) for the rest of the iPhone 17 series. The ultra-slim iPhone 17 Air, which is said to replace the ‘Plus’ model in the lineup, is said to come with an A19 chip, while the Pro iPhone 17 models are said to come with an A19 Pro chip. 

The analyst also says that the A19 processor series is also going to be manufactured by TSMC using a 3nm process, but there’s a difference: reportedly, it would be a third-generation 3nm process. 

Meanwhile, the analyst also claims that the base iPhone 17 may rock only 8GB of RAM, the exact same spec as the iPhone 16. It’s worth mentioning that the A18 chip is very strong and reliable, fast enough to destroy most of the competition anyway, so do keep that in mind.Last month, reputable tipster Ming-Chi Kuo said that the iPhone 17 Air and the Pro models will come with 12GB of RAM now, most likely to match the growing demands of Apple Intelligence. Kuo also mentioned Apple hadn’t decided on whether to equip the iPhone 17 with 12GB or leave it at 8. Well, if Pu’s information is correct, Cupertino has decided: the iPhone 17 may come with 8GB of RAM. 

With all this in mind, it seems the iPhone 17 may be a minor update over the iPhone 16. The design is said to be the same, apparently, the chip as well. However, a recent leak indicates the display may be what differentiates the two models: the iPhone 17 is expected to come with a bigger, 6.3-inch display with a fluid 120Hz refresh rate. Also, the front camera on the iPhone 17 may jump to 24MP from 12MP. 

The iPhone 17 series is expected to be unveiled in September.