It’s no secret that Apple keeps its best tech for its more expensive iPhone Pro and Pro Max models. The company is encouraging its customers to spend as much money as humanly possible. However, for those who prefer the more affordable base variants, you’re in luck. According to a post on Weibo by Instant Digital, the base iPhone 17 and the rumored iPhone 17 Air are set to get display upgrades.
Display upgrade
According to the tipster, Apple will use Samsung’s M14 OLED display panel for both the iPhone 17 and 17 Air models. Don’t worry if you’re a bit lost with these naming schemes. Samsung designs its M-series of display panels specifically for flagship phones. The figure refers to the number of “high-performance” materials used to produce them. These panels, for those wondering why this matters, were used in last year’s iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max models. They offer a 30% increase in brightness and improved longevity over the previous generation.
In fact, for some odd reason, Samsung’s brand-new Galaxy S25 Ultra uses an M13-based panel instead of the latest version. Even the Google Pixel 9 series is equipped with M14 displays. This could mean that both Apple and Google have secured exclusivity contracts—at least temporarily—for the display technology.
Apple’s 2025 iPhone lineup
Apple’s 2025 iPhone lineup could be an interesting one. For years, Apple has kept the lineup pretty much the same. Until now, we had the base model, the larger Plus variant, and the most expensive “Pro” and “Pro Max.” However, this year, rumors suggest that Apple will ditch the Plus model to introduce a slimmer/thinner one allegedly called iPhone 17 Air.
The firm could even position this device in a way that doesn’t necessarily relate it directly to the iPhone 17 lineup. By making the phone extremely slim, Apple is rumored to compromise on certain hardware features. This means it may be less powerful or feature-rich than the rest of the iPhone 17 lineup.
The iPhone 17 Air seems like a product catered towards those who want something that looks different or a really slim phone. Only time will tell how this little experiment turns out.
The rest of the iPhone 17 lineup will remain the same, although based on leaked CAD renders, Apple could introduce a new camera module design for the iPhone 17 Pro models.