Apple could ditch titanium on iPhone 17 Pro — and keep it exclusive to iPhone 17 Air

iPhone 17 Air render — (Image credit: Apple/ Tom's Guide)

There's bad news for those of you that enjoy having a titanium frame on your iPhone. While the metal played a huge part in marketing for iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro, word is that Apple may be scrapping the design for most iPhone 17 models — with only the iPhone 17 Air sporting the metal.

We've heard rumors about this before, and the latest word comes from analyst Jeff Pu in a recent research note. According to the note the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max will all have aluminum frames — with titanium reserved exclusively for the Air.

Titanium on iPhone 17 — what we know

This isn't the first time we've heard this particular rumor. The Information previously reported that the iPhone 17 Pro wouldn't come with titanium, while Ming Chi-Kuo reiterated the fact that the 17 Air will be coming with a blend of aluminum and titanium in its chassis.

It's not clear why Apple might be ditching titanium so quickly, especially after making such a big deal about its debut on iPhone 15 Pro. We even noted that the phones felt extremely light in our iPhone 15 Pro Max review, showcasing one of the benefits of having the new metal in place of stainless steel.

iPhone 15 Pro Max in hand — (Image credit: Future)

Steel is just as durable as some grades of titanium, but is simultaneously much heavier. So that's a clear benefit of using titanium, alongside the fact it sounds cooler than stainless steel or aluminum — which are both boring, ultra-common materials.

It's the kind of change the marketing team can (and did) go nuts with.

Sadly titanium is expensive, and with the cost of just about everything rising all the time, I can understand why Apple might want to cut costs where it can. That way it can continue to sell iPhones without raising the price which, in the age of tariffs, is probably more important than ever.

It'll be interesting to see how this plays out, and what a potential change to the material will do for iPhone durability. But hey, since aluminum is easily recycled, that's something Apple 's marketing department can focus on this year.

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Tom is the Tom's Guide's UK Phones Editor, tackling the latest smartphone news and vocally expressing his opinions about upcoming features or changes. It's long way from his days as editor of Gizmodo UK, when pretty much everything was on the table. He’s usually found trying to squeeze another giant Lego set onto the shelf, draining very large cups of coffee, or complaining about how terrible his Smart TV is.

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