Could Apple be making the iPhone 17 Plus smaller? A new report says yes.
We're expecting to see some changes to the size of the iPhone this year, with the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max getting slightly larger displays of 6.3 inches and 6.9 inches respectively. We're not expecting similar changes in the standard iPhone and the iPhone 16 Plus, however: they're believed to be the same 6.1 inches and 6.7 inches as the current iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus.
However, a new report says that Apple is preparing to break out the shrink ray for the iPhone 17 Plus, which is due for launch next year. It's going to be bigger than the iPhone 16, but it's tipped for a new display that means it'll be smaller than the iPhone 15 Plus.
The iPhone 17 Plus may not be plus sized
The new report comes from display analyst Ross Young, who has a pretty good track record when it comes to Apple information. According to Young, the iPhone 17 Plus will indeed be getting a smaller display but there's no detail as yet on how much smaller it's going to be. We've also heard separate reports that the displays will be getting a new, considerably tougher coating to make them even more scratch resistant.
It's important to note that we're talking here about a phone that won't be launched until late next year, so even entirely accurate leaks might not reflect the phone that we actually see: Apple can and does change its plans, as you'll recall from the endless predictions of solid state buttons to replace the mechanical ones on the side of the phone that we've been hearing about since 2022. Those are now tipped for the iPhone 16 Pro after previously being rumoured for the iPhone 15 Pro.
Sometimes plans are changed because Apple has decided to go in a different direction; sometimes it's because Apple encounters unexpected issues such as manufacturing problems, such as the issues that led to it cancelling its current plans to make a microLED Apple Watch.
As ever, we're tracking all the iPhone 16 leaks and predictions, and the iPhone 17 ones too.
