Do you care whether the iPhone 17 Pro uses titanium or aluminum?

It was recently reported that the iPhone 17 Pro chassis would be aluminum rather than titanium. This would mean Apple dropping something it touted as a major selling point of the Pro models just last year.

A leaker with a decent track record is now disputing this, however, saying that Apple will “of course” stick to titanium for next year’s premium models – though the dispute could all be down to ambiguous terminology …

Apple’s introduction of titanium in 2023

Apple has long used the chassis as one of the differentiating points between the standard and Pro model iPhones, with the former getting aluminum and the latter stainless steel.

The company mixed things up last year, with the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max seeing their steel chassis swapped out for titanium. Apple seemingly considered this a big deal, leading with it in the opening sentence of the official announcement.

Apple today debuted iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, designed with aerospace-grade titanium that’s strong yet lightweight to deliver Apple’s lightest Pro models ever.

The company went on:

“This is the most pro lineup we have ever created, with a state-of-the-art titanium design”

“iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max feature a strong and lightweight titanium design — a first for iPhone. This premium alloy — the same used in spacecraft — has one of the highest strength-to-weight ratios of any metal, making this Apple’s lightest Pro lineup ever.”

Titanium or aluminum next year?

However, The Information last week reported that next year’s Pro models would switch from titanium to aluminum.

[Besides the iPhone 17 Air], Apple’s other iPhone models will also undergo significant design changes next year. For instance, they’ll all switch to aluminum frames from stainless steel and titanium, one of the people said.

Leaker Instant Digital today takes issue with this.

Of course, 17 Pro is still titanium. Why do you change it to aluminum? It’s impossible to think about it. Looking back on the iPhone in recent years, Apple has been focusing on promoting the high-end frame materials of the Pro series as one of the selling points, from “surgical-grade stainless steel” to “titanium”. How to change it to aluminum?

9to5Mac’s Take

The first point to make is that some potentially ambiguous language is being used. The Information said the “frame” would be aluminium, but in Apple’s terminology, it already is. Apple refers to the “band” (aka the casing surrounding the display) as titanium, while describing the internal aluminum metalwork as the “frame” or “substructure.” The capitalised text here is our emphasis:

Using an industry-first thermo-mechanical process, the titanium BANDS encase a new SUBSTRUCTURE made from 100 percent recycled aluminium, bonding these two metals with incredible strength through solid-state diffusion. The aluminium FRAME helps with thermal dissipation and allows the back glass to be easily replaced. 

Second, while Instant Digital has a decent track-record, it should be noted that on this occasion they are simply making a logical argument, rather than citing any supply-chain sources with hard information.

Do you care?

But let’s leave aside the wording, and assume that it’s the outer band which will switch from titanium to aluminum. Would this matter to you?

Please take our poll, and share your thoughts in the comments.

Image: Michael Bower/9to5Mac