iPhone 17 launch date: Mark your calendars
The whispers are over — the iPhone 17 is coming. Multiple industry leaks point to Tuesday, September 9, 2025, live from the Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino. As always, pre-orders are expected to open that Friday, September 12, with South Africa likely to follow global release trends — meaning local fans could be unboxing theirs by September 19.
For comparison, here’s everything you may have missed from the iPhone 16’s arrival in South Africa.
What’s new in the iPhone 17 family
This year’s lineup introduces four models:
- iPhone 17
- iPhone 17 Air (replacing the Plus, and Apple’s thinnest model yet at just 5.5mm)
- iPhone 17 Pro
- iPhone 17 Pro Max
The Air model is particularly striking — weighing around 145 grams, it’s not just slim, but also designed with a refined lighter color palette to emphasize its featherweight build.
Design & colour options
Apple is going bold with finishes:
- Base iPhone 17: Purple, Green, Light Blue, Steel Gray, plus Black and White.
- iPhone 17 Air: Black, White, Light Blue, and a new Light Gold.
- Pro lineup: Dark Blue and a fluorescent Orange join the classics.
These striking choices are expected to give each model its own personality, unlike the uniformity of previous generations.
Power under the hood
At the heart of the Pro models will be Apple’s new A19 Pro chip, manufactured on TSMC’s advanced 3nm process. Expect faster performance, better efficiency, and seamless support for Apple Intelligence — the company’s intuitive new AI layer.
All models are rumored to feature 12GB of RAM, a big leap from last year’s 8GB. This upgrade should enhance multitasking and unlock more powerful AI-driven features.
Camera upgrades that matter
Photography fans can look forward to:
- A new 24MP front camera across all models.
- A 48MP Telephoto lens for Pro users.
- Up to 8x optical zoom and 8K video recording.
- Dual video recording with front and rear cameras simultaneously.
Apple is also rumored to tweak the Dynamic Island, making it sleeker and more functional, while the Pro models get a bold rectangular camera bump.
Battery & charging
The Pro Max may cross the 5,000 mAh battery milestone — the biggest ever in an iPhone — paired with improved 25W wireless charging speeds on Qi 2.2 chargers.
Beyond the hype
From AI smarts to design refinements, the iPhone 17 promises not just incremental updates, but lifestyle-changing improvements. As tech editor David Snelling put it, “Apple never reveals anything until closer to the launch date but Express.co.uk has done some detective work and we think all will be unveiled on Tuesday, September 9.”
Why it matters
Apple is once again betting on innovation to set the tone for the year ahead. Whether it’s the ultra-slim Air, smarter Apple Intelligence, or the biggest camera upgrade yet, the iPhone 17 is designed to raise the bar on what your everyday phone can do.
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