iPhone 17 Air gets titanium frame, iPhone 17 Pro aluminum

An aluminum frame for the Apple iPhone 17 Air would be cheaper and lighter than titanium, but might not be strong enough.

July 16, 2025 2 0

The rumored iPhone 17 Air will have a titanium frame, according to Apple analyst Jeff Pu.
In an investor note from equity research firm GF Securities this week, Pu also said that the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max will have aluminum frames. So the Air will apparently be the only new model to use titanium.

It’s unclear why the iPhone 17 Air would have a titanium frame, as aluminum is lighter than titanium, which would fit the device’s supposedly ultra-thin and lightweight design. However, titanium is generally stronger than aluminum, so the material may be necessary to ensure the durability of the iPhone 17 Air’s thin casing.

Last year, another well-known Apple analyst, Ming-Chi Kuo, said that the iPhone 17 Air’s frame would be made of both titanium and aluminum, so it could be a mix of both materials. Pu himself had already put forward this very theory back in February. Apple certainly has its reasons and may explain them during the iPhone 17 event in September.

Since the iPhone X in 2017, all of Apple’s high-end iPhone models have featured either a stainless steel or titanium frame. Therefore, a return to the aluminum frame for the iPhone 17 Pro models this year would be a remarkable turnaround.