New iPhone 17 report lends weight to rumors of major display and camera upgrades, and a pricey Apple foldable

Apple iPhone 16 Review
The iPhone 16 (Image credit: Future)

  • The iPhone 17 has again been rumored to have a 120Hz ProMotion display
  • The iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max will reportedly have three 48MP cameras
  • The foldable iPhone could inherit some iPhone 17 Air tech and cost $2,000

This could be a big year for iPhone upgrades, because along with a reportedly new design for most iPhone 17 models and talk of a completely new phone in the form of the iPhone 17 Air, we’re also hearing about numerous potential spec upgrades.

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman – who has proven generally reliable for Apple information in the past – has (via PhoneArena) detailed several upgrades that he expects from the iPhone 17 series, including the presence of a ProMotion display on the base iPhone 17.

That would mean its refresh rate could reach 120Hz, which is double the 60Hz of the iPhone 16, and is in line with what the iPhone 16 Pro series – along with most Android phones – offer.

A higher refresh rate can make animations and scrolling appear smoother. But with ProMotion the refresh rate would also be able to drop far lower than the 60Hz that the iPhone 16 always runs at, which could help conserve battery life when a high refresh rate isn’t needed, and would allow for Apple’s always-on display and StandBy features to work on the phone.

It’s worth noting that this isn’t the first time we’ve heard talk of a 120Hz display for the base iPhone 17, but hearing this from Gurman adds credence to the claim.

Gurman has also echoed another claim – namely that the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max will have three 48MP rear cameras, which would mean an upgrade for the currently 12MP telephoto camera. Again, we’ve heard this elsewhere already, but hearing it again – and from such a reputable sources – makes it seem all the more likely.

Apple iPhone 16 Pro REVIEW

Only two of the iPhone 16 Pro's cameras are 48MP (Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)

A foldable success

Finally, Gurman has shed some light on the long-rumored foldable iPhone, claiming that this will launch next year, with a similar design to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 and many of the same technologies as the iPhone 17 Air.

Exactly what technologies he's referring to isn’t clear, but we’d imagine it might be similarly slim, and may have some similar compromises, like just one rear camera.

Apparently, the foldable iPhone will retail for around $2,000 (roughly £1,540 / AU$3,170), but Gurman believes that despite a likely high price this phone could be a success for Apple.

All that said, we’d remain more skeptical of these foldable iPhone claims than the information about the iPhone 17 series, as this phone is probably further out, and we haven’t heard as much about it.

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James is a freelance phones, tablets and wearables writer and sub-editor at TechRadar. He has a love for everything ‘smart’, from watches to lights, and can often be found arguing with AI assistants or drowning in the latest apps. James also contributes to 3G.co.uk, 4G.co.uk and 5G.co.uk and has written for T3, Digital Camera World, Clarity Media and others, with work on the web, in print and on TV.

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