I PREDICTED the release date for this year's iPhone 16 correctly – and I reckon I've got 2025's launch down too.
Sadly I'm no psychic: Apple is a creature of habit, so it's not too difficult to make a very good guess at the iPhone launch schedule.
So here's when I think the 17 release date will fall, plus all the other key dates to expect.
IPHONE 17 RELEASE DATE PREDICTION – WHEN IS THE PHONE OUT?
First, it's important to note that Apple hasn't confirmed that an iPhone 17 even exists – never mind an official release date.
And we won't find out the confirmed date for the event for months.
So what do we know?
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Well Apple typically shows off its new flagship iPhone models in September.
And the big reveal usually falls in the first half of the month, typically on a Tuesday or Wednesday.
Then pre-orders usually take place on the Friday of that week – with a release date on the Friday after that.
So for 2025, you'd expect an iPhone 17 launch on Tuesday, September 9 or Wednesday, September 10.
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Tuesday seems to be the more popular option in recent years, so that seems like the safer bet for a launch.
That would mean the iPhone 17 going on pre-order on Friday, September 12.
Then you'd expect the iOS 19 update to drop on Monday, September 15.
And this would be followed by an iPhone 17 release date of Friday, September 19.
We'd usually find out about the event two weeks before it takes place.
So Apple will probably send out invitations on August 26, 2025.
With all of that in mind, here's a re-cap of the key dates:
- Apple iPhone 17 event announcement – Tuesday, August 26, 2025
- Apple iPhone 17 event day – Tuesday, September 9, 2025
- iPhone 17 pre-orders – Friday, September 12, 2025
- iOS 19 release date – Monday, September 15, 2025
- iPhone 17 release date – Friday, September 19, 2025
Of course these dates could be totally wrong, but they're my best guess based on Apple's fairly consistent history.
IPHONE 17 CHANGES – WHAT TO EXPECT
It's far too early to know exactly what is coming with the iPhone 17.
That's because even if changes are leaking this early, it's still very possible that Apple will tweak its plans.
There are some sensible guesses that we can make.
We'd guess that there will be four devices as normal: an iPhone 17 model, along with a Plus, Pro, and Pro Max.
However, it has been rumoured that the Plus will be scrapped this year. We just can't know for sure yet.
IPHONE SCREEN SIZES – A JOURNEY THROUGH TIME
Here's how iPhone screen sizes have changed over the years – as measured in inches diagonally from corner to corner...
- iPhone (2007) – 3.5 inches
- iPhone 3G (2008) – 3.5 inches
- iPhone 3GS (2009) – 3.5 inches
- iPhone 4 (2010) – 3.5 inches
- iPhone 4S (2011) – 3.5 inches
- iPhone 5 (2012) – 4 inches
- iPhone 5S (2013) – 4 inches
- iPhone 5C (2013) – 4 inches
- iPhone 6 (2014) – 4.7 inches
- iPhone 6+ (2014) – 5.5 inches
- iPhone 6S (2015) – 4.7 inches
- iPhone 6S+ (2015) – 5.5 inches
- iPhone SE (2016) – 4 inches
- iPhone 7 (2016) – 4.7 inches
- iPhone 7+ (2016) – 5.5 inches
- iPhone 8 (2017) – 4.7 inches
- iPhone 8+ (2017) – 5.5 inches
- iPhone X (2017) – 5.8 inches
- iPhone XS (2018) – 5.8 inches
- iPhone XR (2018) – 6.1 inches
- iPhone XS Max (2018) – 6.5 inches
- iPhone 11 (2019) – 6.1 inches
- iPhone 11 Pro (2019) – 5.8 inches
- iPhone 11 Pro Max (2019) – 6.5 inches
- iPhone SE 2nd gen (2020) – 4.7 inches
- iPhone 12 Mini (2020) – 5.4 inches
- iPhone 12 (2020) – 6.1 inches
- iPhone 12 Pro (2020) – 6.1 inches
- iPhone 12 Pro Max (2020) – 6.7 inches
- iPhone 13 Mini (2021) – 5.4 inches
- iPhone 13 (2021) – 6.1 inches
- iPhone 13 Pro (2021) – 6.1 inches
- iPhone 13 Pro Max (2021) – 6.7 inches
- iPhone SE 3rd gen (2022) – 4.7 inches
- iPhone 14 (2022) – 6.1 inches
- iPhone 14 Plus (2022) – 6.7 inches
- iPhone 14 Pro (2022) – 6.1 inches
- iPhone 14 Pro Max (2022) – 6.7 inches
- iPhone 15 (2023) – 6.1 inches
- iPhone 15 Plus (2023) – 6.7 inches
- iPhone 15 Pro (2023) – 6.1 inches
- iPhone 15 Pro Max (2023) – 6.7 inches
- iPhone 16 (2024) – 6.1 inches
- iPhone 16 Plus (2024) – 6.7 inches
- iPhone 16 Pro (2024) – 6.3 inches
- iPhone 16 Pro Max (2024) – 6.9 inches
There will almost certainly be a new Apple-made A-series processor powering at least two (and maybe all four) of those.
It'll probably be called the A19 chip, or some variation of that.
Usually this means some performance gains, plus an efficiency boost to improve battery life.
And we'd expect some kind of camera improvement. Not just hardware, but likely software changes to improve how your iPhone processes photos to make them look better.
Finally, we'd normally expect at least one new colour for both the regular and Pro versions of the next iPhone.
There's been talk of a slimmer version of the iPhone 17, and potentially some new display sizes too.
And we might see the high 120Hz ProMotion refresh rate rolling out beyond the Pro models to the regular iPhone 17.
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That means your normal iPhone 17 could feature an Always-On display – as well as smoother scrolling, animations, and video playback in some cases.
Sadly we won't know the iPhone 17's features for certain until the event is over, so take all rumours with a pinch of salt for now.