Apple likes to keep its own counsel. So, if as a journalist you ask, “What’s coming next?” you will find the answer, though more elegantly framed, just means “I’m not telling you that.” Even so, what Apple does now reveals what is on the way. Here’s what the 2025 iPhones have let slip about the future.
Apple iPhone 17
SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty ImagesWhat’s In A Name?
When Apple cancelled the iPhone SE, it replaced it with something different, iPhone 16e. By putting a number in the name, Apple has hinted strongly that the most affordable iPhone will be refreshed on an annual basis. The iPhone SE was only updated every two to three years.
The expectation, then, is that spring 2026 will see the arrival of the iPhone 17e, likely a similar-looking update with the latest A19 processor on board.
By the same token, the absence of 17 from the name iPhone Air suggests that the super-slim iPhone won’t be replaced next fall. And several reports seem to suggest that, too. The iPhone Air 2 is more likely to land in spring 2027 (alongside the iPhone 18e, perhaps).
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The iPhone 17 was the first regular iPhone to include ProMotion, the dynamic refresh rate capability that makes everything smoother to look at and powers the always-on display. That will be on the iPhone 18 for sure — though probably not on the iPhone 17e.
But such a move indicates how Apple is upping its game across the board.
Similarly, the iPhone Air introduced the super-slim iPhone and will be indicative of what Apple has in mind for its next rumored new iPhone category: the iPhone Fold.
If reports of a folding iPhone prove to be correct, then the iPhone Air will have provided exceptional groundwork for how to make a folding phone. And since the Air was thinner than several rival svelte phones, it might even suggest Apple could create something especially thin for its first folder.
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