As the year winds down, it’s the perfect time to take a look back and reflect. After all, we did get some pretty exciting smartphones in 2024, and Apple went above and beyond with the iPhone 16 series.
But as we inch closer to the new year, there are some things I hope that Apple will take into consideration with the iPhone. Here’s what I am hoping to see with the iPhone in 2025.
Faster charging speeds
When Apple switched to USB-C with the iPhone 15 line, I was hoping that we would finally see some increased charging speeds. After all, there are some Android phones, like the OnePlus 12, that can reach between 80 watts and 100W in terms of wired charge speeds. For other Android phones, the average is around 45W, which is what you get with the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, for example.
But Apple didn’t make charging faster with the USB-C switch, as it stayed at around 27W. The iPhone 16 line didn’t change that either, which was disappointing.
In 2025, I hope Apple at least increases the charging speed on the iPhone 17 Pro models. It’s a little ridiculous that the “Pro” versions charge at the same speed as the base models, and 27W overall feels so slow compared to the competition.
I’m not asking Apple to give us 80W charging like OnePlus, but maybe 45W should be the standard for a “Pro” phone. Hopefully, this will improve in 2025.
Increased storage for Pro models
In 2021, Apple began to offer 1TB of storage with the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max models. Some people thought that was overkill, but I was excited to finally see 1TB storage on a phone. At the time, I was about to have my first child, and I knew that I would be taking a lot of photos and videos in the future. For me, 1TB was exactly what I needed.
Fast-forward three years and three generations of iPhone Pro with 1TB storage later, and I have less than 450GB of space left. That’s still quite a lot, especially for most people. But what happens if I get even closer to that 1TB limit? And before you tell me to offload my photos and videos, that’s not an option, as I like to go back and reminisce about my memories on my phone, believe it or not.
It took Apple a while to give us a 1TB storage option. I loved finally having the option because, at the time, getting 1TB meant not having to worry about storage. But now that I’m more than halfway to filling up my 1TB iPhone, I think it’s time for Apple to consider a 2TB storage option and perhaps get rid of the 128GB starting storage for the small Pro model and make 256GB the new starting point.
I highly doubt this will happen next year, but I’ll keep my fingers crossed.
No more 60Hz displays
Apple did a great job this year with the base model iPhone 16. It has the Action button that debuted last year with the iPhone 15 Pro, the new Camera Control button, the A18 chip, Apple Intelligence, an improved ultrawide lens with a revamped camera setup, and some of Apple’s best color options in years.
But the most disappointing aspect? The fact that it still has a 60Hz refresh rate on the display with no always-on capability — the 120Hz ProMotion and always-on display is exclusive to Pro models. For a phone that starts at $800, the fact that the iPhone 16 still has 60Hz is a tough pill to swallow in 2024. After all, there are much more affordable Android phones that have 120Hz refresh rates, so having 60Hz still is a bit embarrassing.
It may not be a big deal to some, and honestly, sometimes it is a bit overblown, as most people don’t even notice the difference between 60Hz and 120Hz. However, the fact that Apple still uses such a slow refresh rate on phones this expensive is not a great look.
Rumors have indicated that the iPhone 17 line will use LTPO (low-temperature polycrystalline oxide) displays, which let OLED screens have a dynamic refresh rate while being more power efficient. So, we may actually see a base model iPhone 17 with a 120Hz ProMotion display and always-on capabilities next year if the rumors are true.
The 60Hz display is one of the reasons holding me back from purchasing a base model iPhone 16 (along with the smaller storage) instead of an iPhone 16 Pro this year. If this changes, I’ll definitely be more tempted to go with a base model in the future.
Better telephoto camera resolution
With the iPhone 16 Pro models, Apple made some nice improvements that eliminated camera disparity between the small and large variants. For one, the iPhone 16 Pro finally gained the 5x telephoto lens from the iPhone 15 Pro Max, so you no longer have to get the big phone for the best features.
Apple also upgraded the ultrawide lens on both iPhone 16 Pro models to 48MP from the previous 12MP. This results in higher-resolution images with more detail.
But for 2025, I hope that Apple also considers upgrading the telephoto lens. Though the smaller Pro model gained 5x optical zoom, both phones still only have a 12MP telephoto sensor. A lot of the competition, such as the OnePlus 13, Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, and Google Pixel 9 Pro/9 Pro XL, have at least 50MP across the board for all (or most) of their rear cameras.
Especially for “Pro” phones, having anything less than 50MP is disappointing. And since Apple also prides itself on what one can do with the iPhone’s cameras, it only makes sense for the company to consider increasing the resolution for the telephoto lens soon, if not in 2025. But to stay relevant, it should consider doing it sooner rather than later.
Improved battery life
One issue that has plagued iPhones for years, unless you get the largest ones, is battery life.
For the base and smaller Pro models, you typically get just one day of battery life before you need to plug it in. Meanwhile, the Plus and Max variants can get more than a day’s worth of use on a single charge, depending on how much you use them.
Still, battery life is usually a weak point for the iPhone. Several Android phones can last a day and a half or even two days, like the OnePlus 12 or Galaxy S24 Ultra.
I would love to see Apple improve the battery life on non-gigantic phones to last more than a single day. I have noticed that my iPhone 16 Pro has shown better stamina than my iPhone 15 Pro, so perhaps Apple is on the right track.
Of course, the rumored iPhone 17 “Slim” or “Air” would be the opposite of what I’m looking for, as the focus would be on form over function. But there would still be three other iPhone 17 models for Apple to improve battery life on, so I’ll keep hoping.
An exciting year lies ahead
As 2024 wraps up, there’s a lot to look forward to in 2025 for smartphones, especially with Apple. The iPhone SE 4 is coming and could be a bigger deal than you think. And, of course, the iPhone 17 lineup is set to get some big changes, too.
I hope that at least one or two things I’ve mentioned here become a reality. Such changes would make Apple’s flagship product more on par with its competition, and in the end, that benefits everyone.
