Skip to main content

The base iPhone 17 display could look as good as the iPhone 16 Pro

Mockup of redesigned iPhone 17 Pro.
MacRumors

If we combine all the rumors we’ve heard so far about the iPhone 17, it looks like the entire lineup will be equipped with top-quality displays — rather than just the Pro models.

In contrast, if you buy an iPhone 16 right now, the type of display you get will depend on the model you choose. The Pro gets you a larger, Always-On display with ProMotion technology and an M14 OLED panel from Samsung, made with super high-quality materials.

Recommended Videos

Buy a non-pro iPhone 16 and you get a smaller display without Always-On or ProMotion, and the OLED panel is made with lower-quality M12 materials.

Older rumors have already suggested the entire iPhone 17 lineup will get the Always-On displays and the ProMotion tech that enables a 120Hz refresh rate — and now, a new report from Korean outlet ETNews suggests that all models will get the superior M14 OLED panels as well.

The report claims that Samsung will supply M14 OLED panels for all four iPhone 17 models (this includes the new slim model possibly dubbed the iPhone Air). This is interesting not because it means the more affordable models will get better displays, but because it means they will get the same displays as the Pro models.

If that’s the case, then the only big differences between the base and Pro models this generation would be the internal tech and the cameras. This could be a good move, since display tech and features like Always-On are some of the most compelling and easy-to-sell features of an iPhone — simply because they’re obvious and visible upgrades. Keeping them limited to Pro models for the 16 likely discouraged some base model buyers from upgrading because they knew they’d miss out on the exciting stuff.

We’ll have to wait to find out if these reports are true, but I definitely have my fingers crossed. I’m a base model buyer myself, and I want that Always-On tech.

Willow Roberts
Willow Roberts has been a Computing Writer at Digital Trends for a year and has been writing for about a decade. She has a…
Latest iPhone Fold rumor tells us a little more about the camera
Semi-open state of a foldable iPhone concept

Foldable phones have been around for over five years now and there are several options available. It's not just Samsung and Google in the folding space, but Motorola, Huawei, Oppo, OnePlus and Honor too. There is one company notably missing however, and that's Apple. 

The company has long been rumoured to be working on a folding iPhone, and there's talk of a larger folding device too. Both are speculated to enter mass production in late 2026 with a launch then happening towards the end of next year or early 2027. 

Read more
Even the iOS 19 leakers can’t agree on what the next iPhone update will look like
iOS 19 render from FPT YouTube chnanel.

Front Page Tech, the YouTube channel behind some of the most widely discussed iOS 19 leaks, has posted a new video showing off even more renders of the upcoming OS redesign. The last renders they posted a couple of weeks ago prompted Bloomberg's Mark Gurman to take to X and cast doubt on their accuracy -- a post that he has now reposted in response to the newest video.

https://twitter.com/markgurman/status/1904676788669690087

Read more
Forget the iPhone 17 Pro design, the 20th anniversary iPhone could be the boldest yet
Leaked render of iPhone 17 Pro Max rear panel.

There are always plenty of rumours surrounding the next iPhone, with some even appearing over a year before the model in question is due to be announced. For this year it is the iPhone 17 series that is expected to be announced in September, with several reports claiming there will be a design change for the Pro models coming, as well as the arrival if a super slim iPhone. 

But the latest report we are talking about here isn't about this year's iPhone, or even next year's. It's for the 20th anniversary iPhone model, that is set to arrive in 2027, alongside a potential folding iPhone. According to Mark Gurman's latest Power On newsletter, picked up by Macrumors, the iPhone Pro that launches alongside the folding iPhone will feature a "bold" design that makes more extensive use of glass.

Read more