In an interesting twist of possible events, reputable display analyst Ross Young suggests that the upcoming iPhone 17 Plus, which is expected to debut late next year, will feature a screen that’s smaller in size than the ones found in the current Plus models, including the upcoming iPhone 16 Plus, which is expected to be announced later this year.
Apple started offering the Plus model starting with the iPhone 14 lineup, replacing the mini model, which wasn’t selling particularly well. This Plus model is a larger-size variant of the standard model for customers who prefer a larger phone without breaking the bank or don’t need the extra features that the Pro Max offers.
The current iPhone 15 lineup consists of:
- iPhone 15 (6.1-inch)
- iPhone 15 Plus (6.7-inch)
- iPhone 15 Pro (6.1-inch)
- iPhone 15 Pro Max (6.7-inch)
The upcoming iPhone 16 lineup’s Pro models are expected to feature larger displays than their predecessors, and the standard models will remain at their respective sizes:
- iPhone 16 (6.1-inch)
- iPhone 16 Plus (6.7-inch)
- iPhone 16 Pro (6.3-inch)
- iPhone 16 Pro Max (6.9-inch).
Although Young hasn’t provided any details on what the screen size will be for the iPhone 17 Plus, he expects that the size will be between the iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max.
Since Young has been accurate on many of the reports related to displays for upcoming Apple devices, it seems unusual for Apple to “downgrade” the display size on a next-generation model.
However, there are two possibilities on why Apple may be going forward with this change:
- to reduce R&D costs while adding more features for both the iPhone 17 and 17 Plus, or
- to further differentiate the 17 Plus and 17 Pro Max, similar to what Apple has done for its standard and Pro models such as the MacBook Air/Pro and iPad Air/Pro.
We’re over one and a half years before Apple would debut the iPhone 17 lineup, so Apple’s plans may change in the future.
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