Yep, you read that right. Apple’s upcoming iPhone 17 is at the top of my list of the best upcoming phones. Or at least, it was. That’s because I don’t think the next iPhone will be called the 17. In fact, I think Apple’s going to break its (more or less intact) 18-year naming streak to entirely ditch the numbers from the name.
“Why, oh why, dare I make such a daring statement?”, you may ask. At WWDC 2025, Apple unveiled its latest software for the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch. Except, instead of calling the next major iPhone update iOS 19 as everyone expected, Apple called in iOS 26. The goal was to get all software versions on the same number, to make things less confusing for users.
And I think Apple’s about to do the exact same thing for the iPhone 17. Rather than sticking the number 17 at the end, I expect Apple to drop the numbers from the next iPhone line-up. Instead, I think we’ll see the following new models:
- iPhone – in place of iPhone 17
- iPhone Air – in place of iPhone 17
- iPhone Pro (6.3-inch) – in place of iPhone 17 Pro
- iPhone Pro (6.9-inch) – in place of iPhone 17 Pro Max
That prediction very closely mirrors the naming scheme for both the MacBook and iPad line-ups, with the screen size differentiating between the smaller and larger Pro models. I suspect Apple will do the same thing with the affordable “e” model – but in the spring when the next model releases rather than this September.
It wouldn’t be the first time Apple deviated from its normal naming system, with the tenth-anniversary iPhone X being my prime example. And on the back of the new software naming system, I think it makes perfect sense. Who knows, we may even see the same thing happen with the next Apple Watch models.
