iPhone 17 rumored to return to curved sides with new material blending

AppleInsider

A new rumor claims that the iPhone 17 range will feature a redesigned chassis that does away with straight edges.

Renders of possible iPhone 17 designs based on previous leaks

Previous rumors have claimed that Apple is returning to aluminum for the iPhone 17 range, although those claims were disputed. Now a further leaker has come forward to claim that there will be a significant redesign that sees Apple going back to smoothly curved edges.

According to Fixed-Focus Digital on Chinese social media site Weibo, Apple has developed a new manufacturing process concerning how different materials can be blended together to avoid straight edges.

"The splicing materials of the iPhone series have been shared," writes the leaker on Weibo, in translation. "The key is that the Deco connection area of the fuselage and the rear shell is a slope rather than a step."

That phase, "Deco connection" is unclear but from the context appears to refer to the appearance of the edge. The claim is that the front and back glass of the iPhone will be blended with a single smooth transition, instead of having a separate frame around the chassis.

While if the report is correct, the manufacturing process is new, Apple has very often used curved sides for the iPhone. The original iPhone was curved, for instance, and so were all of them up to the iPhone 4 in 2010.

Curved edges then returned for the iPhone 6. They remained until the iPhone 12 range.

So iPhones were curved from 2007 to 2010, then straight until 2014, then curved again until 2020. It's not as if Apple alternates, then, but it's certainly possible that it will return to a curved design, if only to help differentiate the next model.

Straight edges do give iPhones fractionally more interior space, though. It really is fractional, but it all counts in such a tightly-packed device.

Then whether the sides are curved or straight, Apple has applied the design to the whole range at once -- with the exception of the iPhone SE. There has never been a September launch of the iPhone where some models were curved and others straight.

Which is relevant now because the iPhone 17 range is also rumored to include a slim model. Apple is said to be having problems making the thinner version, so it deciding to sacrifice some more space to a curved design seems unlikely.

Plus while this has to be personal preference, there is an argument that a straight-edged iPhone is easier to pick up. And with ever larger iPhone models, it's more difficult to hold a curved sided model when trying to operate it one-handed.

Note that Fixed Focus Digital does not have a long track record in Apple leaks, and their hit rate is not great. He or she has claimed that Apple had given up on the iPhone Fold when more usually reliable sources deny this, for instance.

Most recently, Fixed Focus Digital announced that the forthcoming iPhone SE 4 would be renamed the iPhone 16E.

Rumor Score: Possible

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fred257

Good. I will purchase a 17 pro just because of this reason alone as I miss curved edges (many of you hate this)

lotones

Fred257 said:

Good. I will purchase a 17 pro just because of this reason alone as I miss curved edges (many of you hate this)

Same here. I'm still rocking the 11 Pro, and every time I've picked a friend's newer iPhone it's just not as comfortable in my hand.

Bring back the midnight green color also and I'll be set.

jellybelly

Curves in sheet metal add bending resistance. But right angles also add bending resistance.  I’d say the edges of the recent and current models are very strong. The edges of the flat sides are curved slightly.  It helps resist kinking, but most importantly feels good in the hand. 

I just fired up my 7Plus (it was dead and I couldn’t remember what model it was).  It was much thinner than the 16 Pro Max I’m using for this post. The 7Plus of course didn’t have all the sensors or battery of the more recent iPhones that take up space.
  

But if the 17 models in the Fall have rounded edges, they will feel nice as mentioned in the above two posts. It also could give a perception of thinness to add to the real decrease in thickness. 

Put a case on it and the perception changes. We’ll have to wait and see—and feel.

snickersmagoo

What the heck does it matter when you use a case?    Edges curved or smoother????    Really???    Boy you guys need something important to think about....

anonymouse

I don't use a case and I hate the rounded sides, so I hope this rumor is wrong. Keep the flat sides, as god intended.

yucam

Curved sides are too trans for me…

appleinsideruser

I prefer straight edges (vote now)

appleinsideruser

I prefer curved edges (vote now)

marvin

SnickersMagoo said:

What the heck does it matter when you use a case?    Edges curved or smoother????    Really???    Boy you guys need something important to think about....

Curved edges allow a case to sit flush or below the screen, which makes it easier to swipe the display from the sides.





They generally round the edges on the flat-sided iPhones so it feels ok to hold but I think the iPhone X form factor was nearly perfect and newer models don't feel as comfortable to hold. Even iPhone 11 was bulkier and heavier.

charlesn

As someone who carries my iPhone Pro caseless, I always hated the slippery, "bar of soap" rounded sides that never felt secure in the hand. The flat sides 2.0 that debuted with the 12 Pro were far grippier, but also gave the phone a brick slab feel that was less comfortable to hold thanks to the sharp edges. With the 15 Pro, however, which introduced flat sides 3.0, I thought Apple achieved the Goldilocks form factor by subtly rounding the edges of the flat sides. Visually, not a huge difference, but I found the hand-feel of the phone to be night and day. Grippy but comfortable and not nearly as slabby. I seriously doubt that Apple will be returning to rounded sides. Of course, for the majority of people who put their phones in any kind of case that offers actual drop protection, the look and feel of the case supercedes the form factor of the phone, so whether it's flat or rounded sides matters a lot less.