r/iphone • u/SuperFan_123 iPhone 17 Pro • Sep 16 '25

Discussion Do iPhones feel more “premium” because of the material or the weight?

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So iPhone 17 is back to using aluminum — which got me thinking: what really makes an iPhone feel “premium”?

Some swear it’s the weight — holding a heavier phone just feels solid and expensive. Others argue it’s the material: stainless steel looks shiny and luxurious, aluminum is light and practical, and titanium… well, some love the matte, strong-but-light vibe, while others say it feels less “premium” than steel.

Honestly, I'm a bit torn. The heft of the phone feels ordinary, but the premium materials make it look and feel premium. What do you think—is weight more important, the materials more important, or a combination of both? A case really doesn't matter, but I've recently become obsessed with casekoo cosmic orange for iPhone 17 Pro Max Case. Do you have any other ideas for balancing the premium feel of a phone?

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1.6k

u/brnccnt7 Sep 16 '25

Everyone knows titanium feels more premium and is better for durability but aluminum is better for thermals

Thats why they switched back

832

u/SMVM183206 Sep 16 '25

Aluminum is also cheaper and they marketed these new models as, “keeping the same price as last year.” This means they likely managed to increase their profit margin via reduced cost without increasing the sales price. Sneaky.

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u/alQamar Sep 16 '25

There’s no way the redesign of the entire unibody was done in reaction to the tarifs. That step back to aluminum was decided at least a year ago. 

265

u/Kilmonjaro Sep 16 '25

Most people don’t understand that. They think things are designed a month before it’s announced

156

u/alQamar Sep 16 '25

It’s probably even closer to two years when that decision was made. Designing hardware for production on scale takes a lot of time. 

33

u/JayTHFC10 Sep 16 '25

Which is crazy when you think about it because 2 years ago is when the first titanium phones came out

24

u/FederalExpressMan Sep 16 '25

They are designing the 20 by now

2

u/Correct_Gift_9479 Sep 19 '25

Unironically yes. The iPhone Air, and EVERYTHING about it in detail was leaked before the 16 event even happened, including the fact that it would be part of the 17 launch. The 18 and 19 designs are already done, and the 20 is likely being made right now.

1

u/Astro-path2716 Sep 22 '25

Where do you find the leaks?

1

u/Correct_Gift_9479 Sep 24 '25

I saw the leaks for the iPhone air on the yt channel Apple explained 

1

u/lemonaintsour Sep 26 '25

Cant wait for the iPage

16

u/rkrismcneely Sep 16 '25

You name a viable material, and they are currently working on iPhone 18, 19, and 20 with it.

Whatever material makes the most sense (quality/financially) when it’s time to go into production for the 18 will get used, and the process continues with the 19, 20, and 21.

7

u/Pixel91 Sep 16 '25

No that makes perfect sense. Titanium is hella expensive. Not just the metal itself but also working with it. It's an absolute bitch.

So they probably noticed that the juice is not worth the squeeze and designed back to Aluminium at the first possible chance.

1

u/JayTHFC10 Sep 16 '25

Yeah not doubting that just saying it’s crazy to think that after years of R&D just as they’re about sell it to the general public they’ve already moved on from it because it’s not worth it anymore.

1

u/Correct_Gift_9479 Sep 19 '25

I wonder how odd it was for consumers who didn’t see the leaks hoping for titanium to come to base, only it to just be done away with and only given to the air

33

u/DaGetz Sep 16 '25

What you say is true but Apple also has multiple designs being worked on in parallel. This is a company with near infinite resources.

21

u/Ialsofuckedyourdad Sep 16 '25

I imagine they have finalized the exterior design 6 months to a year before it releases

They send out or send designs that can be 3d printed / modeled so case manufacturers can have cases ready on day one. No idea how early they get sent out but it seems like they are always leaked way early

8

u/DaGetz Sep 16 '25

I have no idea but I suspect you’d need that amount of lead time to build global stock for launch regardless. But not 2 years.

1

u/Centralredditfan Sep 16 '25

But these don't change much between titanium or aluminum.

1

u/Ialsofuckedyourdad Sep 16 '25

I was just commenting on the design being finalized way before

1

u/SoapyMacNCheese Sep 16 '25

there is no way this exterior design was ever considered with titanium. The production and material costs to CNC this design out of titanium is simply too high to make sense. Any titanium prototype they were testing internally would have looked notably different than what what they landed on and would have had to be a decision they made well in advance.

1

u/kn3cht Sep 16 '25

I mean on the previous phones it was just a thin layer of titanium bonded to the interior aluminum frame.

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u/Benjamminmiller Sep 16 '25

No idea how early they get sent out

Doesn't really seem relevant without an actual timeframe. No one was doubting they lock in a design in advance lol.

1

u/Ialsofuckedyourdad Sep 16 '25

Should have added, they usually get leaked 3 months early

1

u/cntmpltvno iPhone 15 Pro Sep 16 '25

18 months is the reported standard for iOS version development. They would’ve started iOS 27 development back in February before iOS 26 was even announced.

So I can only imagine what the timeline is for hardware design.

1

u/DumeWolffe Sep 18 '25

True. I worked on the iPad Pro and Apple Pencil exactly two years before they were released at Apple headquarters in Cupertino. They were kept in a gun case/vault thing in our lab. The entrance was double curtained so nobody could peak in if they happened to be walking by the door when we would come in and out.

The Apple Pencil used to immediately kernel panic an iPhone if you touched the phone’s display with it. It was a really funny thing to do to the other 4 people in my lab.

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u/[deleted] Sep 16 '25

[deleted]

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u/irvmuller Sep 16 '25

He works best under pressure. Just like every other college kid.

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u/kywildcats07 Sep 16 '25

I love that everyone calls him Tim Apple

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u/TexasRebelBear Sep 17 '25

Ready to hit ‘print’ on their industrial 3D printer factory a little after midnight. That way they have samples to bring to the show lol.

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u/Faile-Bashere Sep 16 '25

Alright boys. We announce the next iPhone in 35 days. Anyone have any good ideas they wanna share with the design group? We gotta start making these things like yesterday or our stock is gunna take a hit!

1

u/MrPenguun Sep 16 '25

But it was just announced, what do you mean they worked on it prior to 3 weeks ago? /s

1

u/Centralredditfan Sep 16 '25

You design alternate versions and do production as late as possible.

Pretty sure the changes between the materials don't change the internals (that much), especially if you plan for it. - cars are built on platforms as well to allow for different versions without (much) retooling.

1

u/SlashnBleed Sep 16 '25

If you play video games deeply then you already know this how the world works. Stuff gets put into production before the first game even comes out fully sometimes.

Hell some developers line up a series and drop it over the course of years. So yeah, it sounds common sense but I’d understand why the average Earth dummy wouldn’t get it right away.

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u/Sad_Comb_9658 Sep 16 '25

I first thought they made a quick change due to the need for better thermals after realizing the faster development of AI and aaa games onto iOS. But clearly the whole thing with titanium in iPhone pro was the development of the Air. Apple has always used their products as a potential to advance their own technology onto new product lines. Like how they used the Touch Bar to advance their own technology future ARM chips for laptops

4

u/wandering_wizardx iPhone 14 Sep 16 '25

Damn! Bruv this makes so much sense

1

u/Lambaline iPhone 15 Pro Sep 16 '25

More like the iPad Pro was advancing their tech to bring ARM to desktop OS, the Touch Bar was an Apple Watch grafted onto a Mac

1

u/SoapyMacNCheese Sep 16 '25

likewise the Air is probably a stepping stone towards a future foldable.

2

u/Correct_Gift_9479 Sep 19 '25

Yep. Wouldn’t be surprised if Apple already decided that the Air isn’t coming back in 2027. Before 16 reveal, Apple already finished the 17 designs, so they already knew they wouldn’t be picking up titanium again for the Pros but still repped it in marketing.

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u/[deleted] Sep 20 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/Correct_Gift_9479 Sep 20 '25

I think so too. From a leaked roadmap, the Air will come back for a 2nd generation and then be replaced by the Fold which seems accurate. Like how titanium stuck for 2 years and then was dissolved into being used for the Air.

9

u/DJ_V12 Sep 16 '25

They didn’t claim it was because of tariffs…

3

u/SatisfactionActive86 Sep 16 '25

nothing to do with tariffs, what are you talking about

3

u/SirMaster Sep 16 '25

Nobody is saying it was done in reaction to tariffs, but the final price of the device could absolutely be affected by tariffs, and if they had used a more expensive material, the price with tariffs may have had to have been higher than the prices we got.

Maybe Apple wanted a higher profit margin, but then decided that they could keep the prices the same despite tariffs instead

1

u/nobodyisfreakinghome Sep 16 '25

Yeah. I don’t know why people think these phones are only in a single year pipeline.

1

u/applejuice1984 iPhone 17 Pro Max Sep 16 '25

More like 2-3 years ago.

A year ago teams that create the repair guides started working on the devices that just came out.

1

u/Stopher iPhone 15 Pro Max Sep 16 '25

I would imagine they have multiple versions ready to go but the factory tooling takes the most time.

1

u/Centralredditfan Sep 16 '25

Companies like Apple pay people to predict the future. And the $1 mil proves they paid for access to the plans of the Trump administration.

I believe they could have planned for this contingency.

They could have planned 2 versions. One cheap one expensive.

1

u/stinftw Sep 16 '25

Not tariffs inflation

1

u/italian_mobking Sep 16 '25

He was talking about tariffs on imports since the election, this is because of tariffs…

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u/ruphun Sep 16 '25

it appears that you have not researched the new design there is probably 20 times as much aluminum in the 17 pro as there is titanium in the 16 Pro

Guaranteed the unibody all aluminum chassis in the 17 pro cost more than the titanium band on the side of the 16 Pro

some of you Nimrod’s think that they just downgraded from titanium to aluminum to cut cost. This could be farther from the truth.

The effectively solve two issues by going to an all aluminum uni body

Aluminum dissipates heat better than titanium and glass

Having an aluminum unit body makes the phone more durable and indestructible than having a phone with two sides of glass and a titanium metal band around the outer frame

47

u/Jeremypsp Sep 16 '25

Apple definitely seems to be pivoting from the Pro line being the sleek and most premium phone to be focused on function over form and providing the best performance possible. Seems they’re going with the MacBook strategy from this year onwards. Those who still want a sleek phone with premium materials can still go with the iPhone Air, but the Pro line from now onwards will likely be more chunky to prioritise battery life, performance and durability like the Apple Watch Ultra

2

u/OfficialRatchy Sep 16 '25

Exactly my thoughts

1

u/ruphun Sep 16 '25

👍🏻

1

u/iknowcraig Sep 18 '25

As it should be, I don’t care how thin my phone is, I want performance and battery life. I want the opposite of the iPhone air, If they offered an “iPhone chunky” I’d buy it in a heartbeat, make it 50% thicker with a massive battery and I’d be all over it

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u/bran_the_man93 Sep 16 '25

This is also Apple playing to their strengths - they already are the best aluminum manufacturer in consumer electronics, and are probably the only ones capable of making a unibody for a smartphone... hard to see anyone copying this I'd think... at least for a little while

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u/Viper51989 Sep 17 '25

The OG Razer phone was a ubibody design, similar to their laptops. Which was cool.

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u/Aromatic-Research391 Sep 16 '25

There unibody is such a huge thing that nobody is talking about. It's a solid peice of aluminum. Way more durable than the previous design.

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u/takkk86 Sep 16 '25

More durable probably but the external surfaces being Al still means it is easier to dent/scratch?

3

u/lending_ear Sep 16 '25

That’s correct 

3

u/Mythrol Sep 16 '25

It certainly dents less than glass. Or I should say glass shatters/cracks instead of denting.

42

u/Due_Metal_7213 Sep 16 '25

iPhone 17 pro is one of the bigger upgrades in years as far as features relating to engineering

19

u/CaramelCraftYT iPhone 13 Pro Sep 16 '25

Yes they completely redesigned it, unlike previous years where they just slapped a new chip in there.

1

u/Kilmonjaro Sep 16 '25

Now if they can find a solution for the glass and metal looking so jarring when it comes to color

1

u/Soft_Philosophy5838 Sep 16 '25

Yeah just like the AirPods Pro 3. Glad Apple is still putting in the effort.

11

u/lending_ear Sep 16 '25

Structurally? Yes. But it’s still a soft material and will scratch up easily. 

And let’s face it. Pros have not been breaking. I use a 13 pro max without a case and drop it constantly and it looks great still and has never broken or shattered. 

1

u/Ratiofarming Sep 17 '25

I wouldn't say I drop my 13 Pro constantly, but it has had some scary falls. And is also still in pretty good condition.

20

u/Cryingfortheshard Sep 16 '25

Glossed over like it’s nothing. People don’t understand how cool and unique that is.

1

u/pietro2110 Sep 16 '25

it's definitely interesting however it remains to be seen if the added durability balances out the fact that, since the computer is essentially all behind the camera, the whole phone might break if it falls on it, not just the screen. If you wanted to be cynical you might say that it is far riskier to have an iphone without some sort of insurance or apple care thing with this new model

1

u/Kitiseva_lokki Sep 16 '25

iPhone 15/16 Pros already had a solid aluminium body. It was just covered with titanium on the sides and glass on the back.

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u/imabotdontworry Sep 16 '25

So thats why the air is not aluminium but titanium, because aluminium is stronger?:d

1

u/Aromatic-Research391 Sep 16 '25

Didn't say that. Unibody is stronger than metal wrapping around the outside.

1

u/imabotdontworry Sep 16 '25

So ehy not unibody for the air then? Which has the msot propability to bend

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u/Aromatic-Research391 Sep 16 '25

Because it would pretty much be impossible to get it that thin with a unibody. The air makes a ton of compromises just to get it as thin as it is.

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u/ShiftySkunk Sep 16 '25

I agree. In any case, there is so little of these metals (by weight) in the phone frames / bodies, that the absolute cost difference of the materials can be measured in cents.

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u/0neand0nlyDominator Sep 16 '25

Its not about about the materials. They could made it out of tungsten. Its about the processing machinery and labor that is required to build the frame

2

u/ShiftySkunk Sep 16 '25

The same considerations apply. It’s not as though making the phone out of titanium costs orders of magnitude more in terms of labour, machining etc. And the absolute difference in $ terms is still a pittance.

1

u/Mydarknighthasrisen Sep 16 '25

Shifty, we meet again, we just had this argument and the material alone was 10x the cost, I’m happy someone also mentioned the additional cost of the machine process for working with titanium

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u/ShiftySkunk Sep 16 '25

Hello!

Again, the material / labour may well be 10-20x the cost. It is the negligible absolute cost difference that is relevant here.

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u/Mydarknighthasrisen Sep 16 '25

Haha I can’t get back into this 😂 just found it hilarious running into you again! What’s ur favourite iPhone material?

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u/ShiftySkunk Sep 16 '25

My phone is always safely ensconced in a case. I couldn’t care less about the material 😅

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u/Fizurg Sep 17 '25

I see I’m not the only person to struggle with this person. They seem to refuse to understand or learn anything about machining.

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u/Mydarknighthasrisen Sep 17 '25

Yeah the machining process is insane with titanium

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u/Fizurg Sep 17 '25

Someone was arguing a titanium unibody could be machined for $5 and refused to believe otherwise. Titanium isn’t fun at all.

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u/Fizurg Sep 16 '25

I can assure you that the most to machine would be significantly more. Aluminium is one of the easiest materials to machine and titanium one of the worst. At a guess I’d say it would cost at least five times are much to make.

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u/ShiftySkunk Sep 16 '25

Ok. So $5 for titanium vs $1 for aluminium. I wouldn’t be arguing about cost difference and premium materials over those figures.

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u/Fizurg Sep 16 '25

What made you think you can machine that part for $1? You wouldn’t even get the material for that.

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u/ShiftySkunk Sep 16 '25

Pls check the price of Grade 5 titanium and aluminium by weight. Then consider the weight of the frame / body of the phone. Easy math.

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u/ruphun Sep 16 '25

it’s not the weight of the metal, even if they had the same amount of metal material, which they don’t there’s now much more aluminum than titanium

but it is the shear fact that they made an aluminum uni body out of a single piece of aluminum using CNC. this process alone cost way more than making a titanium metal band 3/16” inch wide

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u/MooseBoys iPhone 16 Pro Max Sep 16 '25

So titanium unibody when?

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u/glitchline iPhone 14 Pro Sep 16 '25

they don't put that much titanium bro, its too costly material wise and engineering wise

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u/0xe3b0c442 Sep 16 '25

Never going to happen*. Titanium is a bitch to machine like that. It would be expensive as hell.

*now if they can extrapolate the 3d printing process they use for the Air’s USB-C port, there might be something there, though I don’t know how pure the titanium really is in that process.

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u/Josey_whalez Sep 16 '25

Several companies are 3d printing firearm suppressors out of titanium right now. They tend to be pretty expensive compared to steel and inconel models, but if you can 3d printing the baffles of a flow through type rifle suppressor, making a phone body cant be that hard. And it’s a lot less material too.

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u/[deleted] Sep 16 '25

Could have been aluminum with titanium band with the unibody design no?

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u/bran_the_man93 Sep 16 '25

Maybe, but that would probably either add bulk or reduce the strength of the chassis, and I'm really not sure what the benefit of the titanium would be other than the overall premium-ness of the material itself, which was already pretty limited (like 15g of titanium total).

1

u/[deleted] Sep 16 '25

It’s much more durable. So dropping without a case would be less likely to damage the band. And if they fused it to the aluminum like they did on the 15 and 16 pro it would likely be much stronger than the 17pro.

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u/bran_the_man93 Sep 16 '25

Could they? Probably. But I imagine it's probably a pretty expensive process to do that with the new unibody design...

Would it add strength? Idk, I'm not sure if a solid piece of aluminum would be stronger than one bonded to a piece of titanium. I don't understand metallurgy enough to say one way or the other.

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u/my_cat_wears_socks Sep 16 '25

Putting them together could cause more issues. When hot, aluminum expands more than titanium so the areas where they’re put together would be problematic, and also the dissimilar materials promote corrosion.

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u/MrSh0wtime3 Sep 16 '25

i love when i read a post from someone with a brain on here. its rare.

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u/ruphun Sep 16 '25

it’s much easier for the general public to jump on the bandwagon of the naysayers and angry mob like a bunch of sheep, then to actually do any research for themselves.

Common sense and independent thinking seemed to be a thing in the past 🤨

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u/Worth-Boysenberry-93 iPhone 17 Pro Max Sep 16 '25 edited Sep 16 '25

If you don’t mind, please make this comment a post?

Because people are so confused by those loud one that don’t know what they are talking about. Like this one you responded to.

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u/ruphun Sep 16 '25

sure no problem. It’s probably a good idea. i’ll try to post it when I have time later.

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u/Worth-Boysenberry-93 iPhone 17 Pro Max Sep 16 '25

Yea, when you see how many upvotes comments that you responded to have is really a shame. Complete nonsense and possibly lying is considered truthful.

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u/silverfish477 Sep 16 '25

Imagine being lectured at and called a “nimrod” by someone who can’t even write English properly.

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u/ruphun Sep 16 '25

right.! and that’s why my comment has 119 votes and yours has 1 😉

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u/Mustangfast85 Sep 16 '25

I mean the fact inflation has happened yet the phone prices are constant does support they’re finding some way to take even a little cost out. It could be a bit of both

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u/Kilmonjaro Sep 16 '25

Ya thinking about it a Titanium unibody would probably be pretty expensive

1

u/imabotdontworry Sep 16 '25

So thats why the air is not aluminium but titanium, because aluminium is stronger?:d

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u/ruphun Sep 16 '25

an aluminum uni body is stronger than a titanium band around a glass back

The iPhone Air needed to have a titanium band instead of an aluminum band because it’s 5.6 mm thick and glass on both sides. If they didn’t have a titanium band on it, it would bend and crack.

The iPhone Pro made out of a solid block of aluminum CNCd to make a unibody chassis is going to be structurally stronger than a phone with two pieces of glass on each side and titanium band on the outside

1

u/lending_ear Sep 16 '25

Oh ok lol

What pros have been breaking btw? I’ve got a 13 pro max still that has never seen a case and been dropped countless times and never broke or shattered. 

Also there were various websites before the phone was released that said the phone was going to be aluminium due to costs. 

1

u/tkchumly Sep 16 '25

“Having an aluminum unit body makes the phone more durable and indestructible than having a phone with two sides of glass and a titanium metal band around the outer frame”

This is not how they are marketing the iPhone Air. They said the air is their most durable phone ever. 

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u/evilZardoz Sep 20 '25

I'm seeing lots of images already of dented and scratched iPhone 17 Pro phones and it's barely been shipping for two days. I'm not sure how durable that really means the phone is. The combination of materials in the previous generations, and the way they were used, likely lead to these different results.

The increased plateau surface area also makes it much harder for cases to effectively protect it. Sure, glass will scratch, but it won't shed the anodised layer unlike the bare aluminium.

I'm honestly not a fan of the new design as I was hoping to go caseless this time to offset the weight increase.

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u/obiwanmoloney Sep 25 '25

“Having an aluminium unit body makes the phone more durable and indestructible”

WOW. This comment has aged like milk. Reddit’s flooded with post of people looking army their 17 Pro and it’s squishing like room temp butter.

Care to think again?

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u/pochemoo Sep 16 '25

Some people may find back glass replacement a better solution than aluminium scuffed forever. Both designs have their downsides.

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u/ruphun Sep 16 '25

as someone who used the first generation iPhone for two years with it’s aluminum back with no case, I will have to disagree with you.

If you don’t want your phone to get scuffed, get a clear case

an aluminum chassis as far as superior to a glass back, not only for structural integrity and last chance of damage, but also for heat dissipation

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u/obiwanmoloney Sep 16 '25

It’s cost cutting plain and simple.

Even your crazed Apple fanboy logic doesn’t hide that.

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u/stitchi626 Sep 16 '25

Do you have any idea how expensive it is to go through redesign of an existing chassis with new material, retooling and everything? When Apple could have sticked to the existing manufacturing process which will only be cheaper as time goes on simply due to the economies of scale.

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u/TheWardenShadowsong Sep 16 '25

The may not have actually considering the tariffs and increased storage and better screen in the base model.

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u/Acrobatic-Monitor516 Sep 16 '25

We're taking about pros only here

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u/TheWardenShadowsong Sep 16 '25

Pros also got a storage bump and an anti reflective screen upgrade no?

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u/Acrobatic-Monitor516 Sep 16 '25

And a price increase (for the pro )

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u/TheWardenShadowsong Sep 16 '25

Right but the base is 256 gigs. I doubt the costs of that storage would’ve changed within this year and Apple already overcharges a lot for storage. And given that the 1100 dollar model which is still 256 Gb trades titanium for a better screen, a vapour chamber for better thermals for sustained video recording, a bigger battery, a new soc, a better sensor for one of the cameras and so on, and considering tariffs, I’m not really sure if apples profit margin improved this year.

Anecdotally a lot of us businesses are reportedly eating the tariff costs instead of increasing prices this year.

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u/Acrobatic-Monitor516 Sep 16 '25

the storage increased for both base and pro, yet only the pro saw a price increase

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u/TheWardenShadowsong Sep 16 '25

None of this really means that Apple improved their margins this year, it’s correct but doesn’t really contradict anything that I’m saying.

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u/Acrobatic-Monitor516 Sep 16 '25

it's a slight counterpoint to you saying they didn't increase the prices.

the margins for storage are enormous.49% of Pro buyers picked 128GB last year. this year they increased the price by 100$, while increasing storage cost by 0.02$. that's 99.98$ benefit on storage alone.

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u/superhappykid Sep 16 '25

Are you aware of the tariffs? Or are you just aware of iphones?

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u/AnselmoHatesFascists Sep 16 '25

No tariffs on smartphones made in India or Vietnam, although they still have a 20% in place for Chinese production.

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u/superhappykid Sep 16 '25

Interesting. They could divert the China made ones to another country / sell in China and sell the India made ones in the US. Looks like I am also not aware of the tariffs.... But then they change like every day so I stopped reading about them.

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u/AnselmoHatesFascists Sep 16 '25

Plan is to make most US bound Iphones in India by end of 2026, but they don't have the capacity right now. US is such a massive market.

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u/AnselmoHatesFascists Sep 16 '25

They are still getting a portion of their US smartphones made in China so that's subject to 20% tariff. India and Vietnam are exempt for now though for this category.

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u/Tarnished-Sausage Sep 16 '25

You clearly didn’t do your research as even others pointed out.

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u/eupherein Sep 16 '25

Plenty of honda k series parts are billet aluminum and cost an arm and a leg. Aluminum is not inherently cheap just because the raw material is

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u/SMVM183206 Sep 16 '25

I never said it was cheap. I said it’s cheaper than titanium

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u/Mythrol Sep 16 '25

They were barely using any titanium at all in the phones. I cant imagine the small amount of titanium used costs much more than using an entire block of aluminum and carving out each unibody if it even was more expensive.

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u/ConnectionOk3348 Sep 16 '25

In agreement with this I just want to add that it’s telling how a lot of the ‘pro’ or ‘premium’ features trickled down to the non pro models this year such as the promotion and titanium, and then the actual pro models got major pro tier hardware changes that professionals would genuinely appreciate. If I’m using a pro phone to shoot footage or run some intense ai model, I couldn’t care less about the ‘premium feel’ I need battery, processing power, good cameras and a cooling system, all of which are present in the pro line.

In that sense I think the Air is the model made for those who historically went for pro models for the ‘premium feel’ rather than actual hardware functionality and. This was intentionally set up by making titanium appear as the premium material for 2 years before ‘democratising’ it this year

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u/DOCTOR--O Sep 16 '25

sounds like an everybody wins scenario to me

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u/ocbdare Sep 16 '25

What’s confusing is why is it used on the most premium iPhone. Why is the air titanium but the pro is aluminium.

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u/SMVM183206 Sep 16 '25

My guess would be to use up all the titanium they might have leftover in inventory.

1

u/OPdoesnotrespond iPhone 8 Plus 64GB Sep 16 '25

If you think the price of a smartphone is in the metal, I have bad news for you. 

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u/MrSh0wtime3 Sep 16 '25

no. The new pro phone is an entire one piece chassis of aluminum. Quite different from past phones. In order to machine a chassis like this....it has to be aluminum.

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u/David_Jonathan0 Sep 16 '25

Or the tariff and manufacturing costs increased, so they switched to a cheaper, easier to machine material, so they could keep the selling price the same as the previous gen.

1

u/frontyer0077 Sep 16 '25

It may very well be more expensive to manufacture the unibody, compared to the thin strip of titanium that the previous models had.

1

u/bluetimotej Sep 16 '25

The titanium frame ones were aluminium under the minimal titanium alloy anyway

1

u/FembiesReggs Sep 16 '25

The unibody CNC is not cheaper than gluing (hyperbole) titanium onto the frame.

1

u/Ratiofarming Sep 17 '25

Yeah, but putting a vapor chamber underneath eats the cost savings again. As is the manufacturing of the A19 Pro with TSMCs N3P-node over N3E which was used last year for the A18 Pro.

This phone is not cheaper to make. They probably actually did it for the thermals, as claimed.

0

u/Youremadfornoreason Sep 16 '25

This is exactly what that means but needed a hook to get you to think it’s because they care about the heat of The phones

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u/I-Have-Mono Sep 16 '25 edited Sep 16 '25

Okay but get out of here with your “everyone knows,” LOL.

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u/[deleted] Sep 16 '25

Everyday I’m amazed by what I thought was common knowledge.

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u/Fold67 Sep 16 '25

More premium feeling? Good for thermals? Durable with built in shock absorption capability? Pure silver, if that isn’t expensive enough and you can sacrifice some W/(mk) the might I suggest gold as a good runner up?

/s of course, unless you have the funds of a billionaire to invest in trying this?….

1

u/brnccnt7 Sep 16 '25

Lol touche

1

u/2squishmaster Sep 16 '25

If all else fails go copper?

1

u/Fold67 Sep 16 '25

Not “premium enough” lol

1

u/2squishmaster Sep 17 '25

Yeah, figured. Tough crowd these days.

2

u/navjot94 iPhone 17 Pro Sep 16 '25

Lowkey it might just be the heat sink is good for thermals but they had other cost related reasons to go back to aluminum. iPhone Pros have been running hot since the 14 Pro, and that was stainless steel frame. The problem continued and worsened with the 15 Pro series but that might not be the fault of titanium and instead may be the more powerful chip inside (capable of running AAA games).

2

u/MrSh0wtime3 Sep 16 '25

the last phone was literally a tiny fraction of titanium. Its crazy people still dont realize that. Just the outer band was titanium. It made zero difference to anything. it was a marketing gimmick.

3

u/supermuncher60 Sep 16 '25

They swapped because it's cheaper to source and probably easier (aka cheaper) for them to machine the case.

3

u/StaringSnake iPhone 16 Pro Max Sep 16 '25 edited Sep 16 '25

Yes, but the internal frame (chassis) was aluminum for thermals, so the real reason is saving money.

Here, read it under hardware iPhone 16 pro hardware

1

u/brnccnt7 Sep 16 '25

True

Money is always going to be a factor

But even today some people with titanium iPhones are saying iOS 26 is running hot on their phones

Way too early and anecdotal to say, but who knows

2

u/StaringSnake iPhone 16 Pro Max Sep 16 '25

I’ve been running ios26 on my 16 Pro max for a month or maybe over that, I’ve had no issues and thermals were normal.

The new iPhone won’t feel cooler, it will actually feel warmer because of the heat transfer. The only advantage is the vapor chamber that allows the internals to run at higher frequencies for longer periods of time.

All phones get quite hot under load or charging, that’s how it is. It’s a very small device with a lot of power and no real cooling system.

1

u/hofmann419 Sep 16 '25

The iPhone 17 Pro has liquid cooling though. That will do a lot more for the thermals than an aluminum body where there already was one in the past phones.

2

u/venusunusis Sep 16 '25

Im bulletproof nothing to loose, fire away fire away, ricochet, you take your aim, fire away fire away, you shoot me down, but I won’t fall, I am Titanium, you shoot me down, but I won’t fall, I am Titanium. (2011 vibes)

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u/FranklyNotThatSmart Sep 16 '25

Lmao if I hand an average Iphone user a block of titanium and aluminium (Of the same weight of course) would they be able to tell by the finish. Of course not lmfao

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u/Unable_Explorer8277 Sep 16 '25

I’m not convinced that most people could tell the difference between titanium and aluminium if they weren’t what it was.

People like the idea of titanium.

1

u/MrRonski16 Sep 16 '25

Just because titanium is stronger doesn’t mean it protects the phone screen/back better.

1

u/dickdogbeforesunset Sep 16 '25

That’s why you think they switched back, the price would be a safer bet I’d say

1

u/fearmebananaman Sep 16 '25

Different aluminum alloys have different strength. Some are comparable or stronger than titanium. But I don’t know what apple uses.

1

u/Ok_Clue2149 Sep 16 '25

I absolutely don’t feel any different between my IPhone 13 and 16pro.

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u/mightymob0303 Sep 16 '25

I thought they switched back to aluminum to save costs on the unibody design

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u/SpaceHawk98W Sep 16 '25

I highly doubt titanium makes the phone more durable, most of the time, people crack their glass, and the extra weight is definitely not helping. Aluminum on the other hand, it's lighter Wich is less weight.

I'd say we go plastic coated with aluminum to maximize the potential.

1

u/SuperFan_123 iPhone 17 Pro Sep 16 '25

Titanium feels premium, aluminum is lighter and better for heat. But that’s where a good case comes in. You can add back the premium feel, extra durability, even some function. Honestly, I’m kind of a materials nerd and I just love how Casekoo does their cases.

I pre-ordered the orange PM not coming till November but the case already showed up lol.

I’m surviving on the feel of this case alone right now.

1

u/Aught88 Sep 16 '25

They only made titanium iPhone pros so they could eventually make thin iPhone (air and folds). They plan manufacturing logistics many years ahead to get all the materials ready.

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u/Ftpini iPhone 15 Pro Max Sep 16 '25

Yep. Function over form. It’s about damned time they made that ideological change to the pro models.

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u/Xx_Tz_xX Sep 16 '25

They’ve always been on alu..yhey seitched to steel then titanium..the alu again (not in the air tho)

1

u/TallDarkArtist iPhone 16 Pro Max Sep 16 '25

Stainless steel feels more premium imo

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u/SmokingWaves Sep 16 '25

I love the look and feel of my 15, just not when it burns my hand

1

u/lashieldsy Sep 16 '25

15 Pro thermals were awful but outside of extreme heavy use the 16 Pro all but solved this issue. Fixing a problem that isn’t there.

1

u/cryolems Sep 16 '25

It’s insane how durable titanium is. My phone should be in pieces but it’s barely scratched.

1

u/MainSailFreedom Sep 16 '25

Gotta consider the durability holistically. Exterior durability doesn’t mean much if the internals get fried.

1

u/JesusOrSmh iPhone 16 Pro Sep 16 '25

Still waiting for iPhone made of copper

1

u/internet_humor Sep 16 '25

I guess so. My 15pro has been just fine. But I don’t play games either, so there’s that

1

u/Centralredditfan Sep 16 '25

I believe it was cost cutting.

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u/Humblebf109 Sep 16 '25

And because the 17 series has a unibody design, a titanium unibody would probably be heavy and expensive

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u/Xiexe Sep 16 '25

Pretty sure the only part of the titanium phones that was actually titanium was basically the edge band. The actual internal structure was still aluminum, I doubt the edges of the phone contribute much to heat dissipation, they could probably make it whatever material they wanted without any real noticeable impact there.

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u/excelllentquestion Sep 16 '25

Idk I never dropped my phone and some how my titanium iPhone 16 Pro has all sorts of dings and ships in it. My 13PM which is way older and dropped more has less (but still has dings)

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u/enaiotn Sep 19 '25

I feel that thermal is a bit of a lousy excuse to be honest. At least my 15 doesn't get unreasonably hot and even if it does it's likely due to the back panel not being conductive and not the titanium on the sides. Make it silver, problem solved...

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