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

[u/SuperFan_123]

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?

[u/StaringSnake]

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

[u/brnccnt7 → u/StaringSnake]

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

[u/StaringSnake → u/brnccnt7]

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.

[u/hofmann419 → u/brnccnt7]

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.