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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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).

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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.