Updated June 30 with details of how the display for one of the iPhone 17 series will differ from the rest and exactly how the bezels will look across the range.

Apple’s next big release, it’s thought, will be the iPhone 17 series in September (expected date here), and a new leak suggests that in at least one important way, the new regular iPhone will be different from the current one. And a new report suggests the display on one model, the super-slim phone nicknamed iPhone 17 Air, will have a key element reversed. More on that later, and thoughts about how the bezels around the display of each iPhone are changing.

This year looks like being a year of big design changes including a new slim iPhone, longer-lasting batteries, a thicker-than-ever iPhone 17 Pro Max and more.

Now, according to a new report from Digital Chat Station, a leaker on Weibo who had accurately come up with Apple information previously, the display on the iPhone 17 is about to get bigger.

Right now, the iPhone 16 display measures 6.1 inches, while the iPhone 16 Pro screen is 6.3 inches. It seems the iPhone 17 screen will be enlarged to match the Pro model at 6.3 inches.

The new report chimes with one in May from analyst Ross Young. At the time, it seemed to suggest that not only will the display be bigger, but that it could finally mean the regular iPhone would see ProMotion technology — where a dynamic refresh rate balances smoother viewing while conserving battery life where possible — would come to a non-Pro iPhone for the first time.

Since then, it’s been suggested that while there will be a change in display refresh rate, it will simply move from the current 60Hz to a 120Hz screen, without the dynamic changes of ProMotion. That’s a shame, because ProMotion is tremendous, and is one of the reasons the iPhone 16 Pro and others have always-on displays. Still, Apple has always said it’s a Pro feature.

If you’re thinking of upgrading from iPhone 16 to iPhone 17 then, yes, you’ll need a new case. The iPhone 16 Pro with 6.3-inch display is fractionally larger in every direction compared to the iPhone 16, so current cases wouldn’t fit. Mind you, do you want your brand-new phone crammed into a year-old case, anyway?

According to other rumors, there’s another way the front of the iPhone 17 will differ from the iPhone 16: the front-facing camera is expected to change from 12-megapxiel to 24-megapixel resolution.

As to the display on the iPhone 17 Air, serial leaker Majin Bu has now stated that there’ll be a difference to the layout of the front-facing camera and Face ID sensor and it will be unique to the Air. On the iPhone 16 series, and apparently for the iPhone 17, 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max, the camera lies at the right edge of the Dynamic Island. On the iPhone 17 Air, it will be on the left, it's claimed.

“The repositioning of the front camera to the left on the iPhone 17 Air, driven by its slimmer design and the need to accommodate the Face ID module, combines practicality with strategic foresight. This move paves the way for a more compact Dynamic Island in future models, marking an evolution in Apple’s design and potentially inspiring innovations in other smartphones,” Majin Bu insists. This will be proved or disproved in due course.

The same leaker has also posted images on X of what the screen protectors for the new phones will look like, and the details clearly show a circular cut-out where, presumably, the front-facing camera will sit. On three of the four it’s very clearly right-of-center as you look at the screen and on the item purporting to be the slimmer iPhone 17, it’s definitely moved to the left.

Again, I’m not sure of the logic that Majin Bu employs in terms of strategic design — even if this does make sense for future iPhones, Apple has a different reason to move it now as otherwise I think it would leave the cameras in a uniform position now and switch to the “evolution in Apple’s design” when it’s needed.

That said, I have no doubt that the Dynamic Island will shift and change in the future, but the impression I get is that Apple likes the device and may not kill it off in a hurry even if the technical capability to do so presents itself.

What’s not yet clear is if the screen protectors give any clue as to the bezels around the screens on the two “new” sizes, that is, the iPhone 17 with its larger screen and the iPhone 17 Air with its all-new design and dimensions. My suspicion is the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro will have screen sizes which are identical right down to the bezels, even if ProMotion remains a pro feature exclusively. And if that’s the case, surely the new, stylish thin phone will have thin bezels to match.

In which case we may be looking forward to new phones with uniformly super-thin bezels right across the range.