iPhone 17 Wish List: 6 New Features We Hope to See This Year
Asher Dipprey / Front Page Tech
Apple's next iPhone is right around the corner, and many users are hoping it finally brings some long-awaited upgrades. Each year, Apple adds new features and refinements, but there are still a few areas where users feel left behind — especially when compared to Android rivals.
If you've been a longtime iPhone user, you already know that Apple fans have a long wish list of features we want Apple to add to its latest smartphone. Granted, some of them are possible, while others are still a long way from being implemented.
Read on for six things that Apple fans want to see in the upcoming iPhone 17 lineup.
Better Battery Life
Every iPhone generation promises "all-day battery life," but most people still find themselves reaching for a charger before the day is over — and that goes double if you like watching videos or playing games.
While Apple's A-series chips are some of the most power-efficient on the market, users want more than just efficiency. We want bigger batteries.
Granted, Apple has increased the battery size of most iPhones in recent years, but that might come to an end with at least one iPhone model of the new era. This year, Apple is expected to release the thinnest iPhone ever — the so-called "iPhone 17 Air" — which means thicker batteries are out of the question. Still, we'll have to wait and see. Who knows, maybe Apple will surprise us.
ProMotion Should Be on All iPhones
ProMotion, Apple's automatic feature that takes your display's refresh rate up to 120 Hz, has been around since the iPhone 13 Pro, but it's still missing from the regular iPhone models.
That means if you buy a base iPhone 16 or iPhone 16e, you're still stuck with a 60 Hz refresh rate in 2025, which is especially bad when you realize that even some of the cheapest Android phones already come with 120 Hz as a standard feature.
Granted, if you've never experienced a high refresh rate, you probably don't care about ProMotion. However, once you know what it feels like, it's pretty hard to go back. Scrolling feels less smooth, animations can look choppy, and the whole experience just doesn't feel as modern as it should.
Bringing ProMotion to all iPhones would improve everything from web browsing to gaming, and it would help the regular models feel much more premium.
Luckily, we've seen several rumors this year that Apple might bring ProMotion to all iPhone 17 models, which would be an amazing — and much-needed — upgrade.
Faster USB-C Speeds
Two years ago, Apple finally added USB-C to the iPhone 15, but there's a catch: only the Pro models actually support faster data transfer speeds. The regular iPhone models are limited to USB 2.0, which is the same 480 Mbps speed as the Lightning port.
If you use your iPhone for work or frequently transfer pictures and videos to your Mac, the base iPhone's USB-C port falls short, potentially hindering your productivity.
Hopefully, Apple will surprise us with a faster, more powerful USB-C on all iPhone 17 models this year, but we'll have to wait until the company's keynote.
Always-On Display for All Models
The Always-On display was one of the biggest new features when the iPhone 14 Pro models came out. With it, you can see the time, widgets, and notifications without tapping the screen.
Unfortunately, like other options on the list, it's limited to the Pro models. Regular iPhones still feature a black screen when they're sleeping.
Users want the option — especially now that Live Activities and StandBy mode are more useful than ever. An Always-On display would bring those features to life, even on the base iPhones.
Although it may initially seem like the purpose is to save battery on the iPhone, newer OLED panels can handle an Always-On display without any issues, as long as the refresh rate can get low enough. That's where Apple's ProMotion displays come in, so we're hoping that the rumors that the iPhone 17 will get a 120 Hz display also include an always-on display feature for the non-Pro models.
Bring Back Touch ID
Face ID works great in most cases, but it's far from perfect. If you're wearing sunglasses, a face mask, or holding the phone at an awkward angle, forget about unlocking your iPhone.
That's why many iPhone fans want to see Touch ID make a comeback. No, most of us don't want to replace Face ID. Instead, Apple should add both features to the new iPhone.
Apple could put Touch ID in the power button, like it already did on the iPad Air, which is already a great solution. Or, the company could go one step further and introduce its first-ever under-the-screen Touch ID.
It's not like people will forget about Face ID. Both can be used in different situations. And based on other Android phones, we know adding both methods is completely possible and viable.
We've heard unfulfilled rumors about Apple bringing back Touch ID for quite a few years now, so it's very unlikely to happen this year either. Hopefully, we're wrong.
Under-Display Face ID
Likewise, iPhone users have been asking for new under-display Face ID technology. Right now, the iPhone's Dynamic Island comes with extra features while still holding the TrueDepth camera system that powers Face ID.
While it's great to have more information at the top of your screen, it still takes some screen real estate that could be used for something else. By having the TrueDepth camera under the display, Apple could free up room and give us a cleaner, all-screen look.
Just like Touch ID, we've heard rumors about this change for a while now, but based on the leaks and rumors we have, it's not likely that we'll see this change on the iPhone 17. However, there's more reason to believe Apple is working on this, so it should come eventually. Maybe even next year.
Apple Still Has a Lot of Work to Do
The iPhone is already one of the most powerful smartphones in the world, but it's still far from perfect. Many of us are eagerly waiting for Apple to unveil the next big iPhone.
Some of the features, like better battery life, are changes that could happen at a moment's notice. Others, like Touch ID or under-display Face ID, would mean a bigger upgrade, which we haven't seen in quite a while.
While the rumors aren't very optimistic about some of these changes, there is still a little bit of hope. Of course, we'll have to wait until Apple announces the new iPhone 17 later this year to see what the company actually has in store for us.