Despite recent rumors about aluminum, the iPhone 17 Pro could use titanium

It has been claimed that the iPhone 17 Pro models will move away from titanium and notably return to an aluminum frame. It is also said that the back of the Pro models will combine glass and aluminum.

Now the leaker “Instant Digital” on Weibo insists that this is not true and that the iPhone 17 Pro models will use titanium.

“Of course the 17 Pro is still titanium,” he or she writes (in translation). “Why are you swapping it for aluminum?”

“It’s impossible to think about,” the leaker continues. “Looking back at the iPhone, in recent years Apple has focused on promoting the Pro series’ high-quality frame materials as one of its selling points, from ‘surgical stainless steel’ to ‘titanium’.”

Instant Digital concludes by asking, “How do you convert it to aluminum?”

While Instant Digital doesn’t have the longest track record of accurate Apple leaks, he or she did correctly report on the yellow iPhone 14. The leaker was also one of those who correctly predicted what is now known as the camera control button.

In this case, the leaker claims neither specific sources in the supply chain nor actually anything to support his claim. Rather, it seems to be purely an opinion.

If so, this opinion is based solely on the marketing ploy Apple would use. Instant Digital is right that Apple heavily promoted Titan, but is absurdly wrong in thinking that Apple would have to enforce any change.

If Apple moves away from Titan instead, it will simply never mention it again. This came after it was discovered in the early 2000s that the titanium advertised in the PowerBook G4 was prone to scratches.

When the iPhone 17 lineup is announced in September 2025, it is now expected to include an iPhone 17 Slim.