Apple Loop: iPhone 17 Pro Leaks, Apple Watch SE Details, iPhone 17 Release Dates

Forbes

02-05-2025

Taking a look back at this week's news and headlines from Apple, including iPhone 17 Pro leaks, new iPhone's release schedule, Apple's legal jeopardy, China's critical role, Apple Watch SE grows, lighter Apple Vision Air, and Google's AI coming to iOS.
Apple Loop is here to remind you of a few of the many discussions around Apple in the last seven days. You can also read my weekly digest of Android news here on Forbes.
Aperson waiting for an update of Epic Games' Fortnite on their smartphone i(Photo by CHRIS ... More DELMAS/AFP via Getty Images)
Following a 2021 Court Order, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers has found Apple to be in violation of the order. It covered the App Store's Anti-Steering provisions:
'...Rogers had ordered Apple to lower the barriers protecting its previously exclusive payment system for in-app digital transactions and allow developers to display links to alternative options. On Wednesday she found that Apple violated a 2021 injunction that, she wrote, sought to 'restrain and prohibit the iPhone maker's anticompetitive conduct' and pricing.
'Apple's continued attempts to interfere with competition will not be tolerated,' Gonzalez Rogers said in the ruling, which held Apple in contempt."
(AP).
An Apple spokesperson commented on the case to 9to5Mac's Zac Hall:
'We strongly disagree with the decision. We will comply with the court's order and we will appeal.'
(9to5Mac).
Will Apple update the vanilla models of the iPhone to ship with 12 GB of RAM? Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes this to be under consideration. The current 8GB does place a limit on Apple Intelligence, and that limit will become more apparent over an expected service lifetime of seven years. Bumping up the new phones—including the iPhone 17 Air—makes long-term sense, if conditions in the short-term allow it:
"Kuo also said even the base-model iPhone 17 could be equipped with 12GB of RAM, but it will depend on whether supply chain shortages can be overcome. He said that Apple will make a final decision on the amount of RAM it will offer in the regular iPhone 17 model by May. Even if the base-model iPhone 17 sticks with 8GB of RAM, Kuo said he expects all models in next year's iPhone 18 lineup to have 12GB of RAM."
(DCS via MacRumors).
With Apple following the industry standard and putting the iPhone onto retail shelves shortly after a product launch, the manufacturing lines need to be fired up well in advance. And before that, the engineering validation tests need to be completed. Reports this week suggested that this milestone has been passed and the iPhone 17 and 17 Pro are on course:
'The EVT stage is meant to ensure that it is practical to manufacture a new product in its intended form, and to detect any potential bottlenecks and challenges that Apple and its partners might need to overcome. The subsequent DVT stage is where products are made using the exact processes intended to be used on the final production line. The PVT stage is the final test phase, where production is carried out on actual production lines to finalize quality, yields, timings, and costs. Mass production of a new iPhone generally begins in the month prior to a new iPhone's release."
(Digitimes via 9to5Mac).
Apple is working hard to move more manufacturing capabilities out of China to the likes of India and Vietnam, even when the Chinese supply chain and skillset remain second to none. Which is why it is likely that the 20th Anniversary iPhone model will be manufactured in China, even with the threat of tariffs:
"Writing in his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman says the new models are "extraordinarily complex" and will involve "new parts and production techniques" that are best supported by Apple's established manufacturing hubs in China. The facilities have the experience and infrastructure required for the advanced engineering challenges the anniversary models will likely present.
(Power On via MacRumors).
The Apple Watch SE is Apple's lower-priced wearable, and is physically a touch smaller than the main line of watches. New supply chain details suggest the next-generation SE is going to bump up the specs and match the current regular watches:
'[Ross Young of Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC)] said the Apple Watch SE 3 would be available with displays measuring roughly 1.6 and 1.8 inches… The numbers provided by Young suggest that the 2025 variant of the SE might resemble the 41mm and 45mm size options of more recent models, such as the Apple Watch Series 6 through Apple Watch Series 9."
(Apple Insider).
With its $3,500 price tag, Apple's Vision Pro is widely seen as a software development kit rather than a fully fledged consumer product. The latter would need a lighter and less expensive handset. Step forward the Apple Vision Air, the next standalone mixed-reality headset die next year:
"All signs point to the lighter model arriving between the end of this year and the first half of 2026. Despite the first version selling poorly, the company isn't abandoning ship here. The main uncertainty is whether the lighter version will be considered a replacement for the Vision Pro or a cheaper alternative.
(Bloomberg).
Will the next iPhone support Google Gemini's AI platform? That's the intriguing possibility raised by Google CEO Sundar Pichai as part of his evidence in the Search Monopoly court case. With Apple significantly behind in generative AI on mobile, this may need to be adopted to keep up with the competition, even if it dilutes the idea of Apple offering a unique AI experience:
"The integration would presumably allow Siri to call on Gemini to answer more complex questions, similar to the integration that Apple launched with OpenAI's ChatGPT. Apple senior vice president Craig Federighi hinted at plans to build Gemini into its Apple Intelligence feature last June, when the AI service was first announced. 'We want to enable users ultimately to choose the models they want, maybe Google Gemini in the future,' Federighi said at the time."
(9to5Mac).
Apple Loop brings you seven days worth of highlights every weekend here on Forbes. Don't forget to follow me so you don't miss any coverage in the future. Last week's Apple Loop can be read here, or this week's edition of Loop's sister column, Android Circuit, is also available on Forbes.