Apple Loop: iPhone 17 Pro Pricing, MacBook's $599 Deal, Apple Says Goodbye To The Hard Drive
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.
iPhone 17 Pro's Aluminium choice
Following a heavily-advertised push to titanium in last year's iPhone, it now appears that Apple is moving back towards aluminum for the iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max models. This would make for a lighter phone, the ability to offer more vibrant colors, and crucially, offer better thermal perormance to keep the phone cool:
"The iPhone 17 Pro models will be the first high-end iPhones with aluminum frames since Apple split the lineup into Pro and non-Pro tiers. In recent years, aluminum has been reserved for lower-end models like the iPhone SE and iPhone 16. High-end models used stainless steel until the iPhone 15 Pro, which switched to titanium – a change Apple touted as a major upgrade."
(Forbes).
iPhone 17 Pro Pricing
With the most recent iPhone launches, Tim Cook and his team have kept the price of the entry-level Pro at $999. After eight years, that's about to change as Apple looks to bump the price up of every model by $50. Will the bump in storage be enough to offset breaking the psychological barrier?
"A previously-accurate leaker on the Chinese platform Weibo claimed the smaller iPhone 17 Pro model with a 6.3-inch display will start at $1,049 in the U.S. with 256GB of storage, whereas the iPhone 16 Pro starts at $999 with 128GB of storage. Apple has offered at least one Pro model or equivalent tier of the iPhone at a starting price of $999 in the U.S. since the iPhone X was released in 2017, so the iPhone 17 Pro would break an eight-year streak held by the company."
(Forbes).
Underclocking The iPhone 17 Air
Joining the iPhone fray this year will be the iPhone 17 Air, a model designed purely to be thin and retain as much functionality as possible. Unfortunately, the diminiutive size continues to demand significant compromises:
"It's the second time in as many months that Fixed Focus Digital has claimed to reveal accurate details about the ultra-thin device's chip specifications. The reduced GPU core count suggests Apple is using binned chips based on yields, or may be managing thermal constraints in the slimmer form factor, but most users are unlikely to notice the performance difference during typical usage."
(MacRumors).
M5 MacBook Pro Delay
While the base M5 Apple Silicon chipset is expected to arrive in the consumer-focused MacBooks and iPad Pro models, the powerhouse M5 Pro chipset may not arrive until later into 2026 via an uprated MacBook Pro
"This must refer to the M5 MacBook Pro because it is the only MacBook that receives 'high-end' versions of Apple's processors. Apple is expected to launch its M5 MacBook Air in early 2026, but the MacBook Air typically only comes with the standard M-class chip. MacBook Pro, meanwhile, always offers higher-end Pro and Max chip variants. Thus, Kuo appears to be saying that the M5 MacBook Pro won't arrive until 2026.
(9to5 Mac).
What About A $600 MacBook?
There's more discussion at the lower end of the MacBook portfolio with Apple potentially moving into low-cost territory with a lightweight MacBook Air model powered by the iPhone A18 chipset rather than any deskbound Mxx silicon.
"Taiwanese supply chain publication DigiTimes expects the laptop to have a starting price of between $599 and $699 in the United States. The publication said the lower-cost MacBook will be equipped with a 12.9-inch display, and a version of the A18 Pro chip that debuted in the iPhone 16 Pro models last year. It would become the first Mac to ever use an A-series chip from an iPhone."
(MacRumors).
The All-Glass iPhone Patent
And we're not done with new iPhone formats this week either. Apple's latest patent filing once more points to an 'all-glass' iPhone as the impossible dream. It's getting closer, with this new documentation talking about an iPhone that 'looks' like it is one sheet of glass:
'[From the patent]: The enclosure may appear visually and tactilely seamless, such that the entire enclosure may appear to be formed from a single piece of glass (even though it may be formed from multiple separate pieces attached together)."
(9to5Mac).
And Finally...
The new beta builds of macOS show that an old favourite is being taken away. In all the icons, in all the code, there is no more hard drive:
"Apple released a new developer beta build of macOS 26 Tahoe today, and it came with another big update for a familiar icon. The old Macintosh HD hard drive icon, for years represented by a facsimile of an old spinning hard drive, has been replaced with something clearly intended to resemble a solid-state drive… hanks for the memories, Macintosh HD hard drive icon! Keep on spinning, wherever you are."
(Ars Technica).
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.
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