This is Rumor Replay, a weekly column at 9to5Mac offering a quick rundown of the most recent Apple product rumors, with analysis and commentary. Today: all the latest rumors about the iPhone 17 lineup and iOS 26.
iPhone 17 Pro colors might include orange, have Liquid Glass effect
The floodgates opened this week on iPhone 17 Pro color rumors. It started with Sonny Dickson sharing camera protector images that included five colors:
- Black
- Dark Blue
- Gray
- Orange
- Silver
Macworld’s Filipe Esposito corroborated these five colors. But then today, Majin Bu claimed only four iPhone 17 Pro colors were coming—all of the above except the Gray option.
Even more interesting, leaker Instant Digital says one of the colors will have a special effect designed to complement iOS 26’s Liquid Glass design. It will “have different effects under different light.”
My takeaways
I’m not a big orange person, so I’m still very much hoping the new Pro model is actually more of a vibrant copper-gold. After last year’s muted gold—Desert Titanium—a gold option that swings a different direction could be fun. But if it is indeed orange, I suspect it will look better than any current renders do.
The most intriguing rumor for me personally involves the Liquid Glass-style effect that may be coming.
If one of the new colors is designed to specifically complement Liquid Glass in iOS 26, that could prove very compelling. So far though, I’m not getting my hopes up based on this one rumor.
iPhone 17 Air in titanium, base model with A19, and 17 Pro screen upgrade
Analyst Jeff Pu has corroborated an old Ming-Chi Kuo report that the iPhone 17 Air will use titanium in its design, and be the only new iPhone model to do so. The Pro models are reportedly switching to aluminum.
He also issued a revised expectation for the base iPhone 17.
Pu once believed it would come with the same A18 chip found in the iPhone 16 last year. That would have been an unusual move for Apple, but now it no longer seems likely. Pu’s latest research note says the iPhone 17 will come with a new A19 chip after all.
Finally, MacRumors reported that the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max might exclusively get a new scratch-resistant, anti-glare display.
My takeaways
Normally, I wouldn’t be all that interested in a materials change on the iPhone. But I am fascinated to find out why the company is switching its iPhone 17 Pro models to aluminum—while bringing titanium to the 17 Air.
It’s possible there’s an Apple 2030 environmental story behind the switch. But if that’s the case, why not go aluminum across the entire lineup?
For two years now, Apple’s marketing has pushed titanium as a ‘Pro’ feature. I’m very curious to see how it plans to walk back that claim with the new lineup.
iOS 26 public beta release date
Based on prior patterns, expectations were that Apple would launch the iOS 26 public beta this week. The public beta is typically available by mid-July following beta 3’s release. Instead, the only new beta this week was iOS 18.6.
But per Mark Gurman, the iOS 26 public beta will release next week around Wednesday the 23rd.
My takeaways
We’re already later into the month than normal for the public beta, so Gurman’s expectation of a launch next week makes sense from that standpoint.
However, my bigger question is whether iOS 26 beta 4 will be released to developers before then. Apple often waits a full week after its public beta candidate is available to developers before launching it more widely.
If iOS 26 beta 4 arrives on Monday, will Apple launch the public beta in the same week? I could see it getting pushed to the following Monday, July 28 to provide more time for testing.
What are your takeaways from this week’s iPhone 17 rumors? Let us know in the comments.
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- AirPods Pro 2 (now only $169, down from $249)
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