Apple’s rumored iPhone 17 Pro is shaping up to be one of the most closely watched upgrades in years, as the company moves closer to launch. The iPhone has always been criticized for its lower storage capacity and the company's decision not to integrate a microSD card slot. Moreover, base storage on the iPhone has always been lower, which brings us to a compelling rumor centered on a shift for the base models. Rather than the familiar 128GB starting point, the iPhone 17 Pro might begin at 256GB, paired with a $50 price increase across the lineup.
Apple will make sure the iPhone 17 Pro is just as capable as the bigger iPhone 17 Pro Max, with the same base storage
In a new post shared on Weibo, a Chinese leaker who goes by the name of Instant Digital claims that the iPhone 17 Pro could start with 256GB of base storage, the same as the current iPhone 16 Pro Max. However, the company will not bestow the upgrade for free, as it is expected that Apple plans to increase the price by $50. If you are unfamiliar with them, the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, and iPhone 16 Pro all launched with 128GB onboard, while the Pro Max was the only model to start at 256GB. The shift would align both the Pro models with the same base storage, ultimately giving users more breathing room for upgrades.
We must take into account that the standard iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Air will potentially start at the same 128GB base storage as the current models, but since these are speculations, we would advise readers to take the news with a pinch of salt. We have previously reported that Apple is expected to push the base price of the iPhone 17 Pro to $1,045, with the standard iPhone 17 to cost $849 and the iPhone 17 Air to be priced at $949. The price increase is likely due to the ongoing component cost inflation and tariffs rather than a premium markup. However, if Apple doubles the storage, it will soften the blow for the end user with added value instead of a year-over-year price increase without any major upgrade.
Other than the company's product development and cost management, the value realignment will help simplify choice confusion and better spotlight the benefits of choosing Pro over the Pro Max, or the other way around. The leaker also reiterated that the iPhone 17 launch will take place on September 9, corroborating prior launch time frames. Do you think Apple should increase the price of the iPhone 17 Pro by $50 for the base 256GB of storage capacity? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
Follow Wccftech on Google to get more of our news coverage in your feeds.
