The iPhone 17 looks like the predecessor, but if you want to use an iPhone 16 case on the iPhone 17, a disappointment is waiting for you.
A new case for the iPhone 17
With some models the differences are small, but if you look at the dimensions of the iPhones from the 16 and 17 series, you immediately see that you cannot exchange the covers. An overview:
Dimensions iPhone 16 series
- iPhone 16: 147.6 x 71.6 x 7.8 mm
- iPhone 16 Plus: 160.9 x 77.8 x 7.8 mm
- iPhone 16 Pro: 149.6 x 71.5 x 8.25 mm
- iPhone 16 Pro Max: 163 x 77.6 x 8.25 mm
Dimensions iPhone 17 series
- iPhone 17: 149.6 x 71.5 x 7.95 mm
- iPhone 17 Pro: 150 x 71.9 x 8.75 mm
- iPhone 17 Pro Max: 163.4 x 78.0 x 8.75 mm
As you can see, there are small but striking changes in all dimensions of the new iPhone 17 models. With the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, there is also a considerably larger camera surface on the back. That makes iPhone 16 Pro (Max) covers anyway unusable on the iPhone 17 Pro (Max). The same applies to all earlier iPhone models. If you go from an iPhone 15 to an iPhone 17, you also need a new case.
iPhone Air
The new iPhone Air is not in the list above because this iPhone has a whole new design. There is no predecessor for this iPhone, or it should be the iPhone 16 Plus, but it has very different dimensions. There is no case of an older iPhone series that fits on the iPhone Air.
The good news is that there are already many covers for the entire iPhone 17 series, in all types, colors and materials. Are you curious about the covers that Apple has brought on the market, read the article This is the new iPhone 17 covers (with a secret iOS 26 function).
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