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Published on
September 4, 2025
5 min read
Apple’s iPhone 17 Faces Headwinds Despite Major Redesign
Apple will be holding its annual event on September 9, 2025. According to Yahoo Finance, the tech company is expected to showcase the highly-anticipated iPhone 17 Air. Apple’s iPhone 17 faces headwinds despite the big design changes. Apple will launch iPhone 17 amidst reports of an impending Siri upgrade. The tech giant is reportedly in talks with Google to power its AI-powered iOS assistant with Gemini.
Effect of iPhone 17’s Minimal Features
iPhone 17 limited AI features explain why Apple’s new smartphone will face challenges as it enters the market. The iPhone 17 will be 2 millimeters thinner compared to iPhone 16 Pro, and lighter in weight. These aspects present some downsides for Apple. The iPhone 17 Air comes with a single camera, rather than two that standard iPhones have or the three available in Pro models.
This alone could keep buyers from switching to the iPhone Air.A slimmer, lighter iPhone also means a smaller battery. Unless Apple has a way of maximizing the battery for extended battery life, iPhone 17 battery life concerns might be deal breakers for buyers. But it’s the smartphone’s price tag that could pose the biggest challenge for Apple as iPhone 17 enters the market.
In May 2025, Apple contemplated increasing iPhone prices to cater for rising production costs resulting from import tariffs. Price hikes of between $50 and $100 were projected on iPhone 17 Air with iPhone Pro and Pro Max models expected to cost $50 more. These projections placed iPhone 17’s price in the $949 to $999 range. However, this price is set to increase. iPhone 17 Pro will cost $1,049 with the Pro Max costing $1,249.
Investors remain skeptical about the upcoming launch due to the uncertain success of the new iPhone. These sentiments further compound iPhone 17 headwinds and impact Apple stock performance. But even with these headwinds, Apple will likely attract solid upgrades from its current customers.
The New Design Factor
Previously, new iPhone designs have captured customer interest and boosted sales. However, analysts argue that this might not work for Apple’s new iPhone 17 devices.
“While prior form factor changes have driven a meaningfully higher next iPhone cycle, in our opinion, investor expectations for the benefit from a thin phone are more tempered. We model iPhones growing 1% year-over-year in 2026 to 235mn units” BofA Global Research Analyst Wamsi Mohan wrote in an investor note.
Brandon Nispel of KeyBanc Capital Markets thinks that iPhone 17 Air’s thinner design may not excite customers.
“The Plus model was never very popular, and the Air is probably just going to take the demand of the Plus and then probably pull some people from the standard and the Pro Max model,” Nispel said.
These analyst perspectives mean that Apple’s new smartphone may be off to a slow start and explain how iPhone 17 launch will affect Apple stock.
Upcoming Siri Upgrade
Sources close to Apple say the company is in talks with Google to use Gemini AI to boost its AI-powered iOS assistant, Siri. The upgrade will likely feature a customized LLM and is slated for release in 2026. According to Mark Gurman of Bloomberg, Apple is working on an advanced AI-based search system for Siri. Apple’s plan involves developing a custom version of Gemini AI that would run on its servers.
People close to the two tech giants say they are open for collaboration. However, none of the companies have confirmed the partnership. Should the Apple-Google AI deal materialize, it would expand their current arrangement that makes Google the default search engine on Apple devices. It would also be reflective of Apple’s limited ChatGPT integration. In October 2024, Apple unveiled AI preview with ChatGPT integration and image creation features. However, the features were only available in the company’s latest devices.
Apple has been accused of trailing competitors like Google Assistant, OpenAI’s ChatGPT, and Amazon’s Alexa in AI. Its attempts to make Siri smarter have been slowed by the exit of key staff and lawsuits. In June 2025, there were reports that the iPhone maker would put on hold plans to develop an in-house LLM to power Siri, and instead partner with leading AI labs. The latest reports on partnering with Google Gemini appears to be Apple’s way of catching up in the AI race at minimal risk.
