New design, new phone, but will the cases fit each model, older and newer? It’s time to work out whether you can save money, and if the new case fits the old phone?
As another year of iPhone models appears, the previous year’s is pushed to yesterday’s news. They’re still great — the iPhone 16 Pro is still an exceptional phone — but with a new model here, it’s no longer the model to turn to, and that has an effect on cases, as well.
The cases of the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max are now the old stock, while the iPhone 16 sticks around because, well, it’s a slightly older model with a less expensive price.
And now that there’s a 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max, there are, of course, new cases to cover and protect those.
Which raises an important question: can you re-use an older Pro or Pro Max case on this year’s phone?
Will a 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max case fit the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max?
We’ll start with the first question we get, which often comes down to cost. If you’re spending on a new iPhone, it’s not unusual to want to keep an old case around to save a few bucks, or even find an older and less expensive one online.
You’re probably not jumping from the iPhone 16 Pro to the iPhone 17 Pro, or even the Max equivalents, but if you did, the few bucks for a new case probably isn’t a big deal.
But what if there’s a case for an iPhone 16 Pro or 16 Pro Max that you love and want to use on the new phones. Can you use an old iPhone case on a 17-series iPhone Pro?
In a word, no. In many words, not comfortably or safely.
Tested with an iPhone 17 Pro inside an iPhone 16 Pro case, the changed and raised camera block of the iPhone 17 Pro/Pro Max design means the new models will not fit into older cases.
You only need to glance at the side to see some of those differences.
Not only is the camera block raising things and pushing the phone from the bumper of the case, but the slight change to thickness also means the marginally thicker iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max are incompatible with cases made for the 16 Pro and earlier.
Can an iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max case fit an iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max (respectively)?
Going the other way, things are a bit different.
Apple may have changed the design in the 17 Pro and Pro Max range, providing a large camera block which in turn increases the camera cut-out section on cases.
That’s an opportunity for iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max owners.
When we tested an iPhone 16 Pro in an iPhone 17 Pro case, it fit beautifully. The camera section wasn’t necessarily fully protected — the right part of the camera block was as exposed as it is in the iPhone 17 Pro’s design, just not raised — but the 16 Pro fit.
Shown from the side, the cases for the 17 Pro hug the body of the 16 nicely, even though the new phones are also a fraction thicker.
We’d still likely argue that having the right case for your phone is the best course of action — if you have a 16 Pro, try to get a case made for the iPhone 16 Pro — but the point is you don’t necessarily need to.
If you like the look of one of the new 17 Pro cases, and if you want to use one of the new body straps, you might be able to simply grab an iPhone 17 Pro case and use it on an older model.
