In the past few weeks, we’ve seen a few puzzling reports about the iPhone 17 Pro’s big design change coming this year. Apple will reportedly use two materials for the back of the phone’s case, including aluminum and glass. The phone’s top side would be metallic, with aluminum offering better protection for the camera section. The bottom side would be made of glass, so MagSafe charging can continue working.
Some interpreted those rumors as an indication that Apple might ditch the titanium frame, but Apple can still keep the iPhone’s titanium frame regardless of what materials it uses for the back panel on the iPhone 17.
We didn’t have any photo leaks at the time, but this changes today. An image from China gives us a first look at the purported iPhone 17 redesign, and you’re going to need a minute. That is, you might not like what you’re looking at.
The image below comes from Weibo, as picked up by leaker Jukanlosreve.
Yes, it looks very strange. Yes, it seems like Apple is about to copy Google’s well-known Pixel design. And yes, it doesn’t look good. But that’s only because we’re “stuck” mentally on the iPhone rear design Apple has used since the iPhone 11.
Also, remember how much some people hate the rear-facing iPhone Pro camera. The camera bump has been getting larger and larger, and the iPhone 16 is the best example of that. Even the non-Pro models have a massive dual-camera module on the back.
I’ve always said the iPhone’s camera bump does not matter, and I’ll stand by it if the design above is accurate. Actually, a horizontal camera bump makes more sense for the iPhone. At least it won’t wobble as much when placed on a table.
Back to the image, how do we know it’s an iPhone component? Well, assuming it’s a real photo and not some sort of AI-generated fake, it’s got all the right markings. The cutouts for the Action button, volume keys, power button, Camera Control, and USB-C port are all there.
As for the materials Apple might use for the frame, we have three options here. The frame above is either 100% titanium, 100% aluminum, or a combination of both. If it’s the latter, the frame sides would be titanium, while the metal on the back is aluminum.
Also, if it’s a mix of metals, I sure hope Apple knows what it’s doing here. Then again, there hasn’t been a problem with the titanium-aluminum mix in the iPhone 15 Pro and 16 Pro models so far.
While I don’t mind the Pixel-like camera bar on the iPhone 17, I’ve never been a fan of mixing two materials for a phone’s rear case. I said that time and again for the early Pixel generations. At the time, Google used glass on the top and metal on the bottom.
But maybe has found a way to make the transition from metal to glass more seamless.
If the design is accurate, I’d expect Apple to use similar camera bars across the entire iPhone 17 family, not just the Pros. This would give the iPhone 17 series a visual identity. Remember that rumors say the iPhone 17 will have a centrally-placed single-lens camera. It would make sense for all iPhone 17 flavors to feature a similar camera design on the back.
I’d also expect other considerations to dictate the design change. Maybe Apple needs to redistribute the internal space to account for specific logic board components and larger batteries. Perhaps some of the cameras are getting larger, so a corner placement is out of the question.
Then, there’s spatial photography to consider. Maybe Apple wants spatial photos and videos shot in portrait mode, which is how most of us take pictures anyway.
There is one problem with such a design, one that Weibo users responding to the initial post identified. All iPhones feature Face ID cameras on the front, which occupy plenty of space. Can Apple place the camera bump this high up on the back without impacting Face ID? I’m especially thinking of the iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max models, which will feature three lenses on the back.
If the design leak is accurate, we’ll see it leak more and more in the coming months. In a separate post on X, Jukanlosreve said the design change might be real. Supposedly, many Android vendors will adopt a similar horizontal camera design next year.
The tidbit comes from a reliable Weibo leaker, Digital Chat Station, who referred to the iPhone 17 Air getting this purported camera bar, as seen below.
If that happens, Google should be credited with a big win here as a pioneer of camera bar designs for its Pixels. Interestingly, next year’s Pixel phones might drop the camera bar element, though the cameras should still be aligned horizontally.
