A while back we heard that the iPhone 17 Pro would have a rectangular camera bumpinstead of the current square bump that has been used for generations. That report also claimed that Apple is dumping titanium and going back to aluminum for the frames. More recently, a report suggested that Apple will stick with titanium for the pros, so the weird rumor about the camera bump is false… right?
Maybe not and it could be worse than we thought. A post on Weibo shows this image and claims it is a bare frame from the iPhone supply chain. The cameras are in the top portion with the ultra-wide lens in the center (it’s the thinnest module, so this helps leave plenty of room for the Face ID hardware on the other side).
Alleged iPhone 17 Pro frame
Tasty Digital chat station lends credence to this leak and shares a speculative render of the iPhone 17 Pro. This ties in with the original rumor, which claimed the back will be a mix of aluminum and glass (the large hole at the bottom of the frame will be covered in glass to allow wireless charging, NFC, and other signals to pass through).
Speculative iPhone 17 Pro render
And can we talk about the placement of the camera island? Yes, it looks like the ‘visor’ on Pixel phones, but as you’ll notice, Google has moved its cameras lower. The iPhone 17’s design will be basically impossible to hold horizontally without covering at least some of the cameras.
Google Pixel 9 Pro and 9 Pro XL
Cupertino has always been on top of ergonomics, so it’s hard to believe they’ll get it so wrong. It’s still almost a full year before the 17 Series arrives, so perhaps this is a failed experiment.