Earlier today, we reported that Apple is preparing to bring a Pixel-inspired camera bar to market with the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro Max. In summary, that rumoured originated from Digital Chat Station, who also shared a mock-up of the design mooted. Now, a photo showing this potential redesign has emerged on Weibo.
Allegedly, the image was obtained from an unnamed source within Apple's supply chain. Thus, we would recommend exercising some caution as to the photo's authenticity, however authentic it may look. Incidentally, the design mirrors recent claims made by The Information that Apple would be moving to aluminium frames for the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max.
Ultimately, the presence of a wide horizontal camera bar draws comparisons with the Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro XL (curr. $949 on Amazon). With that being said, it seems that Apple could adopt a unibody design with cutouts for cameras and wireless charging hardware.
To that end, the frame also contains cutouts for physical buttons, whose positions are unchanged from the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max. The sheer size of the cutout in the middle of the frame implies that Apple will cover this in something. As such, we suspect that the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max may look like regular glass-backed smartphones, even if their internal construction is radically different.
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