Well-known leaker Majin Bu posted an image (above) on X of what he claims to be the casing for an iPhone 17 (in protective plastic wrap). if it’s real—and it’s far too early to know for sure—then the iPhone is about to go through some big changes.
The image seems to show one large rear camera on the left side of a wide “camera bar,” with another round cutout on the right side for a flash, focus illuminator, LiDAR, or other sensor. This lines up with previous rumors for the new ultra-slim iPhone 17 model.
It’s rather early for a leak of this nature—the iPhone 17 Air (and all other iPhone 17 models) are expected to be released this September as usual, so volume production, and the supply chain and manufacturing leaks that come with it, won’t begin until the summer. But Apple is known to shore up iPhone designs years in advance, so parts and prototypes are floating around.
It’s a big shift from the design of current iPhones, which bunch all the cameras and associated hardware together into a square in the upper-left corner. Apple has placed the camera in a square array since the iPhone 11, which was released in 2019.
The “camera bar” design has been rumored for at least the iPhone 17 Air (the common name for a rumored ultra-slim model) and perhaps even for the entire iPhone 17 line. For more, check out our roundup of all the iPhone 17 leaks and rumors.
