From all the iPhone 17 rumors I heard for the past year, the only one I thought would be fake is turning out to be real. After three generations with the same front look and about half a decade of similar backs, Apple is readying a major redesign for its upcoming iPhone 17 Pro models.
What started as minor leaks were later corroborated by several sources. With that, we now know Apple is finally ditching its current camera module design and switching to a camera bar on the back. It’ll have three main 48MP lenses as well as the LiDAR scanner, microphone, and flash on the other side of the phone.
To give credibility to already-revealed CADs and concepts, leaker Majin Bu shared an image of CNC-machined aluminum chassis components for the iPhone 17 Pro Max. The image reveals exactly that: the three main lenses cut out on the left side and three other cutouts for the LiDAR scanner, microphone, and flash. It’s also possible to see a massive MagSafe coil cutout. The only weird cutout is at the down left corner, but it’s likely something regarding the manufacturing process of the back of the phone.
The iPhone 17 Pro is expected to feature a half-glass half, half-aluminum finish, as Apple is ditching titanium for increased durability. Besides that, the iPhone 17 Pro models could undergo another redesign with a “much narrower” Dynamic Island. A few analysts have rumored this, but others suggest Apple will maintain the front of the iPhone unchanged. However, in 2026, Apple might be able to adopt under-display Face ID to its phone.
So far, the only iPhone not expected to get a redesign is the iPhone 17, as Apple plans to maintain the same visuals as the iPhone 16. On the other hand, the rumored iPhone 17 Air could also have a similar look to the Pro models, even though it might only feature a single rear camera.
