Updated December 21 with more grief reports.
What exactly will next year’s iPhones look like?A recent report on the design of the iPhone 17 series claimed that the novelties would be noticeable in the new logo design. This was an unexpected progression but one that was taken seriously since it emerged. A leaker with a decent track record. However, this statement is now categorically contradicted. Since the contradiction also comes from a reliable source, you may be wondering what it is. And more and more perspectives are being expressed, further adding to the confusion.
For instance, one report says this: “We’re still getting a regular iPhone 17, but there won’t be an iPhone 17 Plus this year. Apple also plans to sell the iPhone 17 Air alongside iPhone 17Pro and Pro Max models, and rumors suggest there are some design changes coming to those models, too. So far, it sounds like we’re going to get a half-aluminum half-glass design for the back panel that could improve durability, plus the camera setup could get a redesign,” according to MacRumors, in a post which shows an image of the aluminum/glass hybrid.
It has the cameras in yet another orientation, with a vertical series of camera on the edge. The render it shows screams “Apple would never do this” to me. While a mix of materials on the rear is entirely possible, the look is not very convincing. It looks interesting, but entirely without the wow factor that Apple’s industrial design effortlessly evokes.
It also almost looks like the flagship of its main rival, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra. Frankly, Apple wouldn’t need that any more than the threat of the Google Pixel series.
The original report by Weibo user Digital Chat Station included a rendering of an iPhone with a single row of cameras along the top edge of the phone. The depiction looked convincing and was not intended to be real, but it was not based on leaked images or visuals.
Three cameras in a row might look good but there are knock-on effects from them. The triangle of lenses on the back of the iPhone 15 Pro, for instance, have the benefit of being equidistant, which helps the seamlessness of switching from one lens to another.
Also, as Ben Lovejoy of 9to5Mac points out, if you plan to move to a direct line of lenses, a vertical line would make more sense than a horizontal line because “most photos and videos are taken in landscape mode. “And, as shown below, vertical lenses like those on the iPhone 16 and 16 Pro allow iPhones to record spatial videos that can be played back in Vision Pro.
As mentioned, the previous suggestion for an iPhone with a horizontal row of cameras instead of, say, the triangular design of the iPhone 16 Pro. This meant an iPhone that looked strikingly similar to the Google Pixel 9 Pro. Some were skeptical about the accuracy of this statement, but more reporting was needed to be sure.
Now, there’s a new post on Weibo from regular leaker Instant Digital, who has had a strong, though not perfect track record. It was spotted by MacRumors, and it offers a different viewpoint, saying (in machine translation), “My source told me that the appearance of the back has indeed changed, but the layout of the three cameras is still triangular, not the horizontal bar spread on the Internet now.”
This makes a lot more sense to me, but let’s dissect it a little. The triangular placing seems likely not just because it’s familiar but because it means that the current capability for recording Spatial Video with the iPhone held in landscape orientation continues.
I would be surprised if Apple didn’t keep this feature intact at least for the next few generations.
Where the report is less clear, that is precisely what the other look back this year means. Given the longer screen length of the existing Pro models compared to 2023, I think the demo will be the same in 2025, so the adjustments will be elsewhere.
One rumor covers a camera area clad in aluminum rather than glass, though it’s thought that the majority of the iPhone’s rear will still be made of glass. Without that, wireless charging would be gone, and that’s another key feature that is unlikely to disappear.
When several reports from leakers with strong reputations clash, it can be confusing. But while there are still a lot of questions to be answered, the prospect of a Pixel-like camera design seems to have retreated.
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