Apple is expected to launch a new design with the upcoming iPhone 17 family. Now, a look at the iPhone 17 Pro Max and a series of third-party cases illustrate the impact of the changes through a closer look at the main camera.
The iPhone 17 Pro Max Design
Details on how a new range of cases could look on the presumptively-named iPhone 17 Pro Max have been published by noted Apple commentator Sonny Dickson. Previously, Dickson brought details of the iPhone 16 screen sizes, images of the new Camera Control button appearing on all four iPhone 16 models, and final samples of the iPhone 16e.
Assuming these designs are plausibly close to the final product, they inform us of several decisions by Tim Cook and his team for the next iPhone.
Accompanied by renders of the iPhone 17 Pro Max, the cases show a significant increase in the camera island on the rear of the phone and a second island for the flash and sensors.
The same three-lens arrangement as the current iPhone 16 Pro Max models can be seen. With the recently launched iPhone 16e sporting a “two-in-one” single-lens design, Apple could offer one or more of these lenses with similar functionality. That may demand a few more millimeters in the camera hardware, which requires a new design similar to the one we see here.
The three key sensors for the rear camera _ the flash for low-light photography, the microphone for video recording and the LIDAR sensor gather depth information _ now reside in their own space.
The iPhone 17 Pro Max Camera Bar
This essentially creates a camera bar across the rear of the handset. It’s a particularly wide camera bar compared to that seen on many of Google’s Pixel smartphones, but its presence has been accepted in the community after several leaks and discussions.
The camera bar is also expected to appear on the iPhone 17 Air, Apple’s ultrathin design set to replace the iPhone Plus brand. In that case, the camera bar will be significantly narrower with just a single lens. The vanilla iPhone 17 is not expected to move to this arrangement and may be closer to the iPhone 16e’s staid design.
The iPhone 17 Pro Max’s Focus On Photography
The finalised design of the iPhone 17 Pro Max may not fit these case renders precisely, but the renders illustrate the various discussions around a refreshed design for the upcoming iPhone. Apple has always leaned heavily into the imaging capabilities of its smartphones. It makes sense that it would emphasise the camera for the 17 Pro Max as part of a redesign of the iPhone style.
The iPhone 16e hints at new lens technology. The design discussions point to a reworking of the camera island to offer more space for new hardware. And while the Apple Intelligence feature set may not match the wide range of Google’s Gemini AI, it provides several AI-powered additions for imaging.
Whatever the final iPhone design looks like, we can already see that taking pictures will be a big deal come the expected launch in September.
Now read the latest iPhone 17 Pro Max, MacBook and iOS headlines in Forbes’ weekly Apple news digest…
