Someone at Apple has got some serious explaining to do. Apple used to be known for its stellar product designs. However, Sonny Dickson has shared a photo of iPhone 17 dummy units on X, confirming that for 2025’s iPhones, Apple is going with a very weird design language.
Leaked iPhone 17 dummy units
These iPhone 17 dummy units don’t tell us anything new. Over the past few months, we’ve seen various renders of the upcoming iPhone 17 lineup. However, these dummy units corroborate what we’ve seen so far.
For the base iPhone 17, the design is in line with past iPhone releases. However, it’s the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max (rumored to adopt the Ultra moniker) that have us scratching our heads.
You see, we’ve heard rumors that Apple is adopting a camera bar design for its Pro and Pro Max models. We initially thought it could be something similar to Google’s Pixel phones. However, the renders we’ve seen are very different. For starters, there’s a weird gap in between the camera lens cluster and the flash module. In all honesty, it is quite unsightly.
This has us wondering if this is merely a design choice or if there is an actual practical reason behind it. We speculated that maybe there are additional sensors hiding under the module, but none of the rumors so far have hinted at such.
As for the iPhone 17 Air, yes, it does have a weird design. However, Apple kind of gets a pass on this. The iPhone 17 Air is rumored to be a new model in the lineup. It also replaces the iPhone 17 Plus. Apple is approaching the design of the iPhone 17 Air from a fresh perspective.
iPhone 17 launching later this year
Rumors claim that the iPhone 17 Air will be much thinner than previous models and will serve as a testbed for Apple to experiment with new technology. If it’s successful, Apple will most likely incorporate the design into future iPhones as well, such as its rumored upcoming foldable iPhone, which could probably take advantage of thinner components, like batteries. At this point we’re giving up on hoping that these leaks are false.
Apple will announce the new iPhone 17 models later this year, most likely around September. The new devices will adopt Apple’s A19 chipset, but other than that, we haven’t really heard any groundbreaking changes.
