A fresh leak from well-known leaker Sonny Dickson has unveiled clear case designs for the highly anticipated iPhone 17 Pro series, and the internet is abuzz with discussion about one prominent feature — the significantly large rear camera bar.
The leaked transparent cases corroborate months of speculation, confirming that Apple is indeed adopting a full-width camera bar design for the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max models, a design choice reminiscent of Google’s Pixel phones.
However, this design change isn’t purely aesthetic; substantial hardware reasons may be driving this shift.
According to a widely circulating theory by tech insider @mia_kacurage, the expanded camera bar could be Apple’s strategy to accommodate a 48MP telephoto lens with an impressive 10x optical zoom capability. To integrate this, Apple might need to rotate the lens, relocate the LiDAR sensor, and reorganize internal hardware components to fit within the enlarged camera bar.
The iPhone 17 Air, rumored to be a thinner and lighter iteration of the Pro series, might also feature the same camera bar. This would represent a design unification move across different iPhone tiers, something Apple hasn’t implemented before.
The camera bump is so extensive that the leaked cases leave nearly one-third of the phone’s rear surface exposed. This has led some to jokingly suggest that users might soon need to purchase a separate case specifically for the camera bar itself.
The widening of the camera bar could also have implications for MagSafe users, as the remaining space for the MagSafe magnets appears to be becoming increasingly constrained.
