Newly leaked iPhone 17 Pro dummy units show Apple’s new partial glass design

iPhone 17 dummy units (image: Sonny Dickson via X)
Leaker Sonny Dickson has unveiled additional dummy models via X showing Apple’s forthcoming iPhone 17 series, spotlighting a significant design shift in the iPhone Pro models that extends beyond the widely discussed new rear camera bar. According to Dickson, the iPhone 17 Pro dummy units display a distinct partial glass outlined section on the back, starting just beneath the camera module and reaching down to the bottom of the chassis. He notes that this area indicates “where the glass will change.”
Tim Hardwick for MacRumors:
‎

According to The Information, Apple has chosen a half glass, half aluminum build for its high-end devices to increase durability. The glass would allow wireless charging to continue to be available, but a partial aluminum frame would be less prone to breakage.
Apple’s current iPhone 16 Pro models feature a titanium chassis – a change Apple touted as a key upgrade when it debuted with the ‌iPhone 15‌ Pro. With the introduction of the ‌iPhone 17‌ lineup, Apple is reportedly planning to bring the entire selection of devices back to aluminum.
Consistent with rumors and previous CAD images, the dummies depict Apple’s embrace of an elongated horizontal camera module along the top of the back of the iPhone 17 Pro models and the iPhone 17 Air, but not on the regular model. The dummies also appear to have a smoother transition between the edges of the camera bump and the back cover, reportedly owing to Apple’s use of a new glass-and-metal splicing material process.

‎
MacDailyNews Take: These iPhone 17 Pro models will, smartly, look clearly distinct from recent iPhone Pro models — the design will say implicitly, “I am the latest iPhone Pro” — which will lead to increased sales versus, say, iPhone 15 Pro vs. iPhone 16 Pro, which look pretty much exactly the same.
For this reason alone — appealing to those who want the latest and greatest and want to be known as owning it* — Apple should have a hard and fast, very simple rule: To maximize sales, always put in the design work required to release iPhone Pro models that are clearly distinct from the previous model year.
*Yes, it’s superficial and, yes, when it comes to sales, it matters.

‎
Please help support MacDailyNews — and enjoy subscriber-only articles, comments, chat, and more — by subscribing to our Substack: macdailynews.substack.com. Thank you!
Support MacDailyNews at no extra cost to you by using this link to shop at Amazon.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Fred Mertz” for the heads up.]
The post Newly leaked iPhone 17 Pro dummy units show Apple’s new partial glass design appeared first on MacDailyNews.