According to new leaks, Apple could be giving its iPhone 17 Pro camera module a major redesign. New dummy diode unit images have appeared online providing a clearer look for fans for what could bear a significant revision to the rear panel of the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max.
The images shared on X (formerly Twitter) by tipster Majin Bu show dummy units of the iPhone 17 Pro in a color which Majin Bu says is black. Perhaps the most significant upgrade is the iPhone 17 Pro camera module, which looks to span the top of the rear panel—compared to vertical modules on the iPhone 16 Pro lineup.
That’s not just a cosmetic change; it’s also a structural, which is exactly the type of iPhone 17 Pro camera module change you’d want to see. It suggests the module would sit higher than the back face of the phone, with rising round rings for each of the lenses too. On the extended module, the LED flash and LiDAR scanner are located to its right-hand side creating symmetry between the two and separating them from the lenses.
iPhone 17 Pro camera module (How it may look)(Image credit: )
While offering a wide angle, telephoto and ultra-wide angle lens in the rear camera module has seemingly been irreplaceable for Apple, it appears the tech giant is attempting to adjust the way said functionality works in order to pr`epare us for the changes to come as shown in these leaked images of the iPhone 17 Pro camera module. As we look at the left-angle image, it shows how thick the module could be, making the phone get a unique style camera bump, which will be thicker than the phones we saw above.
Interestingly, some earlier speculation predicted that Apple might change the lower rear of the phone to a metal and glass combo. Yet the lower part appears unchanged versus new dummy leaks as of today. Whether that was an idea Apple has abandoned or is holding for a different model is still unclear.
The Ultimate iPhone 17 Pro Cooling Solution
Other iPhone 17 Pro features are in the headlines, too — aside from the camera module. This leaker also says the new iPhone 17 Pro models could switch over to a vapor chamber cooling system. It would be Apple’s first implementation of such a system, hopefully keeping things running at optimal temperature, particularly when it needs to use the A19 Pro chip for performance-heavy workloads.
In the case of the iPhone 17 Pro Max, however, a newly leaked hands-on video of the phone shows a thicker chassis, potentially to house a vapor chamber, larger battery, or redesigned camera module.
Differences in design compared to normal iPhone 17
Rumors had suggested the iPhone 17 Pro camera module would take on a new form factor, and while that indeed looks to be the case, the standard iPhone 17 could continue with a far more cautious design, akin to the existing iPhone 16. This makes it simple for Apple to distinguish the Pro and regular variants, once again continuing its trend of keeping the major innovations for the Pro series.
Summary
It appears Apple is set to change the aesthetic of its Pro lineup — or at least the Pro camera modules — with the emergence of iPhone 17 Pro camera module images against which renders have been producing a new look for the 2024 iPhone season. Between an updated camera bump, potential vapor chamber cooling, a new design, and a potentially thicker chassis, the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max look set to be some of the more physically distinct phones from Apple yet. Whether Apple admits these features or not in its final release, the direction here is very straightforward—outlandish design changes are upon us.
