Apple Rumored to “significantly change” iPhone design this year

Apple is rumoured to be planning a “significant change” to the iPhone design this year.

According to a recent leak, stemming from Weibo user Digital Chat Station, Apple is gearing up to bring a design change to the iPhone 17 series. It’s believed that the design is starting to change significantly” this year after being relatively the same for prior generations.

The “leak” goes on to claim that a new ‘iPhone 17 Air‘ will introduce a “horizontal, bar-shaped” design on the rear side of the device. If correct, Apple may be adopting a horizontal camera layout, as opposed to the verticle camera bump iPhone has supported. However, it’s believed the Pro-level devices may offer a “large horizontal matrix design.”

On top of the claims regarding a design change, the leak continues to state that a “large foldable model” is in development. There’s not much info given aside from a brief mention. However, it does give continued credence to the perpetual rumours of a foldable iPhone.

Last week, Front Page Tech host Jon Prosser posted a video discussing the likelihood of Apple adopting a horizontal camera bar for the iPhone 17 series. The video shows a render highlighting the notion that the camera lenses may still be on the left side. However, the LED flash is not on the right as well as a rear microphone and LiDAR scanner. With a new camera bar, Prosser speculates that Apple may gravitate to a two-tone design, with the bar being darker than the main colourway.

We’re still months away from confirmation on whether these leaks are correct. The iPhone 17 series will likely not be announced until September rolls around. That said, the Weibo leak comes from a fairly reputable account, which has posted accurate info in the past, including the iPhone 16 Pro’s size.

Source: Weibo via: MacRumors