With the iPhone 17, Apple is copying Google’s Pixel design

Apple is extensively anticipated to unveil its iPhone 17 sequence of smartphones at a keynote occasion within the early fall of this 12 months. Although we’re nonetheless a couple of months away from this anticipated lineup launch, the rumor and leak machine has already been firing on all cylinders.

A mixture of leaked iPhone 17 CAD information, idea renders, and different speculations have flooded the web, giving us a taste of what Apple has been cooking up behind closed doorways. This is a breakdown of all the newest information surrounding the upcoming Apple handsets.

With the 17 sequence, Apple may lastly refresh the iPhone’s design language

For its subsequent batch of flagship telephones, Apple seems to be drawing inspiration from Google’s Pixel line

MajinBuOfficial

Arguably probably the most distinctive {hardware} ingredient of any trendy high-end smartphone — iPhone included — is the design of its rear digital camera protrusion. Apple settled on a particular stovetop-like triple lens setup again in 2019’s iPhone 11 Pro, and it hasn’t strayed from the look ever since.

Excitingly, we would lastly be in for a real digital camera module design refresh this 12 months — leaks point out that Apple is taking inspiration from the ‘digital camera bar’ design that we have come to know and love on trendy Google Pixel phones.

Leaked CAD files from prolific leaker Majin Bu on X give us the clearest-yet depiction of what the iPhone 17 sequence may seem like. In collaboration with 3D artist Asher Dipprey, an array of concept renders have been released, showcasing an elongated rear digital camera hump that’s loosely harking back to that of the Google Pixel sequence.

Others have pushed again on the argument that Apple is poaching inspiration from Google, highlighting that this conceptual digital camera design emulates the form and nook radii of Apple’s personal Dynamic Island software program interface.

From an aesthetic standpoint, the alleged new design’s benefit is subjective. Functionally, nevertheless, the expanded rear digital camera bump ought to clear up the age-old difficulty of a wobbly expertise when utilizing the cellphone on a desk. I am personally a fan of the added symmetry that this design would offer, and I discover the aesthetic extra purposeful and assured wanting total.

Associated

The iPhone Air could finally hit your pocket later this year

Apple reportedly has quite a lot of new product launching this 12 months, together with a brand new Apple Watch SE and the iPhone 17 Air.

All indicators level to Apple releasing a slender ‘iPhone Air’ mannequin this 12 months

The long-rumored ‘Air’ mannequin may launch day-and-date with the remainder of the iPhone 17 sequence

Pocket-lint / MajinBuOfficial

Primarily based on the precedent, we’d count on the upcoming iPhone 17 sequence to include iPhone 17, 17 Plus, 17 Professional, and 17 Professional Max fashions. Nevertheless, it appears more and more possible that Apple will upend custom this 12 months. Rather than an iPhone 17 Plus mannequin, rumors point out that the corporate will instead release a so-called iPhone 17 ‘Air.’

Not like the remainder of the iPhone 17 lineup, the Air variant is regarded as pushing the boundaries of slim smartphone chassis design, with a thinness of maybe solely 5.5mm. If correct, this could make the system the thinnest-ever iPhone, beating out the present record-holder — 2014’s 6.9mm skinny iPhone 6.

The rumored iPhone 17 Air mannequin is reported to feature an identical pill-shaped digital camera bar to the remainder of the iPhone 17 sequence, albeit with solely a single digital camera lens and a extra visor-like design. Whereas rumors recommend that the Action Button and the Camera Control button will each make the reduce, the times of the bodily nano-SIM card may properly and really be over.

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The iPhone 17 Pro might get this long-awaited charging feature

A brand new leak suggests Apple is testing reverse wi-fi charging on the iPhone 17 Professional.

iPhone 17: The intangibles

Other than the rumored exterior modifications, leaks level to another thrilling under-the-hood {hardware} enhancements

Apple / Pocket-lint

Apple’s recently-released iPhone 16e mid-range cellphone is the primary to function the corporate’s custom-built C1 modem. When it comes to power effectivity, the vertical integration of a tailored chipset of this kind is simple. I might count on to see an up to date variant of the C1, or maybe a second-generation C2, debut on the iPhone 17.

With the ever-increasing availability of Apple Intelligence options, extra RAM can be a possible prospect. On-device AI processing is notoriously reminiscence intensive, and we have seen cellular {hardware} distributors like Google, Qualcomm, and others push for more RAM of their base product configurations. The iPhone 16 ships with 8GB of reminiscence — I would not be stunned if 12GB turned the brand new normal throughout all the iPhone 17 line.

Elsewhere, rumors level in the direction of the potential of reverse wireless charging know-how making its method into the iPhone 17. If magnetized, this could make it straightforward to plop equipment just like the Apple Watch or AirPods onto the rear aspect of the cellphone, with out having to fret about coil alignment.

Lastly, there’s the silicon; if I have been a betting man, I might put my cash on the introduction of an Apple A19 Professional chipset, with a non-pro variant reserved for the bottom iPhone 17 and slimline 17 Air fashions. One other iPhone era has at all times resulted in one other Apple Silicon era, and I do not count on the corporate to buck this pattern anytime quickly.

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5 features I think Apple’s iPhone 17 needs to stand out

Apple does not have to reinvent the iPhone with the iPhone 17, however there’s nonetheless loads of room to make the corporate’s flagship product higher.