A leak regarding the iPhone 17 Pro Max has seemingly confirmed that the next-gen iPhone is ready for production, as well as confirmed Apple’s rumored design change.
The images, first shared by Majin Bu on X, show components of what is claimed to be the iPhone 17 Pro Max. The placement of the holes indicates that Apple intends to increase the distance between the cameras, microphones and LiDAR sensor, as previous leaks have pointed to.
We’ve heard a lot about changes coming to the next generation of iPhone, including the iPhone 17 Air replacing the iPhone 17 Plus. However, one of the most prevalent is the possible introduction of a Google Pixel-like horizontal camera bar along the back. The volume of these rumors makes it seem more likely, and this alleged leaked image has appeared to confirm it for some.
So what are we really looking at?
While it would be easy to state that the items shown in the image represent the first stages of the iPhone 17 Pro Max, there are some caveats.
Firstly, the materials in the post, which could be the aluminum or titanium chassis components for the iPhone 17 Pro Max, show off all the markings that would appear on a freshly machined component. However, that doesn’t mean that this is a part of the actual phone, and there are more than a few indications against that being the case.
The problem is that Apple going back to a full-body frame doesn’t really make sense. For reference, when building the iPhone 16 Pro Max Apple changed the design to implement partial plates around certain components, instead of the full plate seen on the iPhone 15 Pro Max.
This had the benefit of making the iPhone 16 series much easier to repair one component at a time. As such, it would be odd for Apple to revert back to a design from over a generation ago.
As such, the blocks look more like case molds than actual components of a phone. Not to mention, Majin Bu isn’t the most consistent of sources, with many of their predictions proving false. As such, we’d take this with a grain of salt but we won’t know until the official release in September.
