Eye-Catching New Look Revealed In Latest Leak
Updated July 31 with new design details of how and why the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max will look different and a new report on the colors the new models will sport.
Apple’s next crop of iPhones will be released in September, it looks like — read this for exactly when in that month they’ll hit the streets — and a new report claims that the Pro models of the iPhone 17 series will have something no iPhone has ever had before: an anti-reflective screen. What’s more, the rumored change to the iPhone 17 Pro’s camera bump has now been explained by the suggestion that there could be a much higher optical zoom on one camera. Meanwhile, a new report claims to show every design across the iPhone 17 range, including a surprising new color. More on that below.
Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max: will the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max have an all-new display.
AFP via Getty Images
There have already been reports that the iPhone 17 Pro Max is going to be thicker than ever, that the Apple logo on the rear may move to a new position, and that the phones may include new screen sizes. Those are interesting design changes, but a new screen tech could be especially appealing.
Think about it: glorious though the current iPhone 16 Pro screen is, sometimes you’ve been looking at it in bright light and have had to squint or angle it to see it clearly above nearby reflections.
So, a screen that’s as pristine as the current ones, but is easier to see, will be a definite upgrade. This is what’s promised by someone described as “a reliable source,” by MacRumors.
The anti-reflective display has been rumored for some months, and the latest source promises another benefit: greater scratch resistance.
The display is, after all, the main way you interact with your smartphone, so the more inviting it looks, the more you’ll use your phone.
The current display on the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max looks terrific, with Apple’s ProMotion technology with its dynamically changing refresh rate keeping everything looking smooth and powering neat features like the always-on display.
Since it’s thought that the regular iPhone 17 will see a screen upgrade to introduce a higher refresh rate than the current 60Hz display, though likely not the dynamic refresh rate that characterizes ProMotion, the Pro models may need something extra to set them apart.
An anti-reflective screen could do just that, with better scratch resistance as the icing on the cake.
Meanwhile, the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are predicted to have new cameras and a recent rumor claims that one camera will have 8x optical zoom. The current telephoto has 5x zoom, so this would be a significant change. One of the persistent reports about the iPhone’s upcoming design is that the camera bump on the rear would be bigger than at present.
To accommodate a bigger optical zoom, physics require different distances between sensor and glass. Additionally, as reported by MacRumors, the latest report suggests, “the iPhone 17 Pro models will let you switch between 5× and 8× optical zoom, without tricks like sensor cropping. A moving Telephoto lens would require more parts and internal space, which could explain why the camera bump is expected to increase in size this year,” it says.
While this may impact reports that the bulge was battery-related, this latest rumor could offer a big camera upgrade, and an 8x optical zoom equivalent would be a first.
Sonny Dickson, a leaker with a strong track record, has joined the design debate relating to the colors for the next series of iPhones. Another tipster, Majin Bu recently released a video showing the iPhone 17 Pro in five colors — read full details here — but Dickson, in a new post on X, shows images of just four. The gray predicted by the other leaker is missing from Dickson’s collection, instead showing black, white, dark blue and the surprise color: orange. “The new orange really stands out this year — definitely a bold addition,” Dickson said.
If correct, it really is a contrast to the muted colors Apple has used in the iPhone 16 Pro range, where even the shade previewed as being gold turned out to be understated: desert titanium.
Dickson’s other dummies show a much quieter selection of colors for the iPhone 17 than the iPhone 16 has. Instead of the bright ultramarine and teal, the four shown by Dickson are black, white, a pale blue and a dusty pink. Interestingly, that’s just four colors, but the iPhone 16 range has five. Is Dickson missing something or is Apple simplifying the color range?
The fourth phone in the series, nicknamed the iPhone 17 Air, is also reported to arrive in four colors, but they are not the same as the iPhone 17. That’s a change from the current colors which are identical across the two non-Pro iPhones, the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus.
Instead, the report shows three similar, but perhaps not identical shades, black white and pale blue, with a pale gold as the fourth color.
All will be revealed in a matter of weeks.