By JONATHAN CHADWICK FOR MAILONLINE
Published: 12:51 EDT, 17 March 2025 | Updated: 12:54 EDT, 17 March 2025
It's about six months until Apple's next iPhone is due to be released.
But rumours about the iPhone 17 are coming thick and fast.
And according to the latest leaked images, the tech giant is making a radical change to the camera lenses on the back.
Leaked photos posted to X (Twitter) reveal four metal dummy iPhone 17 units, each with a different camera design.
Three of the models have rectangular camera bars across the back – which fans have noticed is very reminiscent of Google's Pixel phones.
It suggests Apple is needing more space on the back to pack in camera components for its high-end models.
Tellingly, the dummies appear identical to renders in an earlier leak – suggesting these are indeed the designs that Apple is going for.
The photos were posted to X by veteran Apple leaker Sonny Dickson, who already shared accurate leaks ahead of the new 'budget' iPhone 16e.
Revealing: The photos of the dummy iPhone 17 models were posted to X (Twitter) by veteran Apple leaker and blogger Sonny Dickson. From left to right, iPhone 17 Pro Max, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Air and the basic iPhone 17 option
In his viral tweet, with 933,000 views and counting, Dickson said to his followers: 'Here¿s your first look at the iPhone 17 dummies, Thoughts?'
It's unclear who took the photos, but they show four metal 'dummy models' – meaning they are identical to the real product except they don't actually work.
Dummy smartphones are sent out by phone makers to third-party case manufacturers in the run-up to a device's release.
In his viral tweet, with 933,000 views and counting, Dickson said to his followers: 'Here’s your first look at the iPhone 17 dummies, Thoughts?'
In reply, fellow X users called the new designs 'ugly', 'atrocious' and 's***' , while another simply said: 'Hate the camera bump.'
Someone else said: I will not be the one buying any of them this time. Apple designs are falling off a cliff like its scam AI.'
Another commentator added: 'Straight up awful designs at this point.'
However, someone else said: 'If these are the iPhone 17 series dummies, then the iPhone 17 will be the best phone design.'
The dummies show all four of the upcoming handsets in the iPhone 17 family – iPhone 17 Pro Max, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Air and the standard iPhone 17 option.
As the dummies show, iPhone 17 will have the side button and the control button on one side, just like iPhone 16
On the opposite side is the 'Action Button' (top) and the volume controls
Google's Pixel phones are notable for their horizonal camera bar along the back. Pictured, the Google Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro XL released in 2024
The iPhone 17 family
iPhone 17 (base model)
iPhone Air (ultra-slim)
iPhone Pro
iPhone Pro Max
iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max have three camera lenses on the back in an 'arrow' alignment – much like previous iPhone Pro models.
However, the 'camera bump' – the raised section on the back – stretches across the width of the device, rather than being a square shape (like the iPhone 16 Pro models).
iPhone 17 Air – the ultra-slim variant set to replace the Plus model – also has a rectangular camera bump, but with only a single rear camera.
Looking at the dummies from the side, the iPhone 17 Air's ultra-thin profile – rumoured to be just 0.2-inch (5.5mm) is really noticeable amongst the other three.
Veteran Apple analyst Mark Gurman says the 'iPhone 17 Air' or 'iPhone 17 Slim' is expected to be a lighter, thinner option with less powerful hardware.
It will tie in with Apple's range of 'Air' MacBook computers, which are touted for their light and thin design.
Lastly, the standard iPhone 17 model, featuring two rear camera lenses, will be the only one not to have the Pixel-esque bar.
In terms of the cost, the iPhone 17 family might include the most expensive iPhones ever, Tech Radar has reported.
Pictured, the iPhone 16 Pro as it went on sale in September 2024. Note the square camera bump. On the iPhone 17 Pro, this bump will stretch across the back of the device
In February, Apple tipster Majin Bu posted digital renders of four handsets in the iPhone 17 family. From left, slimmed down iPhone 17 Air, the basic iPhone 17 model, the iPhone 17 Pro Max and the iPhone 17 Pro
Like its predecessors, iPhone 17 will be unveiled at a hyped event at Apple's Cupertino headquarters in the first two weeks of September.
Apple only just released its latest 'budget' handset, the iPhone 16e, previously thought to be called the iPhone SE 4.
Released February 28, iPhone 16e runs Apple Intelligence features, including a ChatGPT integration with smart assistant Siri.
It also includes a 6.1-inch display, a two-in-one camera system, an ‘extraordinary’ battery life, and the return of the 'notch' at the top of the display.
iPhone 16e costs £599/$599 – making it £200 cheaper than the flagship iPhone 16 which was released last autumn.
Apple Intelligence: The best features
Apple Intelligence is essentially a snazzy brand name for Apple's new-found focus on AI, triggered by the huge success of the ChatGPT.
Here's a look at some of the best features of Apple Intelligence, which comes to the UK via the new iOS 18.2 operating system.
ChatGPT-Siri integration
Surely the biggest part of Apple Intelligence is the integration of OpenAI's hugely popular chatbot ChatGPT with Siri, Apple's in-built virtual assistant.
With better 'language-understanding capabilities' enabled by ChatGPT, Siri will help you across multiple apps and 'accelerate everyday tasks', Apple said.
You'll be able to press and hold the side button to activate Siri as normal, but with ChatGPT behind it Siri will be able to 'answer thousands of questions about how to do something' that it couldn't before.
iOS 18 users will be asked before any questions are sent to ChatGPT, along with any documents or photos, and Siri then presents the answer
For example, you could say, 'Play that podcast that Jamie recommended' and Siri will locate and play the episode, without the user having to remember whether it was mentioned in a text or an email.
Or you could ask, 'When is mum's flight landing?' and Siri will find the flight details and cross-reference them with real-time flight tracking to give an arrival time.
AI-generated emoji
If you can never quite find the emoji you're looking for during chat conversations, Apple has the answer.
One of the more fun parts of Apple Intelligence is AI-generated emoji, which Apple has called 'Genmoji' (a mix of 'generated' and 'emoji').
In the Messages app, you can type a short description of the emoji you want – such as 'smiley relaxing wearing cucumbers' or 'squirrel DJ'.
AI-generated emoji: In the Messages app, users can type a short description (e.g. 'smiley relaxing wearing cucumbers') to get a unique emoji to send to someone
Similar to AI tools that just need a few words to create weird artworks, from that single prompt Genmoji returns an AI-generated approximation of what you had in mind.
If you don't like what the AI has made for you, there are a few back-up options for you to choose from.
Clean Up
Apple's Clean Up tool for the Photos app makes ultra-clean edits to photos – without any telltale signs that the snap has been tampered with in any way.
It lets users remove 'distracting objects' from the background of a photo – for example a photobomber in the background of a family snap.
Clean Up is very similar to Google's photo-editing technology 'Magic Eraser' for its Pixel phones, heavily promoted in Google adverts in recent years.
The new Clean Up tool in Apple's Photos app can identify and remove 'distracting objects' in the background of a photo
But the technology has been described by some as 'Orwellian' as it can distort reality and 'create a false memory'.
Referring to Clean Up, one commenter said it 'can be misused' because it 'makes deleting evidence easy'.
Image Playground
AI also powers a new image-generating tool called 'Image Playground', which is available on multiple apps, including Messages and Pages.
With Image Playground, users can create images in a few seconds, choosing from three styles – 'animation', 'illustration' and 'sketch'.
Image Playground allows users to create fun images in seconds, choosing from three styles - Animation, Illustration and Sketch
A promo image appears to show a photo of a person being turned into a video game-style 3D avatar wearing a spacesuit in the 'animation' setting.
Rather like Genmoji, this 'exciting' image creation tool will help iPhone owners 'communicate and express themselves in new ways', the company says.
Movie Memories
The vast media storage capabilities of an iPhone means its always tempting to look back through your photos and video for a burst of nostalgia.
Recognizing this, Apple has come up with 'Movie Memories', an AI tool that creates the perfect home movie to watch on your device.
By typing a short description – for example 'last summer in our garden' – the AI can search your media library and and arrange photos and clips into a movie 'with its own narrative arc'.
Movie Memories picks out the best photos and videos based on a user¿s description and arranges it all into a movie with its own narrative arc
And as no movie is quite as good without a bit of music, you'll get song suggestions from Apple Music to match the memory.
Again, Apple stresses the privacy aspect of using an AI to search through your private life.
'As with all Apple Intelligence features, user photos and videos are kept private on device and are not shared with Apple or anyone else,' it says.
AI writing tools
Using AI to make your writing extra concise is not a new thing – for example Microsoft's Copilot AI is creating first drafts and suggesting edits in Word.
But now Apple is jumping on the bandwagon with its own AI-powered writing tools.
The tech will rewrite, proofread and summarize text on multiple apps, including Mail, Notes and Pages, as well as some third-party apps.
'Whether tidying up class notes, ensuring a blog post reads just right, or making sure an email is perfectly crafted, Writing Tools help users feel more confident in their writing,' the firm says.
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