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iPhone 17 ‘camera bar’ design will reportedly be missing from one model

Over the last few days we’ve seen a lot of new renders of the upcoming iPhone 17 line. One common design trait: a unique ‘camera bar’ design. But there’s one new model that will reportedly lack this fresh look.

Base iPhone 17 expected to retain existing camera design

Earlier today we shared a video from Jon Prosser providing a great look at what to expect from Apple’s ultra-thin iPhone 17 Air model.

Also noteworthy though was a tidbit Prosser shared about the base model iPhone 17.

In a post on X, he writes:

Something not mentioned in the video, but I’d like to add here: the regular base iPhone 17 continues the same look as the base iPhone 16. Do with that info what you will..

Rumors have indicated all iPhone 17 models will receive design refreshes to varying degrees. But it sounds like the base iPhone 17 will miss out on one of the biggest visual changes: the new camera bar.

Beyond the iPhone 17 Air, other renders show a similar ‘bar’ design coming to the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max too. This also lines up with things we’ve heard from outlets like The Information in the past, who called the design a “larger rectangular camera bump.”

There are expected to be major camera differences between the 17 Air and 17 Pro models. Namely, the former will only have a single rear camera, while the Pro options have three. But despite these differences, Apple appears to be implementing a similar camera bar look anyways.

Ultimately this means that three of the four iPhone 17 Models will sport the new ‘bar’ rather than ‘bump’ design for their camera enclosures.

While according to Prosser, the base iPhone 17 will keep the standard camera design seen with the current iPhone 16 model.

What do you think of the camera bar look? Do you wish it was coming to the base iPhone 17? Let us know in the comments.

Image Credit: Jon Prosser’s Front Page Tech

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Avatar for Ryan Christoffel Ryan Christoffel

Ryan got his start in journalism as an Editor at MacStories, where he worked for four years covering Apple news, writing app reviews, and more. For two years he co-hosted the Adapt podcast on Relay FM, which focused entirely on the iPad. As a result, it should come as no surprise that his favorite Apple device is the iPad Pro.