iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max Glass-Aluminium Rear Panel Design Spotted on New Dummy Units

Here's what the redesigned rear panel of the purported iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max might look like.

Written by David Delima | Updated: 22 March 2025 13:35 IST

iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max Glass-Aluminium Rear Panel Design Spotted on New Dummy Units

Photo Credit: FrontPageTech/ @asherdipps

Previously leaked renders of the iPhone 17 Pro (left) and iPhone 17 Pro Max

Highlights

iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro Max may arrive with a redesigned rear panel
Their rear panels could be made from glass and aluminium
The iPhone 17 series is expected to debut in the second half of 2025

Apple's iPhone 17 series of smartphones is expected to arrive with certain changes to the rear panel, and these purported design changes been spotted in a fresh set of images showing dummy units of the handsets. The successors to the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max are said to arrive with larger camera modules, and feature a rear panel made of glass and aluminium. Previous reports suggest that the regular iPhone 17 will arrive without any major design changes, while the iPhone 16 Plus will make way for a new iPhone 17 Air model.

iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max Design (Expected)

A new image showing dummy units of the purported iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Air, and iPhone 17 Pro Max was leaked by X (formerly Twitter) user Sonny Dickson. Unlike the pictures of metal iPhone 17 series dummies that were previously posted by the same user, this image gives us a good look at the design changes on the Pro models.

Here's another look at some iPhone 17 dummies, Notice on the Pro models where the glass will change. pic.twitter.com/lJDc5KXsV9
— Sonny Dickson (@SonnyDickson) March 20, 2025

The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max dummy units seen in the leaked image have an enlarged rear camera island, unlike their predecessors. While the company's current flagship smartphones are equipped with a rear panel made of glass, recent reports suggest that the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max will sport a rear panel made of glass and metal.

The leaked image corroborates previous claims that the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature a rear panel made of glass and aluminium. The image shared by Dickson suggests that the glass are will cover the lower half of the handset, which includes the MagSafe area. The aluminium portion could surround this area and the raised camera module, which now stretches across the top part of the rear panel.

Apple's Foldable iPhone Might Use This Material for Improved Durability

Earlier this week, the user shared another set of images showing metal dummies of the iPhone 17 series. These pictures indicated that the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro could arrive with the same 6.3-inch display. The iPhone 17 Air and the iPhone 17 Pro Max appear to be larger, and the latter is expected to be the biggest in the lineup.

Both sets of images indicate that the regular iPhone 17 won't arrive with noticeable design changes compared with the current iPhone 16 model. It could be the only handset in the iPhone 17 series with a vertical camera layout. The iPhone 17 Air, which is expected to take the place of the iPhone 16 Plus as Apple's slimmest phone to date, is seen with a single rear camera.

iPhone 16

KEY SPECS
NEWS

Display 6.10-inch

Processor Apple A18

Front Camera 12-megapixel

Rear Camera 48-megapixel + 12-megapixel

RAM 8GB

Storage 128GB, 256GB, 512GB

OS iOS 18

Resolution 1179x2556 pixels

iPhone 16 Plus

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

Design
Display
Software
Performance
Battery Life
Camera
Value for Money

Good
Stunning display
Solid build quality and lovely colour options
Battery life is bonkers on this one
Excellent for gaming and performance (in general)
Improved cameras

Bad
Still offers a 60Hz refresh rate and misses out on AOD (always-on display)
No fast charging
Comes with USB 2
No Apple Intelligence features out of the box

Read detailed Apple iPhone 16 Plus review

iPhone 16 Pro

KEY SPECS
NEWS

Display 6.30-inch

Processor Apple A18 Pro

Front Camera 12-megapixel

Rear Camera 48-megapixel + 12-megapixel + 48-megapixel

RAM 8GB

Storage 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB

OS iOS 18

Resolution 1206x2622 pixels

iPhone 16 Pro Max

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

Design
Display
Software
Performance
Battery Life
Camera
Value for Money

Good
Massive screen size
Brilliant display
Performance beast
Camera Control is a boon
Fantastic battery life

Bad
Big phone for one-hand use
Expensive
No Apple Intelligence at launch
Slow-wired charging support

Read detailed Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max review

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Further reading: iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, iPhone 17 Series, iPhone 17 Pro Design, Apple

David Delima

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As a writer on technology with Gadgets 360, David Delima is interested in open-source technology, cybersecurity, consumer privacy, and loves to read and write about how the Internet works. David can be contacted via... more »