iPhone 17 renders | Image Credit – Majin BuÂ
While the debate continues about whether Apple will keep the stovetop camera design this year or switch to a Pixel-like horizontal island, a new rumor has popped up about an updated front design for the iPhone 17 Pro.
In 2022, the iPhone 14 Pro abandoned the notch for a Dynamic Island, and in the two years since, no changes have been made to the shape-shifting cut-out. That’s set to change this year, per a leak from the Chinese outlet My Drivers.
The report reiterates a claim first made by analyst Jeff Pu in May, claiming the iPhone 17 Pro will have a smaller Dynamic Island. While Apple is not expected to put the Face ID system behind the screen to shrink the size of the Dynamic Island, it will use metalens for the Face ID system to make the cutout narrower.
As opposed to traditional lenses that smartphone manufacturers currently use, metalens, or metasurface lens, is an optical lens that uses nanostructured materials instead of relying on the curvature of their surface to manipulate light. They are flat and light, allowing companies to free up space by replacing bulky traditional lenses and other optical components with them.
The iPhone 17 Pro could feature a smaller Dynamic Island than current models. | Image Credit – My Drivers
The report also includes a concept image that depicts what the smaller Dynamic Island may look like. It also says that the phone will have smaller bezels. So even though an all-glass iPhone is not coming anytime soon, the iPhone 17 Pro would be an important step towards it.
Analyst Pu had said that only the iPhone 17 Pro Max would feature a metalens, so the other three models in the lineup may have the same-sized Dynamic Island as current models.
Meanwhile, conflicting leaks are circulating about whether Apple will adopt a horizontally stacked camera array for its new phones. Either way, it does look like Apple is at least considering refreshing the design, and if we get lucky, at least one of these leaks might materialize.
