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iPhone 17 Pro Rumored to Stick With 'Triangular' Camera Design

tomtad said:
OK so trying to match up these rumours I've come up with a suggestion. So far we've got:

  • Full width camera bar
  • Split materials (aluminium/glass) on the rear
  • Maintains triangular camera design
What if it's something like this with a raised aluminium top half which runs the width of the device. The triangular camera arrangement however is maintained except they are now flush with the device, and it also stops it wobbling on a table. The lower part of the device remains glass (needed for MagSafe and antenna). Weight distribution of the thicker top half is maintained by using aluminium on the raised half and glass on the thinner, lower part of the device. Could this be it?

View attachment 2463654
Click to expand...

You're asking apple to spend 18¢ more per unit for added aluminum when "thinner" is about subtraction (of cost-per-unit) to Apple. ;)

Why not just original MBair "wedge" shape it with thickened end of wedge housing flush cameras and thinner end of the wedge the one spun for "thinner" messaging purposes?

Someone else suggested a similar idea with both ends getting thicker to address the "wobble" problem but "thinner" in the middle. Instead of the P shape your profile shows, it would be like an I shape minus the left bits of the horitontal bars beyond the vertical line. That concept doesn't wobble either, flushes the camera and lets marketing spin "thinner" (by emphasizing the middle"... much like how MBs and iMacs had the thin edges but then thickened in the middle some years ago, and marketing focused on the thin edges vs. the fatter middle). However, that concept might add 31¢ to each unit, so absolutely NOT. ;)

My guess at modern Apple thinking: JETTISON the camera to an add-on case so they can spin a much thinner iPhone "at same great price" and rake in much more money when people pay more to add the camera back to the phone via that Apple case "you need anyway." This would simply be another variation of jettisoning the 3.5mm jack and selling the dongle, jettisoning the free wired buds and selling "the future" for $16X or more, jettisoning the SIM card but having e-SIM only available at the pricier carriers who support iPhone marketing, etc.

Maybe make this camera case with a proprietary connector so that third parties can't easily make compatible camera cases priced lower without paying Apple a fat licensing fee? Maybe have base, pro and max camera cases to really jack the "essential" add-on revenue. Yes, I'm somewhat joking, but of the 4 concepts, which seems more like modern Apple Inc? 💰💰💰

Bonus: while they are at it, jettison the battery to the case too to absolutely make the case add-on essential while significantly thinning the iPhone at "same great price." Now everyone HAS to pay way up for the case add-on and base, pro & max (cases) can spin various levels of battery life options too. "We think you'll love it!" 💰💰💰
 
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Honestly, I think the Google Pixel has gained enough traction where the horizontal bar would've caused a certain segment of the population to label Apple as blatantly copying Google if they went that route. So whether that rumor was ever true or not, it seemed like a bad idea and I doubt Apple would want that - especially since that "triangular" design has become such a staple look for them for years now.
 
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redbeard331 said:
When I first read this I thought it said a “triangular shaped phone”. I’m a big fan of the snow globe myself.

View attachment 2463647
Click to expand...

I saw those movies. The Tall Man approves.

Screenshot 2024-12-18 094612.png
 
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A bit of a refinement of my earlier post

It ticks all the boxes of the rumours:
  • full width camera bar ✅
  • new glass and aluminium rear design ✅
  • maintains triangular camera layout ✅
You also maintain a distinctive iPhone look whilst offering something new in a cleaner (imo) design

Screenshot 2024-12-18 at 14.52.25.png
 
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Veinticinco said:
See, I no longer think of iPhones as a representation of the cutting edge of technology. I just see them as a necessary domestic appliance with the same accompanying excitement. There to do a purely functional job for as long as possible until out of warranty, whereupon they become inconveniently and slowly dysfunctional (no matter how many battery replacements you subject them to). And so just like my Bosch washing machine or Siemens fridge-freezer, or even the Polestar EV I had the displeasure of steering (I couldn't really describe the experience as 'driving') as a courtesy car a few weeks ago), imbued with as much heart and soul as one of Tim "Defibrillator" Cook's presentations.
Click to expand...
This is how we're supposed to see phones though. People who think its still Christmas morning instead of Boxing Day afternoon need to open the curtains. Its ok that iPhones are boring! Its not ok that some people still want the tech news cycle to be a form of entertainment.
 
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tomtad said:
OK so trying to match up these rumours I've come up with a suggestion. So far we've got:

  • Full width camera bar
  • Split materials (aluminium/glass) on the rear
  • Maintains triangular camera design
What if it's something like this with a raised aluminium top part which runs the width of the device. The triangular camera arrangement however is maintained except the cameras are now flush (or close to flush) with the device, and it also stops it wobbling on a table. The lower part of the device remains glass (needed for MagSafe and antenna). Weight distribution of the thicker top half is maintained by using aluminium on the raised camera bar and glass on the thinner, lower part of the device.

Could this be it?

View attachment 2463654
Click to expand...
Looks nice and clean from the back. I'd rather the whole thing be thicker than have the lip in profile
 
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tomtad said:
A bit of a refinement of my earlier post

It ticks all the boxes of the rumours:
  • full width camera bar ✅
  • new glass and aluminium rear design ✅
  • maintains triangular camera layout ✅
You also maintain a distinctive iPhone look whilst offering something new in a cleaner (imo) design

View attachment 2463667
Click to expand...
Prefer the original for flush camera modules
 
Thank goodness. It’s just too much of a visual cue that it’s an iPhone, plus I think it looks the most “luxe” of all the camera layouts on smartphones currently.
 
MacRumors said:
The news contradicts other recent supply chain information coming out of China, which claimed "the module is of this elongated oval shape."
Click to expand...

It doesn’t contradict that info though—that report specifically said, "The details of the camera arrangement are unclear, but the module is of this elongated oval shape,"

The entire module may be larger and more oval while still featuring the triangular camera layout.
 
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