iPhone 17 Pro clear case leak reveals a huge design change — here's what the rumors show

Back in February, a bold new look for the iPhone 17 Pro came out of nowhere, tipping the handset to feature a giant Pixel-style camera bar. At the time, this felt unlikely, but with matching designs for the iPhone 17 Air following, it seemed more and more likely to be correct.

Now we have a further bit of evidence in support, just over a week before the phones are expected to launch.

On his website, the leaker Majin Bu has published photos of what seems to be Apple’s official clear case for the upcoming iPhone 17 Pro. If these are legitimate, they show a giant rectangular cutout for the camera array at the top.

Other than confirming the increase of the camera footprint, the other interesting thing about this clear case is that it’s not actually all that clear.

While the current version has a white circle around the Apple logo, matching the placement of the MagSafe magnets, this new leak shows a white rounded rectangle covering the majority of space below the camera array. In other words, your iPhone 17 Pro’s natural color will be reduced to being a mere border around the edge.

This does give Apple more opportunities for customization, of course, and you could imagine the company releasing versions with a differently colored rectangle in the middle. Bu himself notes that Apple has “reportedly tested alternate designs”, though he believes this might be in the form of tinted transparency, possibly for use in “limited seasonal editions”.

Bu adds that the case features “anti-yellowing technology” to maintain the transparency without distortion over time.

He also states that this case will have holes for the Crossbody Strap revealed last week. This lanyard-style magnetic strap will allow iPhone 17 owners to keep their phones securely strapped to their bodies, for when a pocket doesn’t feel safe enough.

This year, it seems that Apple will be mixing up its iPhone accessories more than usual. We’ve already heard rumors that the company will be reviving something like the bumper case for the iPhone 17 Air to offer protection, while maintaining its main selling point of exceptional thinness. Other reports have suggested that the battery limitations of the phone will lead to Apple releasing a charging case for the new line, too.

We will find out soon enough, as Apple has already sent out media invites for an event on September 9. It’s not expected to just be about iPhones, and you can read up on everything else we might see here. Alternatively, here’s how to watch the September 9 iPhone 17 event live, if you’d rather hold onto the element of surprise.