- Leaked images seemingly gives us a real-world glimpse of the iPhone 17 Pro
- The images suggest a new camera array that fits with our prior expectations
- Leading Apple analyst Mark Gurman has suggested the images seem legitimate
The launch of the iPhone 17 series hasn’t been confirmed yet, but with Apple usually revealing its flagship phone lineup in September of each year, the next generation of iPhones is probably just over the horizon.
It looks like Apple is preparing its next flagships for the wider world with some on-the-ground testing, or so some new images shared by an online tipster would suggest.
Images shared to X (formerly Twitter) by user Fox Pupy apparently show a person using the iPhone 17 Pro on the street.
I just spotted a test development iPhone in the wild 🤩🤩🤩 pic.twitter.com/iS3PtKWqxJJuly 28, 2025
The images show the person holding two phones, one of which appears to be an iPhone 16 Pro and the other resembling the rumored design of the iPhone 17 Pro.
As we’ve previously reported, the iPhone 17 Pro is expected to launch with a new design that incorporates a Google Pixel-style camera bar. We previously thought this to be an aesthetic choice, but more recent rumors of a new 8x telephoto camera could imply the new camera bar creates room for a new lens.
Anyhow, the iPhone 17 Pro in these new images appears to be in a case, which obscures whether the new phone has a camera bar. The main reason we’re confident this isn’t the current-gen iPhone 16 Pro is the position of the phone’s flash and LiDAR sensor on the right side of the rear panel – the current-gen model has everything contained in the square housing on the left.
Though Fox Pupy isn’t a name we know, and doesn’t usually post about tech rumors, the images have been reposted by prominent Apple analyst Mark Gurman.
In the repost, Gurman simply wrote: “Wow. This looks legit.” Gurman is widely considered a leading voice on the Apple rumor circuit, so a co-sign like this gives the images a lot of weight.
A new Camera Control button?
There is one more thing to notice for the pixel peepers among us – as 9to5Mac reports, there have been some suggestions that the images show a new or second Camera Control surface on the top-edge of the phone.
To some, the case on the phone may appear to have a notch or gap along the top-side, which could be used by the left hand in landscape mode, while the existing Camera Control is used by the right. To me, it looks like reflected sunlight.
Personally, I’d be pretty surprised if this was the a new button. That doesn’t seem like a particularly ergonomic place for a touch-sensitive button, especially on the iPhone 17 Pro Max (which is expected to have a 6.9-inch display). Still, Apple is no stranger to the occasional odd iPhone feature – remember 3D touch?
Though we’d expect the iPhone 17 Pro to launch as one of the best iPhones – and one of the best phones overall – Apple has yet to announce its next flagships. What do you think of these latest iPhone 17 Pro rumors? Let us know in the comments.