It’s been a while since the Pro line of the iPhone’s seen any significant change. In fact, the 14, 15, and 16 Pro all look fairly identical, with the same 3-lens camera bump at the back, and the dynamic island on the front. It’s time the iPhone 17 Pro showcased a new aesthetic, and this concept does that. The first-ever iPhone to have FOUR main cameras, this bad-boy locks horns with the Galaxy S24 Ultra in the photography department. As a result of this addition, the camera layout sees its biggest change in years (ever since the iPhone 11 Pro), hinting at a new era for the Apple smartphone’s Pro line.
Designer: ADR Studio
This iPhone 17 Pro Max concept comes from the mind of Antonio de Rosa, an established concept artist who’s worked on a few remarkable concepts before (like these Jobs-inspired AR glasses). Built around the rumor of an ‘iPhone Slim’ that made its way around this year, the iPhone 17 Pro Max ushers an age of ‘Thinnovation’, where the smart device offers a sleek, no-compromise experience.
Given it’s a part of the iPhone’s Pro line, the 17 Pro Max concept has a titanium frame (with a glass back that supports wireless charging). It comes in 5 colors, has USB-C charging (obviously), and measures a mere o.7 centimeters thick, even with the camera bump… making it venture into iPad Pro thinness territory.
The most notable change in this phone’s design comes in the form of its main camera layout. Deviating from the triple-lens-in-a-square-bump setup that the iPhone has religiously stuck to for years, this one feels… well, different. It’s asymmetric, which sort of feels like an absolute non-starter since Apple has a blood-bond with symmetry in their designs.
Regardless of that oversight, this camera setup includes a dual-lens array on the extreme left, followed by a 7X telephoto mammoth of a lens right beside it. Below that, lies a small Macro camera that powers the iPhone’s Super Macro vision, and the flashlight. Look a little carefully between the two left-hand cameras and you’ll see a LiDAR sensor hiding in plain sight too.
ADR Studio dubs the screen as the iPhone 17 Pro Max’s ‘Ultra Retina’ display, capable of better clarity and higher brightness than its predecessors. Although not fairly noticeable, the screen also comes with a much smaller dynamic island that houses all the FaceID tech and the front-facing camera in a 15% smaller piece of real estate.
The Action Button finds a place on the 17 Pro Max, following its announcement this year. ADR Studio envisions the camera will also have AI features built into it, following Apple’s rollout of Apple Intelligence this year. All this gets powered by the A19 Pro chip, designed to take Apple Intelligence to the next logical step.
ADR Studio’s iPhone 17 Pro Max is merely a concept for now (I’m not sure if we even have any credible rumors to work with this early), and chances are we’ll get a clearer picture just before WWDC next year. Personally, the phone seems wonderfully designed (that YouTube snippet is produced remarkably well, using AI image and video clips) and the feature quilt (below) detailed fairly well. It’s just the camera bump for me. Maybe a more symmetric bump would be much more in line with Apple’s design philosophy.
For now, we’re waiting for the new iPhone SE to drop. Rumor has it the phone will be announced sometime in January, probably with newer AirPods, HomePods, and hopefully an M4 MacBook Air. The iPhone SE will allegedly be the most affordable iPhone to have Apple Intelligence built in.
