by Tim Hardwick
Serial leaker Sonny Dickson today shared an image of what he claims is a first look at a third-party case for Apple’s iPhone 17 Air. “If you didn’t know an Air was coming, you’d swear it was a Google Pixel case,” he said.
Case manufacturers often obtain design specifications of upcoming iPhone models before their release by collaborating with Apple through official partnerships or conducting on-site investigations in production facilities. Observing production trends and prototypes in these areas helps them anticipate design changes.
The upcoming iPhone 17 Air is expected to feature a distinctive camera module design characterized by a horizontal “camera bar” that spans the width of the device’s upper rear section. The design is reminiscent of Google’s Pixel series and represents a departure from previous iPhone camera layouts.
Leaked renders suggest that the camera bar will house a single rear camera lens, positioned on the left side, with the flash located on the far right. The overall aesthetic is sleek and minimalist, in line with the iPhone 17 Air’s ultra-thin profile, which is reported to be approximately 5.5mm thick.
iPhone 17 Air case (Image: Sonny Dickson)
Despite its minimalism, the device is expected to feature MagSafe, an Action button, and a Camera Control button – as indicated by the cutout on the lower left side of the case shown in the above image. A report at the weekend said the iPhone 17 Air will have a Camera Control button, and dummy models previously shared by Dickson reflect this.
The iPhone 17 Air is expected to feature a 6.6-inch display with 120Hz ProMotion support, a Dynamic Island, a standard A19 chip rather than an A19 Pro chip, a 48-megapixel rear camera, Apple’s custom-made C1 modem, and no physical SIM card slot worldwide. As usual, Apple should announce its new iPhone lineup around mid-September.
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