iPhone 17 Air: Is Apple Shifting the Front Camera to the Left?

06/27/2025 Mobile Technology

iPhone 17 Air: A Sneak Peek at a Possible Design Shift?

A curious image has surfaced, supposedly showing a screen protector for Apple's upcoming, super-slim iPhone 17 Air. If this leak is accurate – and that's a big "if" – it hints at a pretty significant design change. I'm talking about the front camera's placement.

So, what's the buzz? The alleged screen protector suggests that the front camera might be moving to the left side of the Dynamic Island. For the past few years, we've become accustomed to seeing it on the right. Why the switch? That's the million-dollar question.

The iPhone 17 Air is rumored to be incredibly thin, possibly only 5.5mm. Maybe this extreme slimness is forcing Apple to rethink the internal layout. It could be that the camera and Face ID components simply can't fit in their usual spots.

While all iPhone 17 models are expected to boast a 24MP front camera (a nice bump from the 12MP on iPhone 16), it doesn't fully explain the shift. Screen protectors for other iPhone 17 models still show the camera on the right side of the Dynamic Island. Is it exclusive to the "Air" model then?

Of course, take all of this with a grain of salt. Leaks are leaks, and things can change. We'll likely have to wait until Apple officially unveils the iPhone 17 lineup, expected in September, to get the full picture. But hey, it's fun to speculate, right? And if this rumor is true, it makes you wonder what other design compromises Apple had to make to achieve such a thin form factor.