Photo credit: NekoMichiUBC
A single image has been making the rounds this week showing three iPhones on a wooden desk under a purple glow. One of the devices is so small that it looks to belong in a dollhouse, with a massive camera array on the back like an oversized backpack. Next to it is the iPhone 17 Pro, and to the right is the iPhone 15 Pro Max. The tiny one in the middle? That’s an iPhone 17 Pro Mini concept.
Michi’s render has a 4.7-inch screen in Pro-level innards. The camera setup is borrowed from the real iPhone 17 Pro: three lenses in a wide horizontal bar that takes up almost a third of the back. On a phone this small, that bar isn’t just prominent – it’s overwhelming, leaving barely any room for anything else. Battery life would suffer, Michi notes in follow-up comments, maybe getting by for half a day on a full charge.
- Ultra-compact so you can always keep it with you for spontaneous creativity anytime, anywhere
- Wireless plug-and-play Type-C connector frees you from tangled, cumbersome cables (press firmly to ensure drive is completely inserted before use)
- Expand your smartphone’s storage instantly and enjoy seamless data transfers, as well as easy access to all your files
Apple stopped making small flagships years ago and the numbers proved it. The iPhone 13 Mini, the last of its kind, sold poorly despite great reviews from one-handed users. Smaller screens meant smaller batteries that drained fast, and the market moved to media consumption on bigger screens. By the time the iPhone 14 lineup rolled around, Apple had quietly dropped the Mini altogether and focused on the iPhone SE for budget compactness instead. Fast forward to this month’s “Awe Dropping” event and the company unveiled four new models: the base iPhone 17, a sleek iPhone Air that’s Apple’s thinnest yet at 5.6mm, the iPhone 17 Pro and the iPhone 17 Pro Max.
Pre-event supply chain rumors pointed to more variety without smaller sizes. The iPhone 17 Pro has a titanium frame replaced with aluminum – lighter and cheaper to make, but some worry it’ll scratch easier during everyday use. Inside, the A19 Pro chip is more efficient and paired with a vapor chamber for cooling during gaming or video editing. Battery life increases too, especially on the Pro Max with a 5,088mAh capacity for the first time, which gets you through a full day without a charge. Cameras get a uniform upgrade across the Pro line: all three lenses are 48MP and the telephoto has 8x optical zoom.
[Source]
