Apple could move the logo on the iPhone 17 Pro, and that’s a bigger deal that you might realise

A new rumor suggests Apple could move the logo on the iPhone 17 Pro
The logo could move down to make space for the new camera bar and to align with the MagSafe magnet ring
While a minor change, this could give some insight into Apple’s priorities

Apple could be making a change to an iconic iPhone design element with the release of the rumored iPhone 17 Pro.

According to new rumors from somewhat reliable tipster Majin Bu (via GSMArena), Apple could move its logo to a lower position on the rear panel of the iPhone 17 Pro.

The possible change has been corroborated in an X (formerly Twitter) post from Apple tipster Sonny Dickson, who posited that the move could align the logo with the phone’s ring of MagSafe magnets.

You may be thinking that a logo moving a few centimeters isn’t a huge story on its own – and in all fairness, you’d be right. This alone isn’t too big of a deal.

However, I think this latest design rumor has the potential to say a lot about where Apple’s priorities lie when it comes to the next generation of iPhone.

Aesthetic alterations

This mock-up, shared by tipster Majin Bu, shows the iPhone 17 Pro with a lower Apple logo. (Image credit: Majin Bu)

This logo tipoff is the latest in a pretty long list of redesign rumors concerning the iPhone 17 lineup, specifically the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max.

In fact, it seems to me that the strongest and most repeated rumors surrounding the next Pro-level iPhones have concerned the design and aesthetics of the supposedly-upcoming handsets.

As we previously reported, the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are rumored to get a Google Pixel-like camera bar, a wild departure from the function-led design philosophy of previous generations. Several separate rumors have given us a look at CAD mock-ups and dummy units that seem to confirm the changed design.

Though we have heard of a possible higher-resolution telephoto camera, as well as murmurs of a unified volume and Action button and under-display Face ID, it seems like we could be in for a lighter year when it comes to new iPhone hardware features.

Considered change, or cover up?

It’s possible a better telephoto camera could be the only real upgrade to this year’s Pro iPhone. (Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)

All of this brings new context to the supposed new logo placement – what was previously a pretty innocuous design update begins to look like meddling for the sake of finding something to change.

And while all of this is based on rumors at the moment, if Apple were to launch the iPhone 17 Pro with only iterative or less-impactful hardware improvements, then these design shakeups would start to look like an effort to draw attention elsewhere.

It wasn’t too long ago that Apple faced considerable backlash for launching the iPhone 14 in a very similar state to the iPhone 13 – Cupertino would be wise to avoid a similar situation this year.

With all that said, it’s also possible that Apple is simply looking to refresh the visual identity of its next-gen handsets, to match the new look of the Liquid Glass design language coming with iOS 26.

So, while the shifting of an Apple logo by a few centimeters might not seem the biggest story, it’s worth keeping an eye on these small changes as we get closer to the expected September launch date of the iPhone 17 series. Be sure to let us know what you think of this rumored change in the comments below.