Apple introduced its iPhone 17 lineup today, and the new iPhone 17 Pro models include an interesting new design quirk that the company just got rid of with the iPhone 16 lineup: a glass cutout for 5G mmWave passthrough. This time though, it’s on the top of the phone.
Ever since iPhone 12, Apple has included 5G mmWave support on the iPhones in the US, with the exception of iPhone 16e and the new iPhone Air.
On iPhone 12 through 15, there was a glass cutout on the right side of the phone for this antenna, since it can’t pass through metals. It was exactly where the Camera Control button is now on iPhone 16.
When Camera Control was introduced on iPhone 16, Apple moved the 5G mmWave antenna to pass through the back glass of the iPhone, that way it was no longer something you needed to see.
Now though, with iPhone 17 Pro – that can’t work. The iPhone is now largely made of aluminum, requiring Apple to revert to an old design technique: a glass cutout for 5G mmWave passthrough.
Camera Control is still a thing, though – so Apple has resorted to placing it on the top of the phone:
In person, it looks fairly subtle – depending on the lighting. It seems to stick out a lot more on the 3D models.
Either way, it’s an interesting design decision that you might’ve missed if you weren’t paying too close attention.
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