Viral photo shows mysterious man holding what looks like the iPhone 17 Pro Max

iPhone 17 Pro Max

A mysterious photo doing the rounds on social media has Apple fans buzzing with excitement and questions. The image, first posted by the account @Skyfops on X (formerly Twitter), shows a man casually holding what looks like an unreleased iPhone 17 Pro Max, right next to an iPhone 16 Pro in Desert Titanium.

The photo gained serious traction after well-known Apple insider Mark Gurman from Bloomberg reposted it, adding a simple but powerful comment: “wow, this looks legit.” And that’s all it took for the internet to go into full detective mode.

So, what’s different about this mystery iPhone?

For starters, the camera setup is unlike anything we’ve seen on current iPhones. There’s a noticeably different camera module with two sensors—likely the flash and LiDAR scanner—shifted further to the right. This detail lines up with earlier leaks and dummy models that suggested Apple is revamping its camera design.

But here’s where things get even more interesting. There’s a new cutout just above the triple-camera setup, which is rumored to be a second Camera Control button. Apple introduced the first one with the iPhone 15 Pro, and this new addition could give users even more flexibility when shooting photos or videos.

One leak even suggests that Apple is testing an 8x optical zoom lens—up from the current 5x—offering sharper close-ups but possibly affecting how portrait mode works. On top of that, there’s talk of a brand-new Pro camera app, tailor-made for the iPhone 17 Pro. It’s expected to give users more precise control over settings, something photographers and video creators have long wished for.

While Apple hasn’t officially confirmed anything yet, the sudden appearance of this device in the wild—especially one that lines up with existing leaks—has many convinced we just got our first real look at the iPhone 17 Pro Max.

And if this mystery man is testing a prototype, Apple’s next big iPhone may already be in action, months ahead of its official reveal.