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iPhone 17 Pro may move its antennas to that rumored massive camera bump, which could enable better signal strength and bring fewer dropped calls.

Apple is reportedly changing the way antennas are placed on this year’s upcoming iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max smartphones. According to leaker Majin Bu, instead of having antennas along the metal frame as usual, Apple plans to move them around the camera bump out the back, a change that’s reminiscent of the antenna design used on the Apple Watch Ultra.

The reason behind this move is apparently to improve signal strength and reduce interruptions caused by how people hold their phones or by nearby metal parts.

iPhone 17 Pro could move antennas to the camera bump

“By moving the antennas to the camera module, Apple aims to minimize signal blockage caused by how people hold their phones, leading to more reliable coverage, especially in crowded wireless environments,” the leaker explained in a post on their personal website.

The reasoning makes sense. Relocating the antennas to the camera bump could help solve issues like dropped calls or slow data speeds caused by your hand touching the phone’s metal frame. The new design would reduce signal shielding and interference, as you hardly touch the camera bump when gripping your iPhone.

The leaker also explains that the new design will enable a more consistent electromagnetic energy spread, which would in turn reduce dead zones in vertical and diagonal directions, boosting signla reception in dense urban environments.

The new camera bar

This change appears connected to the giant new camera bar on the iPhone 17 Pros, which will reportedly grow significantly compared to earlier models. Moving the antennas to that huge camera bump would give Apple more space to improve how the phone sends and receives wireless signals. It should result in steadier reception, even when holding the device in ways that usually cause signal problems.

iPhone 17 Pro New Antenna Design

Full Article:https://t.co/nivzKiY8xy pic.twitter.com/jgbwLteaPO

— Majin Bu (@MajinBuOfficial) August 11, 2025

Along with this rumored change, the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are expected to feature the new A19 Pro chip, enhanced cameras and possibly another Camera Control shutter button. These phones are expected to launch in early September 2025 alongside the base iPhone 17 model and an all-new ultra-thin model replacing the iPhone Plus in the lineup.

However, this new antenna design will be restricted to the iPhone 17 Pros because non-Pro models won’t have the new camera bar on the back.

Remember “Antennagate”?

Apple first introduced the current antenna design with the iPhone 4 back in 2010. Apple’s solution was to wrap antennas around the edges of the phone’s frame. However, iPhone buyers soon discovered that holding the phone a certain way could cause signal loss, leading to a controversy known as “Antennagate.”

Gizmodo in particular played a significant role in the controversy by sharing a video of a stolen iPhone 4 prototype and highlighting its antenna issues, with details about the “death grip” affecting signal strength when held a certain way.

The fiery reporting led to widespread media attention and consumer concern, and resulted in Consumer Reports famously refusing to recommend the iPhone 4 due to this issue. Apple eventually acknowledged the issue and addressed the controversy with free cases and later improved antenna designs in newer iPhones.

Source link: https://www.idownloadblog.com/2025/08/11/apple-iphone-17-pro-antenna-design-camera-bar-rumor/

Apple’s Siri AI test reportedly hit a snag as the company imposed strict limits on banking, financial and health apps to avoid repeating embarrassing mistakes.

Apple is currently testing the promised Siri AI features with its own apps and a few popular third-party apps like YouTube and Uber. However, the test seems to be a disaster as Apple is considering enforcing crippling limits on banking and health apps to avoid further mishaps.

Mark Gurman wrote in the latest edition of his Power On newsletter for Bloomberg the new features will let you control apps using your voice beyond launching them and triggering automations in the Shortcuts app, which you can already do today.

Siri AI won’t let you control banking and health apps

Apple has delayed the Siri AI features it previewed at the WWDC in June 2024 until 2026 because the underlying technology doesn’t work well enough. Siri is supposed to get more personal by analyzing data in your messages, emails and so forth to answer questions like when your Mom’s flight might be arriving, and queries to recall past interactions and context, such as “What’s the name of the guy I met that time?”

The promised features rely on an upgraded App Intents system that’s supposed to allow Siri to access various controls in apps and chain them together to resolve complex queries, such as editing a photo and sharing it with specific people, all without touching the device screen.

Gurman writes:

Here’s what the new App Intents will mean: With nothing but your voice, you’ll be able to tell Siri to find a specific photo, edit it and send it off. Or comment on an Instagram post. Or scroll a shopping app and add something to your cart. Or log in to a service without touching the screen. Essentially, Siri could operate your apps like you would — with precision, inside their own interfaces.

However, Apple is reportedly considering limiting or disabling Siri voice control in banking and health apps. This doesn’t bode well for Siri’s promised capabilities. If anything, this implies that testing data shows the whole system is still prone to too many errors and mistakes. That said, the company is probably wise to disable these features in critical software such as banking, fintech and health apps.

Siri still can’t get it right

After all, nobody wants Siri to mix up their bank balance with their pizza order. Imagine telling Siri to “transfer $500 to my savings,” only for it to send that money to the local pizza joint instead. These kinds of errors might be amusing in theory, but in real life, they could cause serious headaches—or worse.

So while Apple’s hesitation is frustrating for anyone who has been impressed with Apple’s demo, it’s probably a smart move to keep Siri’s ambitions in check until the tech gets a lot more reliable.

Gurman says Apple’s been testing an upgraded App Intents system with its own apps and a series of popular third-party apps like Amazon, AllTrails, Threads, Temu, Amazon, YouTube, Facebook, WhatsApp Uber and others, plus some selected games.

According to Apple, “Siri’s personal context understanding, onscreen awareness and in-app actions are in development and will be available with a future software update.” Apple’s boss Tim Cook said on a recent earnings call with Wall Street analysts and investors that his company was making “good progress” on these features, saying they’re on track to launch next year.

According to Gurman, Siri’s AI overhaul will arrive for iPhone, iPad, Mac and Vision Pro owners in the United States as part of the iOS 26.4, iPadOS 26.4, macOS 26.4 and visionOS 26.4 software updates in March or April of next year. The new features would also require support from third-party apps, which will need to be updated to work with Siri. The new features would roll out to other countries later in 2026.

Source link: https://www.idownloadblog.com/2025/08/11/apple-disabling-siri-ai-voice-control-banking-health-apps-rumor/