Apple iPhone 17 Air: Did Apple Just Accidentally Leak A Key Design Detail?

Apple recently released its second developer beta of the next iPhone software, iOS 26. It’s what the iPhone 17 series will run on when the handsets are released. But it looks like Apple has given something away about one of the new phones, perhaps by mistake.

As spotted by Macworld, deep in the code for the latest developer beta is a new version of the popular clownfish iPhone wallpaper. So what, you might say, that’s nothing new.

Except this one is. The new wallpaper has “a resolution of “420×912@3x,” or 1260×2736 pixels. There’s no iPhone model with such a resolution, at least not yet,” the report pointed out. That’s pretty clear that one of the iPhones in development will have this all-new screen size, which ties in perfectly with the reports that have leaked about the super-slim iPhone in development, nicknamed iPhone 17 Air.

“The new resolution wallpaper we found matches a report by analyst Ming-Chi Kuo last year, which claimed that the iPhone 17 Air would have a screen of around 6.6 inches with a resolution of approximately 1260×2740. In other words, the wallpaper all but confirms the existence of a new iPhone model with that exact display resolution. Given that iOS 26 will almost certainly be released in September along with the new iPhones, it’s clear that Apple is already making the final adjustments for the next-generation iPhone,” Macworld explained.

MORE FOR YOU

The publication even suggests the new wallpaper was left in the beta entirely by accident: “Since other iOS 26 wallpapers don’t have that resolution, most likely the wallpaper was forgotten by Apple within the build released today for developers and shouldn’t be seen by the public,” it said.

Well, the truth is you never know with Apple. Could they have planted it in the beta to get everyone talking? Personally, I adhere to the cock-up theory of history rather than the conspiracy one, but who knows?

If it vanishes when the third beta is released, it may indicate a mistake. Either way, it seems to double down on the belief that the iPhone 17 Air will have a 6.6-inch display, which is good to know.