Apple fans 'catch' man seemingly product testing top secret unreleased iPhone

Leaks are what keep the tech world chugging along.

Whether it's the Grand Theft Auto 6 trailer dropping early, the next decade of video games being leaked by the massive Nvidia leak, or the idea of foldable iPhones being spoiled ahead of time, some of the world's biggest companies have the surprise spoiled ahead of time.

Before we get to foldable iPhones, we have the not-so-small release of the iPhone 17 to deal with.

Apple is known for releasing new iPhone models like clockwork, but alongside the standard, Pro, and Max Pro models, there are swirling rumors that a lightweight iPhone 17 Air will also be joining the family in 2025.

As for the standard model, there's plenty of hype that our first proper look at the iPhone 17 has just arrived on the scene.

Over on Reddit, tech fans have been sharing shots of an apparent tester who was out in the wild with a prototype iPhone 17.

Like with any Apple launch, the iPhone 17 has been plagued by leaks, although it's sometimes hard to know what to believe as we wade through a sea of fakes and phonies.

Originally shared on X, user Skyfops showed off two photographs of a man wearing sunglasses and holding two iPhones. While one is a recent model, the other is masked in a black case that seems to be obscuring its real design.

The giveaway that this is an obscured iPhone 17 rather than a 16 is that the inconspicuous case includes cutouts for multiple cameras, flash, and LiDAR sensors for the expected camera bar.

Others have noted that a second man in the photographs looks to be some kind of security who's tasked with keeping the prototype out of view.

Apple is no stranger to leaks, and while Tim Cook is sure to be vexed if this is our first real look at the iPhone 17, at least it's not as bad as the time an iPhone 4 prototype was left in a bar and led to the company's biggest leak ever.

Obviously, people should be careful with Apple leaks, especially as one YouTuber recently found himself in hot water for supposedly sharing insider secrets.

As for the iPhone 17, the pictures soon went viral, with Apple fans sharing their thoughts on the sneak peek.

One person joked: "Dude is the most product testing looking product tester I've ever seen."

Another added: "He's testing the anti-glare screen (rumored feature of new Pro model) is my guess. Notice how he's taking a pic of the screen."

A third unimpressed user concluded: "Maybe I am getting old but I couldn’t care less about the latest and greatest iPhones anymore. The incremental improvements year on year nowadays are so insignificant it’s really difficult to get excited about an upcoming release."

With the iPhone 17 expected to be revealed in early September and released shortly after, there isn't long to wait until the cat is officially out of the bag.