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New Delhi: A three-minute Flipkart advertisement meant to hype its Big Billion Days sale has instead sparked chatter about Apple’s upcoming flagship. Bollywood director and choreographer Farah Khan appears in the ad holding a white iPhone with a chunky horizontal camera bar. With Apple’s iPhone 17 series launch scheduled for September 9, speculation ran wild that this could be the first public glimpse of the iPhone 17 Pro Max.
The clip quickly went viral on social media, with fans dissecting frames of the ad to compare the device to earlier leaked renders of Apple’s next flagship. But a closer look suggests the truth may be less dramatic.
The ad, titled “Flipkart Big Billion Days – Kuch Bhi Ho Sakta Hai!”, features a long lineup of celebrities including Amitabh Bachchan, Alia Bhatt, Sreeleela, Anubhav Singh Bassi, Aman Gupta, Dolly Chaiwala and others. In one sequence, Farah Khan is seen holding a white iPhone with what looks like a wide, rectangular rear camera bump holding three lenses.
On the surface, this design resembles the rumoured iPhone 17 Pro Max, which leaks suggest will feature a triple 48MP camera system with an elongated module. It was enough to trigger headlines suggesting Flipkart may have accidentally let Apple’s next big reveal slip ahead of its own launch event.
A deeper look at the device, however, points to something else. Farah Khan is not holding an unreleased iPhone, but rather an older Pro Max model inside an aftermarket protective case. These bulky cases, designed for style or extra durability, often mimic the look of exaggerated camera housings seen on rival Android flagships.
Some such cases even use the extra hump for functions like sliding shutters or unique grips. In this instance, the case seems to have tricked viewers into believing it was Apple’s upcoming flagship, when in fact Apple maintains strict secrecy around unreleased products and does not allow celebrity teasers before official events.
Apple is set to unveil the iPhone 17 lineup on September 9. The family is expected to include four models: iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max. Rumours point to the Pro Max carrying a 6.9-inch OLED panel with ProMotion, the new A19 Pro chip, and three 48MP cameras, including a periscope telephoto lens with 5x zoom. Storage may stretch up to 1TB, while the phone is expected to run iOS 26 out of the box.
In typical Apple fashion, none of these details have been confirmed ahead of the event. But going by past cycles, Flipkart and Amazon could roll out early sales offers right after the launch, especially with India’s festive season beginning. Discounts on outgoing models like the iPhone 16 and iPhone 15 are also likely during the Big Billion Days sale.
Flipkart’s Big Billion Days campaign may not have revealed Apple’s next big product, but it did manage to stir conversation ahead of both the sale and Apple’s event. For fans eagerly waiting to see what Apple has planned, September 9 will offer the real answers. Until then, Farah Khan’s iPhone is best viewed as a clever case, not a leak.
