Have you started getting bored with Apple's repetitive and simply unremarkable iPhone designs? Does it get on your nerves that you spent a small fortune on the cutting-edge iPhone 16 Pro Max only for your friends to constantly confuse your new handset for a 15 Pro Max or, even worse, a 14 Pro Max?
Fret not, as this year's iPhone 17 Pro Max will reportedly be radically redesigned to more closely resemble the Pixel 9 Pro XL (and, apparently, the Pixel 10 Pro XL too) than its very own predecessor. Okay, I'm definitely exaggerating a little, but the iPhone 17 Air sure looks a lot like the latest Google-made smartphones (at least from the back), which is... a weird gamble for Apple to take all of a sudden.
Maybe Apple should play things safe after all
I know we all wished the iPhone 17 family would look different from the iPhone 16 lineup (and iPhone 15, and iPhone 14), but sometimes, being different is not a good thing. Certainly not when said differences don't apply to the competition as well.
Obviously, this week's leaked iPhone 17 Air and iPhone 17 Pro Max designs are far from etched in stone, so it would probably be wise of me to expect further confirmation before continuing to trash them. But there are actually multiple reliable sources claiming that Apple is indeed going down the Google-inspired massive rear camera island road, and so I feel like I can't stay all wise and calm when I sense an abomination coming.
This leaked iPhone 17 Air design is... bad, and Apple should feel bad if it goes through with it. | Image Credit -- Majin Bu on X
There, I said it, and I stand by it. It would be an abomination for Apple to take inspiration copy Google, and not just because copying is bad and it can damage both brands and create confusion among prospective buyers. The real problem (for me, at least) is that the Pixel 9 family is... kind of ugly in my book, and instead of those ghastly camera bars going away, it looks like I may have to live with even more such inexplicably prominent components fairly soon.
Now, I do get that the actual camera sensors need to occupy a lot of space on a phone's back to be as efficient and as advanced as possible, but come on now, those chunks of metal around them serve no functional purpose, and we all know it. Oh, and let's not get into such a massive camera bar's inherent potential durability shortcomings.
The point is this is not where Apple should look for an iPhone 17 series redesign, and I really, really, really hope that the 17 Air and 17 Pro Max will not end up taking after the Pixel 9 series after all. If that means Apple needs to be boring again, so be it!
Want inspiration? Why not look elsewhere?
You can agree with me or not, but I strongly believe that the cameras on the back of the Galaxy S25, S25 Plus, and S25 Ultra look perfect, at least at a first glance. They're minimalistic yet strangely eye-catching, they don't clutter the design too much, and something tells me Apple could have done a better job with those rings Samsung essentially carelessly glued onto the S24's design.
Of course, Apple couldn't have mimicked its arch-rival without causing outrage among its longtime fans and incessant mocking among its longtime haters, which kind of makes me assume that the company is not taking Google very seriously as a global smartphone market competitor... just yet.
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Am I the only one dreaming of a OnePlus 13-inspired iPhone 17 Pro Max? | Image Credit -- PhoneArena
But there are plenty of other smaller players in the mobile industry that the iPhone 17 family could take after, from the strikingly attractive OnePlus 13 to the clean and simple Sony Xperia 1 VI. There's really no shame in looking to your right and your left for things to "borrow" and (hopefully) polish, but there is a little bit of shame in emulating the wrong design and company.
At the end of the day, I'd much rather see Apple continue to do its own thing than copy anyone, but if that's not possible for whatever reason, I'd love to see a OnePlus 13-inspired iPhone 17 Pro Max or iPhone 17 Air. Who's with me?
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Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.
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