Apple’s newer iPhones have obviously improved with a 6.3‑inch Super Retina XDR display, the A19 family of chips, bigger cameras, and the latest Apple Intelligence features. But the external design feels stale and repetitive even to this day, and here’s why. To start off with the specifications, the iPhone 17 sports contoured edges, thinner borders, and Apple’s latest “Ceramic Shield 2” glass on the front are claimed to be 3 times better when it comes to scratch resistance.
Under the screen it has a 18 MP Center Stage front camera and a new 48 MP dual‑fusion rear camera system. For the pro models, they have a vapor‑cooled A19 Pro chip and a pro‑grade camera. All three rear cameras are 48 MP “Fusion” units and include a 100 mm telephoto and a 8x “tetraprism” zoom. This is the longest optical‑quality reach ever seen on an iPhone which is pretty impressive on its own. Apple has described these as “breakthrough” upgrades, for example, they say the new aluminum “unibody” of the 17 Pro improves battery life. These are all great specs that make the phone useful and buyable.
But based on looks alone, the iPhone 17 series feels uninspired. Apple’s marketing team even admits the glass and borders are “durable” and “thinner”, but doesn’t point out that the overall aesthetic is nearly identical to the iPhone 12 and 13 lines. In other words, all these new features came without any new designs. When you look at Apple’s rival brand Samsung, every phone has a different design – even if it’s a minor change it’s still noticeable. With the iPhone 17 that just isn’t the case.
Samsung’s hardware is constantly changing and advancing far faster than Apple’s. Its phones already had multi‑focus cameras, advanced in‑screen AI features, and sleek build materials in 2023, while Apple’s designs seem like they’re just making one phone then making the same phone with a software update every year until Samsung makes a big change they can copy.
The iPhone 17 and 17 Pro offer plenty of horsepower. Apple’s A19 chips and genuine improvements like better battery, triple 48 MP cameras, Wi‑Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 support are great. Apple is barely catching up on specs and newer technological advancements while barely updating the look or feel. The iPhone still works great, it’s fast, reliable, and interactive as a phone should be, but it’s harder and harder to argue that it looks or innovates better than the competition. Apple is giving users the technology that they want even if it’s late, and yet the new iPhones look like Apple just made a design and has been running with it for the past 5 years.
