(Image credit: Future)
One of the biggest talking points surrounding the new iPhone line up is the design. From the ultra thin iPhone Air to the, er, interesting iPhone 17 Pro unibody design, this is the most radically different looking bunch of phones Apple has dropped for some time. But if a growing chorus of grumblings is anything to go by, there’s a bit of a problem with some of these designs. We’re yet to determine whether the iPhone 17 Pro is the best iPhone for photography, but we’re ready to declare you should probably buy a case for it.
When commentators start appending the word ‘gate’ to an issue with Apple’s products, you know it’s a big one. From Antenna-gate (iPhone 4’s network issues) to bend-gate (iPhone 6’s structural issues), Apple has had the dubious honour of dealing with a few of these crises. Enter scratch-gate.
Yep, it seems some iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air models are very prone to scratching. In particular, the dark blue iPhone 17 Pro and black iPhone Air are proving to be scratch magnets. Twitter (nope, still not calling is X) is littered with users complaining about scratches – and perhaps worst of all, there’s plenty of evidence of devices looking scratched to hell in the supposed safety of the Apple Store itself.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman goes as far as to suggest the device’s propensity for scratching is why we haven’t seen a black iPhone 17 Pro. “It looks like the iPhone 17 Pro in Deep Blue is scratch prone due to its anodised aluminium frame,” he says. “Not entirely surprising. The dark aluminium iPhone models in prior years had a similar issue. This is actually probably why there’s no black version.”
In his now customary destruction teardown video (below), YouTuber JerryRigEverything argues that the main issue here is the camera plateau, whose sharp edges are the “literal achilles heel” of the anodisation process, as there’s not enough substrate at that corner to securely hold the aluminium oxide in place.
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“That decision to look cool out of the box is going to plague everyone who owns this phone” the YouTuber adds ominously. Will Apple’s infamous upside-down charging mouse finally be usurped as the company’s biggest design crime? Time will tell.
Apple’s iPhone 17 case looks almost as weird as the phone itself
This year’s line up keeps getting stranger.
(Image credit: Majin Bu)
By now we have a pretty good idea of what the iPhone 17 line up looks like, and it looks… interesting. From the thinnest iPhone ever to the biggest camera bump ever, it seems one thing we’re not in for this year is more of the same. And the same goes for Apple‘s cases.
We’ve already heard that Apple is planning to release a successor to its ill-fated FineWoven cases, and now we’ve been given a glimpse at Apple’s clear case for the iPhone 17 Pro. Which looks almost as as weird as the phone itself. The iPhone 17 Pro could end up being the best iPhone for photography, but it seems it’ll look pretty weird doing it.
Seasoned Apple leaker Majin Bu has revealed what they claim to be photos of the official Apple clear case. Not only does it feature that much rumoured massive camera cutout, but there’s also a large portion on the back that isn’t transparent at all.
In what looks set to truly test the definition of a clear case, it seems Apple is including huge opaque white section on the back – and it’s a bit of an eyesore.
The Pro model is sounding pretty curious this year. First came news of the camera bump, then we heard that Apple is ditching glass and titanium in favour of a less premium aluminium finish. Then we heard the logo won’t be in the middle of the phone. And now this leak suggests the back is going to look pretty odd too, with this opaque section rumoured to correspond with a glass cutout on the back of the phone for wireless charging.
While we only have a week to wait to find out what’s really in store, right now the iPhone 17 Pro is looking like something of a Frankenstein, with large bits here and pieces there. But hey, after the hugely underwhelming iPhone 16 launch, at least we’re getting something different.
Radical new iPhone 17 colour could be a first for Apple
Liquid Glass could make the jump from software to hardware.
(Image credit: the Hacker 34 on YouTube)
It seems fair to say the iPhone 17 is set to offer Apple‘s most radical design shake-up for the smartphone for some time. After years of identical-looking devices, we’re not only in for a brand new model, the iPhone 17 Air, but also a radically different camera array for the iPhone 17 Pro. And now it seems we’re in for a wild new colour too.
New reports suggest Apple is planning an exclusive new colour designed to complement the new Liquid Glass design language of iOS 26. And by new colour, we might mean lots of colours – depending on how the light hits it.
As spotted by Macworld, a well regarded Apple leaker has revealed via Weibo that the new colour will initially appear as white, but “will have different effects under different light”.
A holographic, or iridescent, or simply ‘shiny’ iPhone would mark a radical departure for Apple. Until now, the company has stuck rigidly to single hues for the iPhone. Indeed, until recently these have mostly been of the silver or grey (or silvery grey) variety, with brighter colours only emerging in recent years (we’re still waiting for that hot pink iPhone).
Indeed, it seems Apple is keen to take its ‘Think Different’ mantra to heart with the iPhone 17. Whether a new design will be enough to make the iPhone exciting again remains to be seen, though. With a series of recent missteps under its belt, the company has looked increasingly beleaguered of late.
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