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Apple’s iPhone 17 lineup looks like it was designed by different companies

Is there some kind of internal struggle going on at Apple’s design team? Because if not, someone needs to tell them to get their ducks in a row. A CAD image of Apple’s rumored iPhone 17 lineup has revealed all the new phones Apple could announce this year, and they look drastically different from one another.

iPhone 17 has different designs—what gives?

While the iPhone models in each generation look different from each other, they still follow the same theme. Ultimately, you can still tell one iPhone from another. However, this year’s lineup looks and feels a bit confusing. According to a CAD image shared on X by @MajinBuOfficial, the iPhone 17 lineup looks like they were all designed by different people or different companies.

For example, with the iPhone 16 series, the base iPhone 16 and 16 Plus look similar. The only noticeable difference would be their size. The same is true for the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max. However, the iPhone 17 lineup looks downright confusing.

We’ve heard rumors that Apple will ditch the Plus model this year. Instead, the company could introduce a new model called the iPhone 17 Air. As a result, Apple will adopt three different designs for its iPhone 17 series. There will be one design for the iPhone 17 Air, which will be slimmer and sport a single camera. Then there is the base iPhone 17 which looks like it will retain the same design as the iPhone 16.

Then we have the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max, both of which sport massive new camera modules that stretch across the back of the phone. Honestly, if it weren’t for Apple sticking their logo on the back of the phone, we wouldn’t blame you if you thought that these were phones from different manufacturers.

What is Apple doing?

We get it. The smartphone market has hit maturity which means that in terms of performance, the improvements from one generation to the next isn’t as big as it once was. This means that handset makers like Apple need to find ways to make their products interesting and exciting again.

In Apple’s case, the company is ditching the Plus model in favor of the iPhone 17 Air. According to the rumors, the Air is supposed to be an ultra-thin model. Apple and other tech companies kind of gave up on chasing ultra-thin devices years ago. Our hands and fingers thank them.

Like we said, perhaps for the sake of doing something different, Apple decided to try its hand at making a slimmer model. Even Samsung is doing something similar. However, this has created a very confusing product lineup. Maybe it’s Apple’s intention to confuse. That way it would be easier for consumers to fork out more money for the top-of-the-line models and be done with it.