The internet thinks the iPhone 17 Pro design is ugly
Apple on Tuesday dropped its new premium iPhones — the 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max — at its highly anticipated "Awe Dropping" event. Unfortunately for Apple, a large swath of the internet is not pleased with the way the iPhone 17 Pro looks. That's quite the public opinion reversal for a company long known for crowd-pleasing design.
Mashable's Stan Schroeder covered the new iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max in detail. But the new design brings major changes from the previous generation. The new phones have what Apple dubbed the "plateau," which houses the camera system. There's a centered, risen rectangle in lieu of the previous offset box that housed the cameras.
Another big design change: colors. It comes three finishes that Apple dubbed "deep blue, cosmic orange, and silver." (Basically navy, bright rust orange, and... well, silver.)
You May Also Like
Apple AirPods Pro 3 Noise Cancelling Heart Rate Wireless Earbuds — $219.99 (List Price $249.00)
Apple iPad 11" 128GB Wi-Fi Retina Tablet (Blue, 2025 Release) — $274.00 (List Price $349.00)
Amazon Fire HD 10 32GB Tablet (2023 Release, Black) — $69.99 (List Price $139.99)
Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless Noise Canceling Headphones — $248.00 (List Price $399.99)
Blink Outdoor 4 1080p Security Camera (5-Pack) — $159.99 (List Price $399.99)
Fire TV Stick 4K Streaming Device With Remote (2023 Model) — $24.99 (List Price $49.99)
Shark AV2511AE AI Robot Vacuum With XL Self-Empty Base — $249.99 (List Price $599.00)
Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS, 42mm, S/M Black Sport Band) — $339.00 (List Price $399.00)
WD 6TB My Passport USB 3.0 Portable External Hard Drive — $138.65 (List Price $179.99)
Dell 14 Premium Intel Ultra 7 512GB SSD 16GB RAM 2K Laptop — $999.99 (List Price $1549.99)
So far, the internet doesn't seem happy with neither the plateau nor the colors, especially the orange. The iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max has a lot of people online calling the design ugly.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
Change is hard and perhaps, with time, folks will begin to feel differently about the new phones.
Personally, I don't have super strong feelings about the look of the new phone. To me, it looks fine, which would be my review of pretty much any phone's aesthetic. Should I purchase an iPhone 17 Pro, it's getting a case and spending most of its life in my pocket — how it looks doesn't matter all that much.
But it sure seems that the internet doesn't seem to feel the same way.
Tim Marcin is an Associate Editor on the culture team at Mashable, where he mostly digs into the weird parts of the internet. You'll also see some coverage of memes, tech, sports, trends, and the occasional hot take. You can find him on Bluesky (sometimes), Instagram (infrequently), or eating Buffalo wings (as often as possible).
