Apple Copies Pixel? iPhone 17 Pro's Bold New Camera Plateau Looks Very Familiar

Apple's iPhone 17 Pro is generating considerable buzz, but not all of it is about innovation. The device's striking new camera plateau, stretching across the entire back, is drawing comparisons to a design first popularised by Google's Pixel.

This surprising resemblance has sparked a debate: has Apple, the leader of premium design, taken a page from its rival's book?

The iPhone 17 Pro's Camera Plateau: A Familiar Design

Apple has unveiled its latest top-tier smartphones, the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max, alongside the standard iPhone 17 and the brand-new iPhone Air. The Pro model reintroduces an aluminium chassis, features the largest battery in an iPhone to date and includes what Apple is calling a 'full-width camera plateau' on its rear.

The most apparent change this year is a significant redesign of the back camera — or 'plateau' — which now spans the whole device instead of just enclosing the lenses. The appearance is somewhat similar to the wide camera bar on Google's Pixel phones, and coincidentally, The Verge already anticipates Samsung will embrace a comparable design for its S26 line next year.

The Long-Running Battle for Dominance

It is worth noting that Google and Apple have been fierce competitors for years, vying for dominance in the smartphone market. This ongoing rivalry makes the iPhone 17 Pro's new camera plateau, with its strong resemblance to the Pixel's signature design, an interesting development.

Google even released an advertisement earlier this year that specifically mocked the rumoured horizontal camera bar design on the iPhone 17.

Their competition extends beyond hardware design and includes software, with both companies frequently borrowing features from one another. For example, according to Pocket-lint, Apple has adopted features such as Call Screening and gesture navigation, which were pioneered by Google's Android platform.

On the other hand, Google has also been accused of drawing inspiration from Apple. As CNET reports, the initial design of the Android user interface was said to mimic iOS. This history of reciprocal influence suggests that the 'full-width camera plateau' is not simply a coincidence but rather another move in a long-running strategic game between the two companies.

While the design may be familiar, the camera plateau offers new features that improve the phone's functionality.

Beyond the Aesthetics: What the Plateau Offers

The new camera island still holds a triple-camera system, but it comes with a significant advancement: this year's Pro models are the first to equip all three cameras with 48-megapixel sensors.

The telephoto lens is receiving a notable upgrade here, with a major bump in resolution from the 12-megapixel version on last year's phones. The improvement goes beyond just resolution; the telephoto lens also features a 56% larger sensor. Apple states this allows it to provide up to 8x optical quality zoom.

The front-facing camera also gets an upgrade with a new 18-megapixel sensor. This lens is now capable of using Center Stage to dynamically frame every shot, a feature also found on this year's other iPhone models. This technology also allows you to take landscape selfies while the phone is held in portrait mode.

The most significant video advancements include Dual Capture, which lets you record from the front and back cameras at the same time. The phone also supports ProRes RAW, Log 2, and genlock, as Apple continues to prove that professional videographers can use its Pro iPhones.

Although the Pro models have undergone a radical overhaul in terms of design, their sizes remain largely unchanged. The 17 Pro maintains a similar 6.3-inch display to last year's 16 Pro, while the 17 Pro Max remains at 6.9 inches.

The screens still feature ProMotion with refresh rates up to 120Hz. However, this is no longer exclusive to the Pro models, as it's now supported on the base iPhone as well. The only genuine improvement to the display is a higher peak brightness of 3,000 nits, which is a new feature across all four phones this year.