The iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max are rumored to feature a redesigned camera “bar” that extends across the back, with the iPhone 17 Air also adopting a similar look, while the standard iPhone 17 will not. In response, Google released an ad mocking Apple, claiming the camera bar concept originated with its Pixel phones. Although Google’s Pixel design is referenced, the new iPhone layout resembles earlier Poco phones more closely. The ad is part of a series personifying Pixels and iPhones, recalling past instances where Apple seemingly adopted features like Night Mode and widgets that originated on Android.
The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max have been widely speculated to feature a revamped camera island, better described as a camera bar that stretches nearly to the right edge of these devices’ backs. The iPhone 17 Air will also have a bar, albeit with only a single camera. The only model seemingly avoiding this redesign is the standard iPhone 17.
In any case, Google seems to be keeping a close eye on mobile industry rumors and has launched a new advertisement poking fun at Apple for allegedly imitating it—implying that it was the first to introduce the camera bar concept with its Pixels. This overlooks the fact that while Apple’s design for the Pro models shares some theoretical similarities, it is distinctly different and bears more resemblance to older Poco phones than to Pixels (except for the iPhone 17 Air, which is indeed closer to a Pixel). But it’s not Poco making light of the situation; it’s Google (pun intended). Check it out:
This video is part of Google’s ongoing series of ads that personify a Pixel and an iPhone as friends. It’s worth noting that this is far from the most cringeworthy in the series—Google has produced far worse.
The Pixel also fondly recalls the time it introduced Night Sight, shortly followed by the iPhone’s “coincidental” launch of Night Mode, then Magic Eraser, followed by Cleanup, and finally, widgets—features that have been present in Android since its inception, while the iPhone took years to adopt them.