While you won’t catch Apple commenting on rumours surrounding the design of its new products, that apparently isn’t going to stop its rivals chipping in. The iPhone 17 line up has been rumoured for a while to be adopting Google Pixel-esque design language when it comes to the camera array – and it seems Google has a few thoughts about the whole thing.
The company has dropped a new ad poking fun at what it perceives to be Apple’s tendency to adopt new features much later than Google. The stop-motion ad features two phones – a Pixel and an iPhone – discussing several examples of the phenomenon, culminating in a reference to those rumoured new designs. And while hardly one of the best ads of all time, it’s going down a lot better than many of the other anti-Apple ads we’ve seen in recent years.
#BestPhonesForever: Responding to the Rumors – YouTube
“Can you imagine me doing the same thing you did first years later?” the ad’s iPhone asks the Pixel phone, before undermining itself with a list of examples. “I mean, there was that one time where you launched Night Sight and then a year later, I got Night Mode… and that one time where you launched Magic Eraser, and then three years later, I got Clean Up..” The on-the-nose ad ends with the iPhone repeating the Pixel’s in declaring, “Anyway, we want to remind everyone that these rumours are just rumours!”
Fan-made renders of the rumoured iPhone 17 line up (Image credit: Future)
Google is by no means the first tech brand to take swipes at Apple through its ads – we’ve seen Intel and Samsung have a go in recent years. But whereas these have always come across a little desperate, people seem to agree that Google has a point this time around. That full-width camera bar does look very Pixel – if it ends up looking like the many fan-made renders we’ve seen lately.
That horizontal camera array certainly looks… Pixel-esque (Image credit: Google)
“Bringing back the Coca-Cola and Pepsi war commercials vibe. I love it,” one YouTuber comments on the ad, while another adds, “It’s a great ad showing exactly what has been happening in the stagnation of innovation from Apple’s camp.” (Indeed, we’ve accused Apple of stagnation when it comes to features and design of late.)
But of course, if a brand is featuring its competitors heavily in its ads, it’s usually a sign that it’s playing second fiddle – like those cringe Pepsi vs Coke ads. Google’s ad might have worked this time, but if Apple pulls something impressive out of the hat in September, it might not look so clever.
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