Apple packed a lot of features into the iPhone 17, from upgraded storage and a new ultrawide camera to a fast-refreshing display and speedier charging. Those improvements are especially impressive in light of the fact that Apple didn't raise the starting price on the iPhone 17 — it's the same $799 as its predecessor.

My colleague John Velasco is so impressed with the iPhone 17 that he's made the case that it delivers more value than the more fully featured iPhone 17 Pro. And I don't really disagree with him.

Still, there's one area where the iPhone 17 falls well short of the iPhone 17 Pro, and I see it each time I pick up my recently acquired handset. I'm quite pleased with the iPhone 17 as a new device, but I can't help but feel that in terms of design, Apple kind of mailed this one in.

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