46 MACWORLD AUGUST 2019
iOSCENTRAL WHY APPLE SHOULD ‘LEAK’ THE iPHONE 11 DESIGNits own phone, Google changed the game
not just for the Pixel but for every premium
phone set to release in 2019 and beyond.
The annual refresh and rumor cycle is
stale, and it’s gotten to point where
companies are making jokes on stage
about leaks. The element of surprise is
gone, and Google found a way to get it
back. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if it
gives us a look at the front of the phone
between now and its launch as well.
Now when the Pixel 4 launches in
October, we’ll be waiting to see what
features it has rather than how it’ll look.
The camera specs will matter more than
the camera design, and the knee-jerk
Imagine a tweet like this from Apple.
reactions will be about what it can or can’t
do, not how ugly the camera bump is.
Apple could save itself a lot of grief if it
did the same thing Google did. It’s true that
Apple’s design is of greater importance than
Google’s, especially when it comes to
smartphones, but an early look at the iPhone
11 wouldn’t detract from its aesthetics. It
would just give people a chance to accept it.
People are already setting themselves up for
disappointment, and once Apple trots out
the square camera array, that’s all people are
going to focus on, no matter how many
adjectives Jony Ive attaches to it.
But if we know it’s coming, we can
focus on what really matters. ■