It’s because most customers use cases. They know this, and so Apple can say they made it thinner, when the reality is that it’s always not that thin. Especially when you can throw a case and a mag safe battery on the back and make it even thicker than the pro model.

I don't mind a camera bar (or "visor"). It's better than the stupid bump they used to use, because it's stable, and it also provides a slight angle that makes the phone a little more visible when it's laying on a desk.

What I don't like is a super thin phone that has no meaningful battery and is easy to bend. "Bend" means that dropping it results in more than just shock force.

I have no problem with functional protuberances. In fact, I wouldn't mind seeing more, such as a universal mounting connector of some sort? I don't know if I am atypical in this regard, but I like mounting my phone on things. Handlebars, car dashes, tripods, mic stands, etc. There are solutions for this, but they invariably involve something wrapping around and blocking some of the front side of the phone, which has become increasingly problematic over the years with screens pushing towards the edges. My bike holder sometimes blocks the front-facing camera needed to unlock the iPhone, for example. But if there were something on the back side that a mounting bracket could securely latch onto, none of this would be a problem.

I would prefer it if there was a raised lip around the lenses - like you get when you put a case on. That protects (to a degree) the lens of the hideously expensive camera phone you just bought.

I recently had cause to use my phone as a clinometer to measure the gradient of a path at various points. Camera bumps made the task take twice as long as it otherwise would have, because I had to record it camera forward, then camera backward, and average the two, just to negate the effect it has on how the phone sits...