When I see the model designation removed froma car, I always think it's because the guy hasn't been able to afford the model he really wanted. Very common with BMWs, where the designation demonstrates the size of his....
...engine
I agree it looks busy now (as we're all getting used to lots of things about it), but the team of top Porsche designers that decided on what to put on the standard offering were pretty satisfied that it looked good.
There again I'm also not in the conspiracy camp that says that the front daytime lights are a design error to correct in 991.2. It's just too horrible to contemplate that any company, let alone Porsche, could purposefully prostitute their own beautiful creation to be seen to fix it later. That to me is worse than getting it wrong in the first place. There would be at least one person who would take a stand, resign, and spill the beans. Do you think Porsche are sitting there, slapping themselves on each others' backs and saying: "Ya, ya, Fritz, ve really fooled zem with those 996 headlights! "??
Maybe they believe that the extension allows a wrap around to accommodate side visibility (although I admit it would be a duplication with the separate side indicator), or maybe they just like them. And Carrara seems to know what he's talking about,design-wise, and he thinks it's perfect. Good enough for me.