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- Brand
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Apple
- SoC
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A19 Pro
- Display
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6.3-inch 1206 x 2622 pixel resolution Super Retina XDR OLED, 120Hz, HDR10, Dolby Vision, 1000 nits / 1600 nits peak brightness
- RAM
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N/A
- Storage
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256GB
- Battery
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N/A
The iPhone 17 Pro is Apple’s next-generation flagship smartphone, with a new aluminum unibody design, a full-width camera plateau, the A19 Pro chipset, and a 6.3-inch display.
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- Brand
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Apple
- SoC
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A18 Pro
- Display
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6.3-inch 1206 x 2622 pixel resolution 120Hz LTPO Super Retina XDR OLED, 120Hz, HDR10, Dolby Vision, 1000 nits / 2000 nits peak brightness
- Storage
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128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB
- Ports
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USB-C
- Front camera
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f/1.9 12-megapixel wide
Apple’s iPhone 16 Pro line features a few notable upgrades over last year’s iPhone 15 Pro, including a dedicated camera button, a new A18 Pro chip, a bigger screen, and several AI-powered Apple Intelligence features.
At its “Awe dropping” event, Apple unveiled the iPhone 17 series, including the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and the iPhone Air.
After six years of the Pro iPhone models looking fairly similar, this year Apple has finally changed the design. One of the first things you’ll notice when you see the iPhone 17 Pro is its new “plateau” camera bar, which is much larger than anything we’ve seen on an iPhone before, as well as its two-tone color back.
Let’s take a close look at the key differences between the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro, covering specs, pricing, availability, design, and more.
Price, specs, and availability
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- Brand
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Apple
- SoC
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A19 Pro
- Display
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6.3-inch 1206 x 2622 pixel resolution Super Retina XDR OLED, 120Hz, HDR10, Dolby Vision, 1000 nits / 1600 nits peak brightness
- Storage
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256GB
- Ports
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USB-C 3.2 Gen 2
- Front camera
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f/1.9 18-megapixel
- Rear camera
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f/1.6 48-megapixel wide, f/2.8 48-megapixel telephoto), f/2.2 48-megapixel ultrawide
- Dimensions
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5.9 x 2.8 x 0.3-inches (150 x 71 x 8mm)
- Colors
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Silver, Cosmic Orange, Deep Blue
- Weight
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7.27oz (206g)
- IP Rating
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IP68
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- Brand
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Apple
- SoC
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A18 Pro
- Display
-
6.3-inch 1206 x 2622 pixel resolution 120Hz LTPO Super Retina XDR OLED, 120Hz, HDR10, Dolby Vision, 1000 nits / 2000 nits peak brightness
- Storage
-
128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB
- Ports
-
USB-C
- Front camera
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f/1.9 12-megapixel wide
- Rear camera
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f/1.8 48-megapixel wide, f/2.8 12-megapixel, f/2.2 48-megapixel ultrawide
- Dimensions
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5.89 x 2.81 x 0.33-inches ( 149.6 x 71.5 x 8.3mm)
- Colors
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Black Titanium, White Titanium, Natural Titanium, Desert Titanium
- Weight
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7.02oz (199g)
- IP Rating
-
IP68
The iPhone 16 Pro was released in September 2024, starting at $1,000 for the 128GB model. It features a 6.3-inch Super Retina XDR display and is available in 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB storage options. The phone comes in four colors: black titanium, white titanium, natural titanium, and desert titanium. Apple also launched an iPhone 16 Pro Max last year, which starts at $1,200. It has a larger 6.9-inch display and is available in 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB storage options.
Apple’s new iPhone 17 Pro will be available for pre-order starting September 12 and will launch on September 19. The 256GB model begins at $1,100, with no 128GB option available. This year’s model features a 6.3-inch Super Retina XDR display, starting with 256GB of storage, and also offers 512GB and 1TB storage options. The color choices are entirely different, with cosmic orange, deep blue, and silver to choose from.
The iPhone 17 Pro Max will also be available for pre-order on September 12, with a September 19 release date, starting at $1,200. It has a larger 6.9-inch display and comes in 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, and a new 2TB storage option, with the same color choices.
Design and build
The iPhone 17 Pro is defined by its new plateau camera design
As you can see just by looking at the iPhone 17 Pro, the standout feature is its new rear camera design that extends along the back of the device, which Apple calls its camera plateau — a more stylish way of saying camera bar. This is significantly different from the iPhone 16 Pro, which just has a simple rear triple camera layout in the top-left corner, a design feature that has been a hallmark of the iPhone Pro lineup since 2019, when the iPhone 11 Pro was launched.
Another major design change this year is that Apple has replaced the titanium frame with an aluminum unibody design for the iPhone 17 Pro. It also features a Ceramic Shield 2 on the front, which Apple claims has three times better scratch resistance. Like the iPhone 16 Pro, the iPhone 17 Pro includes many of the key features you’d expect, such as the Camera Control Button, the Action Button, and MagSafe. It also has an IP68 water and dust resistance rating.
Personally, I like what I’ve seen so far, and the new colors — cosmic orange, deep blue, and silver — all look great. However, the design change may take some time to get used to for many people.
Display
The iPhone 17 Pro is much brighter
As far as the display on the iPhone 17 Pro, it’s pretty much the same as the iPhone 16 Pro’s. The iPhone 17 Pro features a 6.3-inch Super Retina XDR display with a 2622 x 1206 pixel resolution, just like the iPhone 16 Pro. What’s different is that the iPhone 17 Pro’s display can reach 3,000 nits of peak brightness, while the iPhone 16 Pro tops out at 2,000 nits.
The iPhone 17 Pro Max follows the same trend, with a 6.9-inch Super Retina XDR display with a 2868 x 1320 pixel resolution, the same as the iPhone 16 Pro Max. It also boasts a 3,000-nit peak brightness.
Like its predecessors, the iPhone 17 Pro has a 120Hz ProMotion display, supports Always-On Display, and also features Dynamic Island. Additionally, thanks to the Ceramic Shield 2 I mentioned earlier, the iPhone 17 Pro’s display is also way more anti-reflective than the iPhone 16 Pro, which should make it easier to see outdoors, a welcome improvement.
Internals
Faster and cooler than ever before
With every new iPhone, the internals always get major upgrades, and the iPhone 17 Pro is no exception. Both the iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max come with Apple’s new A19 Pro chipset, which Apple says delivers “40 percent better sustained performance” than the iPhone 16 Pro. Supporting the new A19 Pro chipset is a new Apple-designed vapor chamber for cooling, which is laser-welded into the iPhone 17 Pro’s aluminum chassis. This is something the iPhone 16 Pro doesn’t have, which means not only will the iPhone 17 Pro run faster, but it should also run cooler.
Battery life is also significantly improved this year, with Apple claiming the iPhone 17 Pro can last up to 33 hours of video playback, five more hours than the iPhone 16 Pro, which is estimated at up to 27 hours of video playback. The iPhone 17 Pro Max tells an even more impressive story, boasting up to 39 hours of video playback, compared to the iPhone 16 Pro Max’s up to 33 hours of video playback.
Charging times on the iPhone 17 Pro have also been improved, with Apple stating it can charge up to 50 percent in 20 minutes with a 40W adapter, which is about 10 minutes faster than the iPhone 16 Pro, which can charge up to 50 percent in 30 minutes on a 30W adapter.
Cameras
Bigger and bolder
The hallmark of the Pro model iPhones is their cameras, and besides introducing a new plateau camera design, Apple has also made slight upgrades to the iPhone 17 Pro’s cameras this year. The iPhone 17 Pro sports three 48-megapixel cameras on the back, including a f/1.78 48-megapixel fusion main camera, a f/2.2 48-megapixel fusion ultra-wide camera, and a f/2.8 48-megapixel fusion telephoto camera, capable of 8x optical zoom.
The 48-megapixel fusion telephoto camera is the main upgrade this year, as the iPhone 16 Pro only has a 12-megapixel telephoto camera capable of up to 5x optical zoom, but has a 48-megapixel main camera and ultra-wide.
The front-facing camera on the iPhone 17 Pro is also much different from the iPhone 16 Pro. The iPhone 17 Pro sports an 18-megapixel Center Stage selfie camera, compared to the iPhone 16 Pro’s 12-megapixel front shooter. The iPhone 17 Pro’s Center Stage camera is capable of switching from portrait to landscape without having to move your phone, and its field of view automatically expands depending on how many people in your selfie, something the iPhone 16 Pro is not capable of.
Verdict: Is the iPhone 17 Pro a worthwhile upgrade from the iPhone 16 Pro?
If you have an iPhone 15 Pro or older, the iPhone 17 Pro might be a decent upgrade
There’s no doubt that the iPhone 17 Pro is Apple’s most powerful and ambitious iPhone yet. It features a bold new redesign, boasting a unibody aluminum chassis and a camera plateau, and is powered by the A19 Pro chipset with a vapor chamber cooling system.
While the upgrades the iPhone 17 Pro offers over the iPhone 16 Pro are nice, if you already have an iPhone 16 Pro, there’s not much of a point in upgrading since you still have a powerful phone with capable cameras. You’re better off saving your money and waiting until next year, when Apple will likely release the iPhone 18 Pro and its long-rumored foldable iPhone.
That said, if you have an iPhone 15 Pro or earlier, the upgrades provided by the iPhone 17 Pro are very enticing. I myself use an iPhone 14 Pro, and now that I’ve seen what the iPhone 17 Pro offers, I believe this is the year to upgrade — not only because of its upgraded cameras, but also due to its bold new redesign and the return of a deep blue color option. Additionally, if you have a standard iPhone model, like the iPhone 13 or iPhone 14, and have always wanted to try a Pro model, with all the changes Apple has made to the iPhone 17 Pro, this might be the year to do it.
The iPhone 17 Pro starts at $1,100, and the iPhone 17 Pro Max starts at $1,200. If you’re interested in getting one, pre-orders go live September 12 at 5AM PST/8AM EST, with shipments beginning September 19.
