Apple introduced the Pro moniker for iPhones six years ago with the iPhone 11 lineup. However, with the iPhone 17 lineup in particular – it feels like Apple truly developed a professional iPhone for the first time. I’ll explain.
‘Pro’ is no longer just flashy
First things first, this year’s iPhone 17 Pro is no longer the flashy model, unlike previous Pro iPhones.
With this years switch from Titanium to Aluminum, the iPhone 17 Pro simply uses the same material as the standard iPhone 17 model. Obviously, this comes with numerous thermal benefits, but nonetheless – the Pro is no longer the phone you go to if you’d like a premium build.
Now, the iPhone Air takes that position. With its polished titanium frame, it now serves as Apples flashy and premium model, something that the ‘Pro’ used to be.
Furthermore, the iPhone Air also has very ‘Pro’ like colors, with it offering gold, silver, white, and black. Not even iPhone 17 Pro comes in black, and instead it just comes in cosmic orange, blue, and silver. They’re certainly more fun, but they feel less premium than usual.
Focus on thermals
This year, Apple switched back to aluminum for better thermal performance. Previously, while Titanium looked cool, it compromised significantly on how the chipset could perform. Now, that isn’t a concern. No matter how hard you push your chipset, it shouldn’t thermally throttle immediately.
Thermals are incredibly important, especially with this year’s focus on using your iPhone for videography. You can record for even longer without needing to worry about it overheating.
Display tech
Last but not least, the base model now has the same display as the iPhone 17 Pro: a 6.3″ Super Retina XDR display with ProMotion. That means features like Always-On Display and ProMotion are no longer exclusive to the iPhone Pro, giving average users even less of a reason to consider the Pro than they would’ve before.
iPhone 17 even offers thin bezels, just like iPhone Pro models.
Wrap up
Top comment by Steve Stutz
Not to be argumentative but, I don’t think most of the YouTubers who cover technology like Marques Brownlee, use their iPhones, Pro or not, to film their videos. Most professional photographers don’t use iPhones, Pro or not, to take pictures. They use cameras and/or video cameras that cost thousands of dollars because an iPhone Pro camera although adequate, is no comparison to professional gear. That being said I do think this is a nice upgrade in comparison to the 13 Pro Max that I’m currently using. After 4 years I’m getting a new phone. Why? The battery in my iPhone isn’t what it used to be and over time, older Chips have a hard time keeping up with the new OSs. Why I chose the 17 Pro Max boils down to the same reasons I chose the 13 Pro Max:
Battery Life.
Screen Size.
"Optical" Zoom.
The iPhone Pro’s Pro Motion Display was a determining factor for me before but thankfully, it is now irrelevant given the fact that Apple finally has put Pro Motion Displays in all of their iPhones which to me is the biggest overall upgrade to the iPhone line this year.
All in all, it truly feels like this years iPhone Pro is truly for people who use their iPhone for work. Whether you’re a videographer that’ll take advantage of the new features like Genlock, or someone who’s a serious mobile gamer who wants to milk the most performance out of the A19 Pro chipset – this year’s iPhone Pro is built for you.
With iPhone 17 getting so good and iPhone Air becoming the attractive device, it truly feels like iPhone Pro is no longer the device you just go to for aesthetics or display tech.
The best holiday discounts for Apple products:
- AirPods Pro 3 – $199 ($50 off)
- M4 MacBook Air – $749 ($250 off!)
- iPad Air 11″ – $449 ($150 off)
- M4 Mac mini – $479 ($120 off!)
- Apple Watch SE 3 – $199 ($50 off)
- Apple Watch Ultra 2 – $549 ($250 off!)
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