Apple recently announced its latest iPhone 17, 17 Pro, and iPhone Air models – and as we’ve seen, the base iPhone 17 gained a plethora of upgrades that have made it quite a compelling package. That begs the question, does a 2 year old ‘Pro’ iPhone still have a leg up, or should you just go with the new base model iPhone 17?
Displays
iPhone 17 gains ProMotion for the first time, something that you previously had to buy an iPhone Pro for. On top of that, it isn’t a compromised ProMotion display either. It’s the same 1-120Hz variable refresh rate as a Pro iPhone, meaning you get truly buttery scrolling, as well as support for an Always-On Display.
iPhone 15 Pro has all of those things too, though in a slightly smaller package. iPhone 15 Pro comes in with a 6.1″ display, compared to iPhone 17’s slightly larger 6.3″ display. They’re rather similar, but if you want the smaller phone, the iPhone 15 Pro would be a better choice. Conversely, if you want a larger display without going big, iPhone 17 will serve you well.
Battery
This is where things are a lot more interesting.
iPhone 17 took a pretty big leap in battery life this year, and it now offers up to 30 hours of video playback, compared to just 23 hours on iPhone 15 Pro. So, if you want the best battery in an iPhone, you’ll want to go with the newer iPhone 17.
That isn’t insubstantial. If you find yourself going outside for extended periods of time and don’t want to deal with battery banks, iPhone 17 is a no brainer.
Camera
This is going to be more of a tossup – at least in the rear camera department. iPhone 17 is newer, but iPhone 15 Pro has the Pro-advantage of having a true telephoto camera.
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