Recent years have brought a notable shift in Apple’s ‘Pro’-branded products, and rumors indicate the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max will continue that trend in a big way by leaning more ‘Pro’ than ever.
Apple’s ‘Pro’ branding used to mostly mean ‘better,’ but that’s changing
Not long ago, Apple’s Pro-branded products didn’t exactly mean “for professionals.”
Rather, ‘Pro’ has generally been another way for Apple to indicate “premium,” “more expensive,” or just overall “better than non-Pro.”
But that’s started changing of late.
MacBook Pro, for example, was long available in a SKU that barely exceeded the MacBook Air in power and price point. Now, the least expensive MacBook Pro starts at $1,599—heavily differentiated from the $999 (nay, $799) MacBook Air.
And on the desktop side, Mac Studio has made the Mac Pro even more niche and pro-focused than ever.
iPad Pro similarly used to be a lot closer to the iPad Air. But last year’s M4 model brought big upgrades and a huge price increase too.
For all the nice perks of the high-end model, if you want a great iPad, the M3 iPad Air is probably a better option. Only “Pro” iPad users can likely justify splurging on Apple’s more premium model.
This change started seeping into the iPhone lineup last year too.
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