5 Reasons to Skip This Year's iPhone 17 Pro

[IIGS User]

Who still smokes?

My mother in law still smokes. Amazes me she's still alive.

 

[GtrDude]

Reason No 1 should be cost.

 

[GtrDude]

Who still smokes?

I have smoked two to three cigars and couple of pipe bowls a day since the mid 80’s.
Zero adverse effects.

 

[Return Zero]

As a techy, deciding to upgrade every year was such a freeing decision.

 

[uacd]

when's the 20 stops rumored sensor supposed to come ?

I think 20 stop rumor might be an exaggeration of what Apple’s PR people handled to the leakers.

Theoretically, anything HDR is already 20 or 40 stops if we take all the photos used to expose the image and sum up their exposures.

20 stop single exposure image would probably need a sensor sized as whole iPhone 16 Pro Max and appropriate lens. Also it will probably need another color space switch - from P3 to ProPhoto or smth similar. As well as it would need another round of color bits emulation on monitors, i.e. 12 bit monitors that can emulate 16 bit ones.

Anyway, unlike marketers tell us, it won’t significantly make images better😃 Maybe improved night shots with better clarity and longer exposures, maybe better HDRs, anyway it will all be controlled by neural engine, i.e. AI-powered

By doing so we make the iPhone look like a Google Pixel. Which is to say pretty darn ugly.

Well, this mock-up currently looks better than Pixel😂 Google “tried so hard and go so far, in the end it doesn’t even matter”, their design is extra ugly. What really makes me anxious is that Apple plans to move precious Apple logo to accommodate wireless charging. Gonna be a disaster in terms of style and looks

I'm left wondering how one post-processes an image file with 20 stops of dynamic range when modern displays have far less

It will all be approximated and emulated, same as 20 years ago when people had been editing shots on low-res monitors.

The thing is, neither person nor the computer shall “see” the small bits of exposure that do not change the balance anyway. It may be a problem if one tries to push all the juices out of a RAW file (bad idea honestly, Ken Rockwell told more than 15 years ago why exactly it is bad), but for JPEG editing the only thing you need is a good and “faithful” display, i.e. same as the music - you won’t mix a track well on JBL bluetooth speaker (tho, some do!)

 

[Lioness~]

Waiting for 18, 19 or 20 - mini or flip.
13 mini will do just fine until that.

 

[deconstruct60]

A20 Chip

Apple's upcoming A20 Pro chip, set to power the iPhone 18 Pro models, will reportedly be built using TSMC's third-generation 3nm process – the same node expected for the A19 Pro chip in this year's iPhone 17 Pro, according to analyst Jeff Pu. This suggests that year-over-year performance gains between the A19 Pro and A20 Pro may be modest, at least in terms of raw CPU and GPU improvements.

However, Pu notes that the A20 Pro will feature a more advanced packaging method known as CoWoS (Chip on Wafer on Substrate). This technology enables tighter integration between the processor, unified memory, and the Neural Engine, which could potentially enhance performance in AI-related tasks. The shift could be part of Apple's broader push to support on-device Apple Intelligence features in future iPhones, as the company ramps up its machine learning capabilities.

Errr.. apparently so eager to recycle the iPhone rumors already floated that forgot to go back and check if things had changed. (or just regurgitated by some 'chat' program that can't read well??? ) The CoWOS reference is muddled. First, the "says on N3P was reported retracted by Macrumors .

" ... Update — March 20: GF Securities has retracted this information, and it expects the A20 chip to be manufactured with TSMC's 2nm process. The original story follows. ..."

Pu took that N3P claim back months ago.

The NPU and CPU are ALREADY on the same die. How is CoWoS going to make that 'more integrated' ???
For the A-series chips the memory is also ALREADY stacked on top of the CPU die. So already substantively integrated. More likely a shift in how they are integrated ( more connections in perhaps a more energy efficient fashion ) , not really an increase in integration.

 

[Love-hate 🍏 relationship]

I think 20 stop rumor might be an exaggeration of what Apple’s PR people handled to the leakers.

Theoretically, anything HDR is already 20 or 40 stops if we take all the photos used to expose the image and sum up their exposures.

20 stop single exposure image would probably need a sensor sized as whole iPhone 16 Pro Max and appropriate lens. Also it will probably need another color space switch - from P3 to ProPhoto or smth similar. As well as it would need another round of color bits emulation on monitors, i.e. 12 bit monitors that can emulate 16 bit ones.

Anyway, unlike marketers tell us, it won’t significantly make images better😃 Maybe improved night shots with better clarity and longer exposures, maybe better HDRs, anyway it will all be controlled by neural engine, i.e. AI-powered


Well, this mock-up currently looks better than Pixel😂 Google “tried so hard and go so far, in the end it doesn’t even matter”, their design is extra ugly. What really makes me anxious is that Apple plans to move precious Apple logo to accommodate wireless charging. Gonna be a disaster in terms of style and looks


It will all be approximated and emulated, same as 20 years ago when people had been editing shots on low-res monitors.

The thing is, neither person nor the computer shall “see” the small bits of exposure that do not change the balance anyway. It may be a problem if one tries to push all the juices out of a RAW file (bad idea honestly, Ken Rockwell told more than 15 years ago why exactly it is bad), but for JPEG editing the only thing you need is a good and “faithful” display, i.e. same as the music - you won’t mix a track well on JBL bluetooth speaker (tho, some do!)

You're saying the final hdr picture is already 20 stops? Do you have a source

I do hear you that bracketing allows for very high dynamic range but I thought the base 12 figure was already accounting for that, I didn't understand it was 20 in single shot

 

[Ghengis LeMond]

#6: you left the herd and bought a Pixel or Samsung or something else instead.

 

[Sphincty]

You could literally replace the battery 10 times before it's cost the same as a new phone.

Your current battery will last you at least another year before it drops below 80%. Replace it at that point and you'll have 2-3 years of perfectly fine battery life again. You'll be able to skip not just the 17, but the 18, 19 and 20, possibly even the 21 - especially if you get the battery replaced a second time. By then it won't support new software updates, so it will be time to upgrade. For less than £200, you can basically enjoy your current phone for 6+ years in total. That is what the lifespan of any phone should be.

The time to upgrade is when the phone no longer does what you need it to do - not when the battery needs replacing. You don't buy a new TV when the batteries in the remote need replacing. You don't buy a new car when the battery needs replacing, you just replace the battery. The battery is the consumable/disposable part. Not the phone.

Wait! Wut? I don't have to buy a new TV when my remote batteries die? Well H E Double Toothpicks!! I wish someone would have told me that long ago...I always wondered why my buddies were so eager to take my old 75" LG's off my hands every time that happened...

 

[uacd]

You're saying the final hdr picture is already 20 stops? Do you have a source

I do hear you that bracketing allows for very high dynamic range but I thought the base 12 figure was already accounting for that, I didn't understand it was 20 in single shot

Honestly my source was initially “trust me bro”🤣 BUT it wasn’t that far from truth! And that’s exactly what I meant: if it is currently 13 stops, maybe they can make it 20?

I had just asked Google AI about that and it gave me this answer and few links, one of which mentions “13 or 14 stops of exposure”:

HDR (High Dynamic Range) images and displays offer a wider range of brightness levels than traditional Standard Dynamic Range (SDR) content. While SDR displays typically offer around 6-8 stops of dynamic range, HDR content can achieve 13 stops or more, allowing for a more realistic and detailed representation of scenes with both bright and dark areas

It just was logical to me that since we have had cameras taking 7-10 stops of single-exposure images for more than 20 years, if these get summed up digitally we get much, much more.

For example if we take a picture of a tree against the sun with a classic DSLR camera in single exposure mode or even better a manual mode, we will probably get either a well exposed backgrounds (a sun or sunset), or a well-exposed tree with all-white backgrounds. But what if we take two photos and then blend them in photoshop? We get HDR! And thus much more stops that what we initially had

Sample image

 

[Ethrem]

I'm probably going to hold on to my 16 Pro Max seeing how I just got it in May. The battery lasts 2-3 days with my usage 99% of the time (I got it in April and I've got 31 cycles) and the performance is excellent so I really don't have a need...

I AM a tech junkie though so it's always a possibility but seeing how I bought an M4 Max Studio this year that I'm still paying off (at 0%), I really should hold off.

Given the rumored production numbers for the foldable, Apple must think they're going to sell a lot of them. If so, I don't think they'll give it a price approaching the Vision Pro. I suspect it will cost around $1500. That's still a lot of money for a phone, but for many people it will be cheap enough.

I highly doubt Apple will undercut Samsung and Samsung just raised the price to $1999 for theirs.

 

[thetaylor13]

I have smoked two to three cigars and couple of pipe bowls a day since the mid 80’s.
Zero adverse effects.

 

[svish]

The iPhone lineup over the next couple of years seems to be very interesting and exciting. 2026 should bring foldable. 2027 is the anniversary model. Only option is to buy one of the phones when needed and not wait indefinitely.

One can always exchange or upgrade to the newer ones later if they like the new model.

 

[FreakinEurekan]

How are these "Reasons to skip the 17 Pro"? Newer versions ALWAYS have new features. So.... don't get a phone until the iPhone 28 comes out? But wait - look at the iPhone 29 features!!

 

[rcread]

I actually need a new phone now. My portable MagSafe charger has become my defacto battery.

 

[Downundermac]

You could literally replace the battery 10 times before it's cost the same as a new phone.

Your current battery will last you at least another year before it drops below 80%. Replace it at that point and you'll have 2-3 years of perfectly fine battery life again. You'll be able to skip not just the 17, but the 18, 19 and 20, possibly even the 21 - especially if you get the battery replaced a second time. By then it won't support new software updates, so it will be time to upgrade. For less than £200, you can basically enjoy your current phone for 6+ years in total. That is what the lifespan of any phone should be.

The time to upgrade is when the phone no longer does what you need it to do - not when the battery needs replacing. You don't buy a new TV when the batteries in the remote need replacing. You don't buy a new car when the battery needs replacing, you just replace the battery. The battery is the consumable/disposable part. Not the phone.

Yes, I did that last time (got 7 years out of an iPhone 7 and kept a trusty 2011 MBA 11” running until 2024.) Wife and I will likely do the same with our respective 14 pro and 14 pro max. Smart phones are mature tech now so I just buy a premium phone model and keep until they no longer receive iOS security updates or the actual phone dies. New battery in my 14 pro max is brilliant. Tech sector yearly model upgrade announcements are irrelevant marketing rubbish! Garmin get it, as millions of happy Fenix 6 (2019) users in 2025 will attest.

 

[doelcm82]

I upgrade every couple of years. I kept the original iPhone for only a year and then upgraded to the 3G. Then I skipped a year and spent it wishing I had the 3GS's compass feature on my phone. But that set a pattern that I've only broken once by keeping a phone for three years.

I have the iPhone 16 Pro Max. I'll get the iPhone 17PM. Whatever new features the iPhone 18PM brings will also be part of the iPhone 19PM's feature set, so I'm not fearful of missing out.

 

[Marty80]

Meh just sink that island, or put Tim Cook on it problem solved.

 

[ColoradoBillsFan]

If I listen to the bloggers, YouTubers, and tech articles regarding if I should upgrade my iPhone each year, I’d still be on an iPhone 5.

 

[baconcat_8964]

Max Tech level of posts are just lazy and empty.

"10 reasons why you should upgrade this year" and "10 reasons why you should skip this year upgrade" being posted at the same time.

 

[FlyingTexan]

Meanwhile my 15pro is going back to apple because i prefer my 13 mini. If only it had the same camera.

 

[dampfnudel]

Skip the 17Pro for rumors that might or might not materialize? No. I'm also not a fan of being an Apple first-adopter for their new technology changes; I learned that lesson a very long time ago. I have a 14Pro, and it's time for the upgrade with the 17Pro or 17ProMax (I upgrade every three years now instead of every other year when carriers were subsidizing a portion of the cost of the phone).

Yeah, I also have a 14 Pro and I think it’s time to upgrade. Maybe in two years I might be tempted to get the 2nd gen folding iPhone.

 

[brunerd]

A 3 year cycle is a good cadence I think. I went from Xr to 14 Pro and it was a noticeable leap in performance.
I'll get the 17 Pro especially to get the most refined version of a hardware design before they mess with it (like a 2012 MBP). "First gen" of any new hardware design is gonna have some rough edges to start so I can wait. Can't wait to see what the iPhone 20 Pro brings ... ⌚︎

 

[CharlieY]

Nothing is worth waiting for if your current phone needs to be replaced. That being said, current smartphone innovations have been such a snoozefest you'd hardly notice a major difference that'll justify the price.

Let's not forget many of these "rumours" are just created for us to be continiously hyped by the Apple machine. I've literally lost count how many of these features ended up being in iPhones 1-2 generations from the initially rumored generation. Yes, it's that dumb.