This might be a dumb or obvious question. I've had a Pro, returned it for the 17. I think the 17 is excellent for the value. But the only thing that has me a little hesitant on sticking with it for a few years (vs. the Pro) is the battery size. The 17 Pro's battery is massive given the device size relative to previous standard sized iPhones (4252, I have the e-sim version). I'm thinking (and this is my question ultimately) if I was to keep this phone for 3-4 years, the 17 Pro should maintain an acceptable battery life for longer than the standard 17 given it's larger size. I know there might be some other factors at play, but generally speaking, is that a correct assumption?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
iPhone 17 Pro Battery Health and Longevity better with larger size?
- Thread starter jntdroid
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Correct, the larger the battery capacity, the less cycles you'll be putting on that battery with your usage. Keep in mind, the phone can bypass the battery while plugged in so - if cycles are something you're worried about, just keep the phone plugged in when not using it - or as much as you can - that'll also reduce cycles. (The 17, as far as I know, does this as well).
I do not think this is a valid assumption because the battery life declines as the battery ages no matter the usage patterns and none of the various strategies to keep the battery as healthy as possible have ever been proven in a large sample size to actually work. Sure the 17 Pro might get you through the day a year longer than a 17 but then you spend hundreds more up front instead of getting a new battery for the 17 for 100 bucks.
And you might as well get as much out of the battery as you can since you know from the start that you're going to get a new one when the battery life inevitably declines to a point where it's bothering you.
Whatever made you choose the 17 that you seem to be happy with right now, you obviously had your reasons and I don't think you should throw that out the window and spent hundreds more so you can save on a cheaper battery replacement.
I rack up hundreds of charge cycles without a care in the world and after 2 years the battery is usually shot. Doesn't matter, I get a new one, and if I ever trade in the iPhone or sell it then I get that money back anyways and people tend to pay a bit more when they see the battery is a newer one with good health.
Obviously if money was never a factor and the excellent value of the 17 didn't actually matter then of course the 17 Pro has the better tech and better battery than the 17. And while you are at it you might as well replace it again in a year or two. Who needs battery swaps when you can get a brand new iPhone?
You could also get a small magnetic magsafe battery pack, I have the new small 5k Anker nano that has a bit more capacity than the new Apple iPhone Air battery pack and gets my iPhone from almost empty back to around 80%. This particular pack is thin enough and the magnets strong so it stays attached when i put the iPhone in my jeans pocket.
Even if I had the 17 Pro I'd still use that battery pack as it adds multiple hours of screen on time.
And you might as well get as much out of the battery as you can since you know from the start that you're going to get a new one when the battery life inevitably declines to a point where it's bothering you.
Whatever made you choose the 17 that you seem to be happy with right now, you obviously had your reasons and I don't think you should throw that out the window and spent hundreds more so you can save on a cheaper battery replacement.
I rack up hundreds of charge cycles without a care in the world and after 2 years the battery is usually shot. Doesn't matter, I get a new one, and if I ever trade in the iPhone or sell it then I get that money back anyways and people tend to pay a bit more when they see the battery is a newer one with good health.
Obviously if money was never a factor and the excellent value of the 17 didn't actually matter then of course the 17 Pro has the better tech and better battery than the 17. And while you are at it you might as well replace it again in a year or two. Who needs battery swaps when you can get a brand new iPhone?
You could also get a small magnetic magsafe battery pack, I have the new small 5k Anker nano that has a bit more capacity than the new Apple iPhone Air battery pack and gets my iPhone from almost empty back to around 80%. This particular pack is thin enough and the magnets strong so it stays attached when i put the iPhone in my jeans pocket.
Even if I had the 17 Pro I'd still use that battery pack as it adds multiple hours of screen on time.
Really really great points and great perspective.
I would also get generally better battery life day to day on the 17p, more camera versatility (not a need, but nice to have occasionally), and more RAM for future proofing. Those clearly weren't enough to keep me on the 17p originally, and aren't deal makers or breakers. But if they come along with potentially more longevity with the larger 17p battery (which I could also just pay to change out in a few years and go even longer), that's not bad either.
But it's still a good point. $300 more up front. $100 for a new battery in 2-3 years on the 17 and maybe 3-4 years on the 17p (maybe?). Keep the 17 for 4-5 years and the 17p for 5-6 years... is that $300 up front worth it to extend the life a bit longer? And get a few more features and a little better battery life along the way as well? 🤷♂️ (rhetorical/subjective)
Plus if I'm being totally honest, there's no way I'm going to keep a phone for that long. I haven't made it more than 2 years in awhile b/c I'm a bit of a tech nerd. But as yearly updates become more and more incremental and my appetite for "shiny new things" in the tech world grows less, longevity is more important than it was, say, 10 years ago.
Last edited:
How did we ever make do with the battery life and performance of older iPhones? Mine's only 2 years old but the 17 Pro leaves me cold considering the iPhone just sits on my desk half the day anyways. Having a 4x zoom or merely my 3x zoom and all the other small improvements make virtually no difference to me. I much prefer to wait as long as I can in order to really feel the upgrade was worth it.
If a couple hundred bucks are chump change for you then you might as well get the better one honestly. And for a significant part of our population this really does not matter. I am seeing the 17 Pro everywhere (the design really stands out despite everybody seemlngly using a case). For the majority of our population this amount does matter though so my general recommendation remains to buy what you really need and can easily afford. After all there will always be something better to spend even more on.
No TikTok. No multitasking. No Find My, AirTags, etc. that consume battery in the background. No Siri or AI. Mobile websites used to be simpler - they weren't as JavaScript-laden as they often are now. There's a bunch of other things.
Heck, iPads used to last one month on standby easily with intermittent use. Now I'm lucky if they last one week.