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Once aluminum came into focus, people on here started with the 'looks cheap, feels cheap' kinda of rhetoric.
Not me. I specifically said I expected a premium 17P experience. Then after handling them I think that the overall feel of the 17PM is a downgrade from the 16PM. I did buy a 17PM for the cameras, but I consider it a less elegant phone than the 16PM.
 
Why not compare them? You're the one that is making the argument that titanium is more premium because of how it feels in your hand. The size of the device shouldn't really matter.

Heck the iPad Pro might as well join the party also. I doubt anyone that purchased an iPad Pro feels that it is a "cheap device" when they hold it.

MBP and iPad Pro may not = the form factor of an iPhone, but they are moved about the world all the same. There ability to hold up from frequent placing and picking up and the occasional drop, are worth considering just as much as the iPhone.
Because different use cases means different priorities. MacBook processors are larger and produce more heat so concern about dissipation makes way more sense over a smaller pocket sized iPhone.

iPad Pro’s do feel very cheap in comparison to other apple products. They’re way too light for their size which makes them feel hollow.
 
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Why not compare them? You're the one that is making the argument that titanium is more premium because of how it feels in your hand. The size of the device shouldn't really matter.

Heck the iPad Pro might as well join the party also. I doubt anyone that purchased an iPad Pro feels that it is a "cheap device" when they hold it.

MBP and iPad Pro may not = the form factor of an iPhone, but they are moved about the world all the same. There ability to hold up from frequent placing and picking up and the occasional drop, are worth considering just as much as the iPhone.
I’ll ask in this thread again. Have you handled a titanium/glass iPad Pro? (Hint: you haven’t, doesn’t exist.)

We would be in a very similar thread if they made such a device for two years and then went back to aluminum again.
 
looked at pros and pro max’s in store yesterday and noticed the majority of them had a little collection of white residue in the seam/crack between the glass and the aluminium at the bottom rear of the phone.

Is this poor manufacturing or is it from the glue on the security devices that hasn’t been cleaned properly. I hope it’s the latter but unfortunately no store representative was free to answer question.

Note it is present on some but not all of the phones in the store and on all the colour variants. Harder to see on silver and cosmic orange but it is there and very noticeable on blue.
 

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Walked into the Apple Store and every Orange/Blue 17 Pro Max on display was already scratched up with MagSafe rings. I got the Silver, and honestly, the Pro feels ridiculously cheap in hand. This is the first iPhone Pro that doesn’t feel like a Pro at all. On top of that, Apple’s marketing is completely misleading they hype it as some kind of ‘invincible’ phone, but the reality couldn’t be further from that. Totally disappointed this year
agreed, Aluminium is too cheap for a 1100 dollar phone...
 
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Yes I am. Why? Want to mention that I have a financial conviction so you can play 'gotcha'? That all happened almost a quarter century ago although the conviction came later. I was responsible. I owned it. I received a just sentence, and I've done a whole lot to the good since, including by the way being one of the few people in this country who after a conviction went on to carry a badge.

Stick to the topic.
What just happened here? Lol

Anyway, despite being slightly heavier, this phone feels SO much more lighter than my 16 Pro its kind of crazy. Im loving the orange, loving the finish, loving how it looks in the sienna tech woven case. Im really happy with the release and finally upgrading to 1TB
 
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Because different use cases means different priorities. MacBook processors are larger and produce more heat so concern about dissipation makes way more sense over a smaller pocket sized iPhone.

That was not your argument though. Your argument was that titanium felt better and that made the iPhone 15 Pro feel more premium. The iPhone 17 Pro Max is larger and bigger than the 15 Pro Max. Under your standards how much larger would it have to be before it would make sense to pick a material that could dissipate heat better.

All of this over a tiny part of titanium used in a previous iPhone model.
 
looked at pros and pro max’s in store yesterday and noticed the majority of them had a little collection of white residue in the seam/crack between the glass and the aluminium at the bottom rear of the phone.

Is this poor manufacturing or is it from the glue on the security devices that hasn’t been cleaned properly. I hope it’s the latter but unfortunately no store representative was free to answer question.

Note it is present on some but not all of the phones in the store and on all the colour variants. Harder to see on silver and cosmic orange but it is there and very noticeable on blue.
Hmm. Possibly hand lotion/moisturizer residue from a customer or employee. But, it's well known the display iPhones are not off 100% the shelf models and locked to a custom iOS version. From the teardowns that have been posted, it looks like the USB-C components might be accessible by removing the back glass. I wonder if the display phones are modified to disable USB connectivity? Seems the easiest way would be to go in the back and cut a couple of traces. The residue might be left over from the new adhesive to for the back glass?
 
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Which i had a cheap thousand dollars to buy a new phone.
What would that thousand dollars feel like.
Time for used rubber tire phones.
They would not scratch and they would not break as easy and you could drop them from way up high and they would not break. Make them paintable and every one gets a paint kit they can design to their own liking.
There i fixed the phone issues.
Got to idiot proof sometimes.
 
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Walked into the Apple Store and every Orange/Blue 17 Pro Max on display was already scratched up with MagSafe rings. I got the Silver, and honestly, the Pro feels ridiculously cheap in hand. This is the first iPhone Pro that doesn’t feel like a Pro at all. On top of that, Apple’s marketing is completely misleading they hype it as some kind of ‘invincible’ phone, but the reality couldn’t be further from that. Totally disappointed this year
This started with the 15. The Titanium Frame felt so cheap compared to Stainless Steel of the X>14.
 
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I remember back in the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4 days when people would bring their 2 week old iPhones back to the Apple Store steaming with anger because somehow it was Apple’s fault they shattered their screen or scratched up the back of the phone because they used cheap materials. Reading and participating in this thread today brings back a lot of memories. And from the look of it, entitlement is little changed in all those years.
 
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I can't believe people are judging the durability of an iPhone based on store demo models.

This like judging the chastity of your future wife baed on her past life as a h00ker.

Or the reliability of your "new" car that you bought off the Hertz lot.
 
I’ll ask in this thread again. Have you handled a titanium/glass iPad Pro? (Hint: you haven’t, doesn’t exist.)

We would be in a very similar thread if they made such a device for two years and then went back to aluminum again.

Excuse me for a second. Let me take the case off of my iPhone 16 Pro Max so I can enjoy the smooth feel of titanium once again. Hold on a second. One more minute. Ah there we go. Forgot what I was missing. I will say it does feel more premium though - and it's shinny. We all know that's the first rule of "premium" - shininess. One cannot have premium without shininess. And it's stronger too. Up to...oh I don't know whatever Apple said it was during the original iPhone 15 Pro event.

I wasn't paying attention.

Taking the titanium away has produced withdrawal symptoms I am afraid.

All kidding aside, I agree with you, absolutely 100%. The big problem is that Apple giveth and then taketh away. That is their sin. Even if the new aluminum unibody frame holds up better to heat, and drops to its front and back, it's the indignation of it all.

Apple never should have given us titanium. Then we wouldn't know what we are missing.
 
Apple hasn't marketed the phone as invincible. iPhone Pro models will suffer damage just like any other iPhone model, or other manufacturers.

The rings from the heat of MagSafe is not new. I remember seeing lots of pics from members here who experienced it first hand. I am not sure why people here think that a very hot magnetic charging device won't suffer discoloration. After seeing story after story about it, I made a point to stick to wired charging.

In my opinion, Apple should warn people that MagSafe charging can cause permanent marks on the phone.
A sensible response on the forums? Blasphemy. Anyways, the discoloration isn’t even a thing I’m concerned about. Wireless charging isn’t good for the battery (due to heat and cycling), so avoid it for that reason if nothing else.
 
Both is right. The 15 and 16 pro with their glass backs and polished metal bands are super elegant, like expensive HiFi equipment.

The 17 Pro seems to change that refined design narrative to the Air as a statement piece, while bringing the Pro and Max closer to the MacBooks and UltraWatch flair, a more rugged and utilitarian EDC look. Which is ironic considering that a) aluminum is less rugged than steel or titanium and b) the current colorways don’t fit that narrative. I think that perhaps, aside from cooling, repairability, money-saving aspects this was the one way to differentiate Pro and Air. Black or Space gray missing feels like either an abodization problem or a marketing decision to use these colors in 2026. A black or dark grey 17pro will be in line with iPad, MBP and studio (which should be available in black :))

So the 17 is not better or worse, it is a Icomplete rethinking of the Pro design semantics, harkening back to the mBP unibody design — with the usual problems such new paths bring. We will see if Apple paddles back with the 18 or just refines the approach.

I can say that, as with the OS housekeeping, (same numbering, same basic look and feel with Liquid Glass for all aspects of the interface design), it might make sense to unify the design language of the Hardware as well.
 
I find it hilarious those that are comparing an aluminum MacBook to the aluminum iPhone. A MacBook literally stays stationary - planted on a desk when it’s being used and doesn’t move from there. The iPhone, on the other hand, is being handled every single day out in the real world while on the go, etc. Aluminum for the iPhone is literally **** and you all know it. Look how easily the new iPhones get scratched/scuffed. It was a poor choice by Apple and they brainwashed you into thinking that they made the switch for better thermals, when in reality it was to cut cost. The Pro lineup looks cheap and feels cheap.
 
I find it hilarious those that are comparing an aluminum MacBook to the aluminum iPhone. A MacBook literally stays stationary - planted on a desk when it’s being used and doesn’t move from there. The iPhone, on the other hand, is being handled every single day out in the real world while on the go, etc. Aluminum for the iPhone is literally **** and you all know it. Look how easily the new iPhones get scratched/scuffed. It was a poor choice by Apple and they brainwashed you into thinking that they made the switch for better thermals, when in reality it was to cut cost. The Pro lineup looks cheap and feels cheap.

I wish somebody would have told Apple that. Cause in that case there was no reason to add that nano texture option on the MBP screens. Since nobody uses their MBP outside in the shiny sunlight. Or those schmucks that take their MBP with them when they travel. Good thing TSA agents have never been known to toss around those cheap and crappy tin cans Apple has the nerve to call laptops.

Of course they are "laptops" meant for the lap, I mean the desk only.
 
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While it's proven that Steve Jobs is turning in his grave due to the lack of quality on this year's PRO-models (and also because of the ugly PRO-font), what one should keep in mind, however, is that this years PRO's are tools for professionals i.e. they were not designed for normal people.

Professionals would never complain about minor scratches, etc. Even the cosmic orange color was introduced to create distance between ordinary and professional as the shade was taken from flight recorders.

If one insists on buying a flight recorder, one should not start complaining if it scratches or stops working during an accident – and the same applies to this years PRO's. Just saying.
 

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I promise you my titanium 16 Pro runs properly, as do millions of other 16 Pros.

Of course they do run properly. And Apple improved how 17 Pros run compared to 16, by switching to aluminium. Interesting fact: the moment iPhones switched back to aluminium, older Pros material suddenly changed its molecular structure to copium.
 
A sensible response on the forums? Blasphemy. Anyways, the discoloration isn’t even a thing I’m concerned about. Wireless charging isn’t good for the battery (due to heat and cycling), so avoid it for that reason if nothing else.
Indeed, I am surprised some still MagSafe charge judging by how hot it makes the phone. I used MagSafe for the iPhone 12 and my battery health plummeted. Unsure whether it was definitely related but the 2 iPhones I have had since have been plugged in to charge and the problem hasn't reoccured. The only thing I use MagSafe for now is the holder on the dashboard of my car. No way I'm adding unnecessary heat to the internals of my iPhone.
 
I find it hilarious those that are comparing an aluminum MacBook to the aluminum iPhone. A MacBook literally stays stationary - planted on a desk when it’s being used and doesn’t move from there. The iPhone, on the other hand, is being handled every single day out in the real world while on the go, etc. Aluminum for the iPhone is literally **** and you all know it. Look how easily the new iPhones get scratched/scuffed. It was a poor choice by Apple and they brainwashed you into thinking that they made the switch for better thermals, when in reality it was to cut cost. The Pro lineup looks cheap and feels cheap.
It's not like Apple haven't been using Aluminium in their iPhones since the iPhone 5 though, its not suddenly a return to the old days. The standard iPhones are aluminium every year and I haven't seen threads full of complaints about the issue. I will say the Pro's do not feel as refined in the hand this year, but in reality, don't the vast majority of users use cases anyway? I know some will come here and give a personal account of how they never use cases bla bla bla, but most do, so dents and scratches are less of an issue on the whole. My iPhone 16 Pro Max has a body made from aluminium with a very thin titanium frame around the outer edge. My only complaint about the new Pro's is the fact Apple have used aluminium around the camera lenses, when they could have used titanium rings there to add a layer of durability. There has already been reports of chipping here on the coloured Pro's. Hopefully they address that with the 18 Pro's.
 
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