iPhone 17 Pro Can’t believe Apple released an iPhone Pro that feels this cheap.

[nelle douville]

I won't spend $1,000+ on an aluminum iPhone Pro after having stainless steel and titanium.

And that is perfectly valid.

I'm a bit different in that I consider what the phone does ahead of what it looks like, but that's just silly old me.

 

[kp98077]

that’s what Apple was selling during the announcement, all the engineering stuff because design wise it falls flat. But consumers will not noticed how innovative the approach Apple did but it’s more on aesthetic and feels when using the device. To be honest this year’s Pro is not so Pro in terms of the outside looks and material used, 14PM with stainless steel, glass front and back are the real premium feels when you hold them. It’s my personal take.

i guess I meant "brain" as in huge bump -ha

 

[smorrissey]

Yeah feels pretty cheap, not premium for that price. I was dreaming about buying the blue one maybe, but no no, too expensive for my pocket, barely take a photo and a scratch magnet.

Went for the iphone 17 base and i'm satisfied except for the liquid arse on dark mode, icond look like toys for children.

 

[Sir Ruben]

As I packed up my family’s trade in iPhones (an X, 11 Pro, and a 13 Pro) it really dawned on me how much more premium they look and feel. Don’t get me wrong my 17 Pro will remain in a case until the day I sell it, but compared to past phones it’s pretty ugly.

A full glass back would have helped, my mum says the glass rectangle on the 17 Pro looks like a sticker 😀

 

[WilliamG]

I have the silver and it’s the nicest, most premium feeling iPhone I’ve ever owned. It’s gorgeous.

To each his own.

The Toyota Prius is the fastest car I’ve ever owned, too.

 

[guzel]

All of you bemoaning "cheap" aluminum don't realize it's been the stuff of aircraft for decades

try putting a plane in your pocket and see how it handles scratches 🤡😅

 

[bushman4]

Once you give customers aluminum and Titanium going back to Aluminum is a slap in the face I understand they wanted to be weight conscious but Aluminum scratches as we’re already seeing. Poor judgement on Apples part

 

[EM2013]

That’s exactly the point being made. They said that we should be satisfied with aluminum this year because Apple used aluminum 11 years ago in the iPhone 6. We aren’t allowed to think it’s cheap now because of what they used in that phone, and heck, even in the 1st gen iPhone.

Nobody minded the 1st gen iPhone having a home button. So by the same logic as above, and what I proposed to you, we should be happy with the iPhone 17 Pro having a home button.

The point is it didn’t feel cheap then on the 6/7 so why is it now? It’s not the same as going back to a home button, that’s going backwards in tech and it affects the user experience. Aluminum body does not.

 

[nelle douville]

Once you give customers aluminum and Titanium going back to Aluminum is a slap in the face I understand they wanted to be weight conscious but Aluminum scratches as we’re already seeing. Poor judgement on Apples part

So you discount Apple's claim (backed by the cooling system) that it was for cooling the phone?

I'll ask you as well. What cooling design would you propose to Apple such that they could still use titanium?

 

[smorrissey]

Wonder is the new cooling system is kind of pointless when using a case....

 

[bsmr]

Wonder is the new cooling system is kind of pointless when using a case....

No. Because it brings the heat into all areas of the phone instead of having heat in one specific area.
The case doesn’t matter at all.

 

[nelle douville]

Wonder is the new cooling system is kind of pointless when using a case....

I wondered the same.

 

[wickedrm]

The point is it didn’t feel cheap then on the 6/7 so why is it now? It’s not the same as going back to a home button, that’s going backwards in tech and it affects the user experience. Aluminum body does not.

It’s all relative. If I pull my 6s out of the drawer, I will find it to be cheap feeling now….. because….. of experiencing a pro phone with stainless steel and titanium within the last 3 years. I’m not really sure how you can just avoid the fact that we’ve been given more premium options since an iPhone 6, so now relatively those older phones feel cheap.

 

[wickedrm]

All of you bemoaning "cheap" aluminum don't realize it's been the stuff of aircraft for decades

Airplanes don’t (aren’t supposed to) fall out of the sky into the ground. And if they did… they’d be mangled up like the corner of a dropped iPhone 17 Pro. What’s your point?

 

[pst23]

Airplanes don’t (aren’t supposed to) fall out of the sky into the ground. And if they did… they’d be mangled up like the corner of a dropped iPhone 17 Pro. What’s your point?

Lol

 

[nelle douville]

It’s all relative. If I pull my 6s out of the drawer, I will find it to be cheap feeling now….. because….. of experiencing a pro phone with stainless steel and titanium within the last 3 years. I’m not really sure how you can just avoid the fact that we’ve been given more premium options since an iPhone 6, so now relatively those older phones feel cheap.

How does one adjust for the fact that titanium was not used because it is less conductive of heat? Which is more important to you, a super duper snazzy looking phone or one that dissipates heat sufficiently for it to run properly?

 

[Astuces iOS]

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.

We want iPhones in GOLD !!!

 

[ifxf]

try putting a plane in your pocket and see how it handles scratches 🤡😅

I never have examined the chassis of any phone I owned, I assume most people fall into that camp.

 

[wickedrm]

How does one adjust for the fact that titanium was not used because it is less conductive of heat? Which is more important to you, a super duper snazzy looking phone or one that dissipates heat sufficiently for it to run properly?

That’s a red herring.

 

[jedivulcan]

I wish the Pro had stuck with the stainless steel or titanium band myself. Isn’t the internal frame of the 15 Pros and 16 Pros still aluminum to dissipate heat anyway?

 

[Rogifan]

How do you define “better metal”?

Price? Scratch-resistance? Thermal conductivity? Density? Hardness? Elasticity? Corrosion resistance? Colors? Shininess?

This year it’s not aluminum, apparently. Even though all of Apple’s laptops and iPads are aluminum as is the Vision Pro and non one says those products are “cheap” looking/feeling.

 

[bueller11]

The 17 Pro has objectively better performance than the 15 Pro. This is not debatable. You do not have like the look of the 17 Pro, that is true, but it betters the performance of the 15 Pro in a number of areas.

As for the so called "premium feel" I am sure Apple, like many other people, have probably come to the sensible understanding that most people these days uses cases, or at the very least bumpers. So the feel of the phone loses most of its relevance. If you put your new iPhone in a case, the feel of titanium vs. aluminum becomes irrelevant, because you can no longer "feel" the phone - only the case.

We are already seeing widespread tests and reports that show the new iPhone 17 Pro is much more durable as it relates to drops, specifically as it pertains to protecting the screen from cracks and breakage than past Pro models. While that might not fit everyone's definition of durability, it will probably cover the vast majority of peoples definition.

Every design of engineering involves some tradeoffs. Apple wanted to make a more durable phone, that is bigger, yet lighter than it would have been with other materials such as stainless steel, that dissipates heat better, while be more powerful in terms of processing and GPU performance and yet still maintain the more mainstream definition of a Pro iPhone. I think they have, for the most part, accomplished that.

Like I mentioned earlier, I define “premium” as a combination of high end materials and strong performance. Both matter. That’s why, to me, the 17 Pro Max doesn’t feel as premium as the 15 Pro Max. It uses cheaper materials, and the A19 Pro chip hasn’t improved my productivity or made anything noticeably faster compared to the 15.

If I’m understanding you correctly, you don’t care how a phone feels in the hand because you assume most people will slap an ugly, bulky case on it anyway? That’s wild to me.

I have never used a case on any of my phones but I never even brought up durability. I don’t associate premium with being durable. Glass isn’t exactly tough, but the 15 looks, feels and performs very well, and that’s what makes it feel more premium in my eyes.

You’re okay with a $2 trillion company cutting corners on build quality because they assume we’ll all be using cases? That logic just doesn’t sit right.

The idea that a phone might run “too hot” so it needs a “vapor chamber” AND crappy anodized aluminum from 2012 is fascinating to me lol.

for what it’s worth, I had my air running Google Maps, playing music on 4 hour road trip while snapping photos in between FaceTime calls and it got no where near hot. It’s made of titanium, and “ceramic shield” glass with no vapor chamber cooling it if I’m not mistaken.

 

[wickedrm]

This year it’s not aluminum, apparently. Even though all of Apple’s laptops and iPads are aluminum as is the Vision Pro and non one says those products are “cheap” looking/feeling.

Have you ever had a stainless steel or titanium Mac or iPad?

 

[bueller11]

This year it’s not aluminum, apparently. Even though all of Apple’s laptops and iPads are aluminum as is the Vision Pro and non one says those products are “cheap” looking/feeling.

You’re not carrying a laptop and rubbing it against your pockets for 10 hours a day, nor are you dropping said laptop from waist length a few times throughout the year, maybe more. Nor did they give you a titanium laptop then take it back the next iteration.

My phone gets a lot more wear and tear than any of my laptops combined.

 

[nelle douville]

That’s a red herring.

The two are directly related. It's the very reason why you no longer have titanium.