iPhone 16 Pro iPhone 16 Pro vs iPhone 17

[UndecidedUser]

I currently have 16 Pro 128 GB that I'm giving to my wife because she has 12 and I want this household to become lighting free.

Basically I'm split on two models as the price of 16 Pro is the same as the basic 17.

Advantages of 17 over 16 Pro:
1. Higher brightness - sweet
2. Thinner and lighter - sweet
3. Better battery on paper - is it really?

4. Newer chip but how does A18 Pro compare to A19? Not that it matters
5. This also means iPhone 17 will be supported longer, but I always upgrade after 2-4 years, so I guess I don't have to care about this one.

6. Of course faster charging with a cable seems to be better on paper - but 16 Pro is already overheating while charging - I'm curious how will the 17 deal with a thinner body.
7. Better selfie camera - Don't care much as I'm not taking selfies
8. 256 gb - never ran out of 128 by a mile - but I guess if it's free real estate, I will take it as a pro.
9. Ceramic Shield 2 - Skeptical that it will stop keys from scratching the display.

Things going for a 16 Pro:
A. Black Titanium is much nicer than any iPhone 17
B. Don't have to wait and can buy it now
C. Camera Zoom that I've used like 5 times and it still looks grainy
D. Sorry for this one - I've noticed - we live in a society where sometimes you have to deal with superficial people and I've noticed the 3 camera lenses give you a little bit of authority in their eyes.
E. Without a case it feels like a premium device - though it's very slippery for my hands and I have multiple bumps as the thin layer of titanium on the frame doesn't do jack all for protecting the phone.

Please help me decide.

Thank you.

 

[marianoam]

If cameras aren’t a big deal for you, I’d lean toward the 17 base. You’re gaining higher brightness and (on paper) a bit more battery life, but for me the real deal breaker is future-proofing. I don’t know exactly when I’ll upgrade again, so having that extra year of support and a newer generation feels safer in the long run.

 

[ubinko]

Get the 17. It's the lighter phone, so will feel much nicer in the hand, and the base 17 has all the pro features you need now.

 

[UndecidedUser]

Thank you, yesterday I was digging into the cameras a bit and from my understanding even the main photo lenses aren't the same even though on paper they try to claim they are.

 

[Lwii2boo]

Honestly this is the only time since at least 13 series that I would easily recommend default one over previous gen pro. Except if you really value the telephoto ofc. Having 120Hz LTPO and 256GB without price increase is great value and meaningful QoL improvements. + you probably get 1 extra year of support

 

[SmOgER]

I think the specs are close enough where this should really come down to which shape (or "feel") do you prefer. Regular 16 did not feel premium enough for me, but 17 has different front-side and better screen to body ratio, so your mileage may vary there.

 

[SmOgER]

On your point 4 (the chips) A19 is marginally better but they are nearly the same (5-10% performance delta), it could be slightly less efficient though (they used Pro chip in Air for efficiency) and that may nullify that marginal battery advantage depending on your usage. So specs really are very comparable

 

[mib01]

I still use the iPhone 11 and want to upgrade. I'm torn between a 16 Pro 128GB or sticking with the base model and getting an iPhone 17. Sometimes I miss better zoom, especially above 2x. It also has the LiDAR sensor, which helps with low-light photos and fast focusing speed.

Honestly, looking at the long term, I'm thinking about going with the Pro. I really enjoy using the camera, and I'm not sure how good the 2x zoom with a 48px sensor and macro effects are on the base model.

 

[SmOgER]

I still use the iPhone 11 and want to upgrade. I'm torn between a 16 Pro 128GB or sticking with the base model and getting an iPhone 17. Sometimes I miss better zoom, especially above 2x. It also has the LiDAR sensor, which helps with low-light photos and fast focusing speed.

Honestly, looking at the long term, I'm thinking about going with the Pro. I really enjoy using the camera, and I'm not sure how good the 2x zoom with a 48px sensor and macro effects are on the base model.

If camera is important for you then for sure get the Pro. Other than that there's not much to choose between them. 17 has slightly better chip, slightly bigger battery but 16Pro gets usb 3.2, better speakers, premium materials...

 

[Andeddu]

Geekbench state that the A19 is around 3-5% faster than the A18 Pro in single-core and multi-threaded benchmarks.

That’s really impressive to me. The standard 17 seems like amazing value given it’ll also have 256gb storage and PM.

 

[FlyingTexan]

Geekbench state that the A19 is around 3-5% faster than the A18 Pro in single-core and multi-threaded benchmarks.

That’s really impressive to me. The standard 17 seems like amazing value given it’ll also have 256gb storage and PM.

Don’t see how GB would know yet