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iPhone 16 Pro iPhone 16 Pro vs iPhone 17

U

UndecidedUser

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 10, 2025
5
1
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.
 
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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.
 
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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.
 
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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.
 
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
 
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.
 
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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
 
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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.
 
mib01 said:
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.
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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...
 
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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.
 
Andeddu said:
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.
Click to expand...
Don’t see how GB would know yet
 
I ended up getting the 128GB 16 Pro, it was out of stock when I was going to get the 256GB. I don't play games, I only use social media and banking apps, but for photos and videos I only use iCloud+.

The 256GB would be more thinking in the long term because of the system and AI, but I believe I won't have any problems.
 
Yeah, I've decided to wait for the iPhone 17 reviews to arrive and go to store to check it directly.
But I'm leaning towards iPhone 16 Pro 128GB as iPhone 17 looks so boring in comparison to Ultramarine, Teal of iPhone 16.

Things that could really sway me towards iPhone 17 would be (the most 1st world problems you will hear today):

If Ceramic shield 2 was really so much better that I don't have to use protective glass - because otherwise I will stick the protective glass on top of the 17 and the antireflective advantage is gone

Good thermals while charging as faster charging is always great when you need to juice your phone in the matter of minutes.

I can snatch some new 17 on Facebook Marketplace at least 100 euros cheaper in a few weeks - but I doubt that because it seems it is desired and it will be sold out.

How much 3000 nits is really better - though I've havent struggled with iPhone 16 Pro outside but it's definitely a nice touch.

If the battery is really better.

Due to the phone being a bit narrower I can use iPhone 17 with one hand

Btw I've checked my iPhone 16 Pro storage and I've used 40GB out of 128GB so I don't care about storage.

iPhone 16 Pro is a thick brick and I remember when I switched from iPhone 13 mini I felt so many times - omg this is so heavy and unnecessarily thick bothering me in my pocket. To reduce the issue I was trying to use the iPhone caseless but due to the slippery nature of the phone, my sweaty fingers, and my fingers growing relatively smaller to ever increasing size of the phones I've dropped the phone at least 10 times in a matter of 3 months (before that using cases in my life I dropped phone like 3 times in my whole life)
 
UndecidedUser said:
Yeah, I've decided to wait for the iPhone 17 reviews to arrive and go to store to check it directly.
But I'm leaning towards iPhone 16 Pro 128GB as iPhone 17 looks so boring in comparison to Ultramarine, Teal of iPhone 16.

Things that could really sway me towards iPhone 17 would be (the most 1st world problems you will hear today):

If Ceramic shield 2 was really so much better that I don't have to use protective glass - because otherwise I will stick the protective glass on top of the 17 and the antireflective advantage is gone

Good thermals while charging as faster charging is always great when you need to juice your phone in the matter of minutes.

I can snatch some new 17 on Facebook Marketplace at least 100 euros cheaper in a few weeks - but I doubt that because it seems it is desired and it will be sold out.

How much 3000 nits is really better - though I've havent struggled with iPhone 16 Pro outside but it's definitely a nice touch.

If the battery is really better.

Due to the phone being a bit narrower I can use iPhone 17 with one hand

Btw I've checked my iPhone 16 Pro storage and I've used 40GB out of 128GB so I don't care about storage.

iPhone 16 Pro is a thick brick and I remember when I switched from iPhone 13 mini I felt so many times - omg this is so heavy and unnecessarily thick bothering me in my pocket. To reduce the issue I was trying to use the iPhone caseless but due to the slippery nature of the phone, my sweaty fingers, and my fingers growing relatively smaller to ever increasing size of the phones I've dropped the phone at least 10 times in a matter of 3 months (before that using cases in my life I dropped phone like 3 times in my whole life)
Click to expand...
The anti reflection coating isnt really good anyways. It dont makes such a big difference. People already showed that in some videos from the Apple Event.
 
UndecidedUser said:
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.
Click to expand...
And yes, the main camera sensor on the 17 is smaller than the one on 14/15/16/17 Pro (yes they have used the same one for that long)
 
TheRdungeon said:
And yes, the main camera sensor on the 17 is smaller than the one on 14/15/16/17 Pro (yes they have used the same one for that long)
Click to expand...
I opted for the 16 Pro, as you mentioned, with a better microphone, better build quality, and better camera, especially because of the larger sensor and LiDAR for fast focusing in low-light environments. I was using the base iPhone 11 and switched to the Pro line, and I intend to stick with it from now on.
 
mib01 said:
I opted for the 16 Pro, as you mentioned, with a better microphone, better build quality, and better camera, especially because of the larger sensor and LiDAR for fast focusing in low-light environments. I was using the base iPhone 11 and switched to the Pro line, and I intend to stick with it from now on.
Click to expand...
Sounds like you made the right call, there’s really nothing that tops the proper zoom lens if you’re into photography too
 
UndecidedUser said:
Yeah, I've decided to wait for the iPhone 17 reviews to arrive and go to store to check it directly.
But I'm leaning towards iPhone 16 Pro 128GB as iPhone 17 looks so boring in comparison to Ultramarine, Teal of iPhone 16.

Things that could really sway me towards iPhone 17 would be (the most 1st world problems you will hear today):

If Ceramic shield 2 was really so much better that I don't have to use protective glass - because otherwise I will stick the protective glass on top of the 17 and the antireflective advantage is gone

Good thermals while charging as faster charging is always great when you need to juice your phone in the matter of minutes.

I can snatch some new 17 on Facebook Marketplace at least 100 euros cheaper in a few weeks - but I doubt that because it seems it is desired and it will be sold out.

How much 3000 nits is really better - though I've havent struggled with iPhone 16 Pro outside but it's definitely a nice touch.

If the battery is really better.

Due to the phone being a bit narrower I can use iPhone 17 with one hand

Btw I've checked my iPhone 16 Pro storage and I've used 40GB out of 128GB so I don't care about storage.

iPhone 16 Pro is a thick brick and I remember when I switched from iPhone 13 mini I felt so many times - omg this is so heavy and unnecessarily thick bothering me in my pocket. To reduce the issue I was trying to use the iPhone caseless but due to the slippery nature of the phone, my sweaty fingers, and my fingers growing relatively smaller to ever increasing size of the phones I've dropped the phone at least 10 times in a matter of 3 months (before that using cases in my life I dropped phone like 3 times in my whole life)
Click to expand...
Definitely sounds like in your case you should wait for the reviews as you say . Jerryrigeverything will do scratch testing etc and there will be 1000 battery comparison videos
 
TheRdungeon said:
Sounds like you made the right call, there’s really nothing that tops the proper zoom lens if you’re into photography too
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I like photography, and I get the most out of the base iPhone 11. I got it and used it for a year and a half to see if I would like iOS. Since I liked it, I upgraded to the 16 Pro.

My smartphones for years were Nexus/Google Pixel, but only because of import in my region, due to the high cost I had a quick stop with the Galaxy S23, in the middle of the way I tested iOS and returned to having an experience similar to the Pixel.
 
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wait a week for the objective reviews...if you can,

while the 16 pro is well understood, the 17 has not yet been critically reviewed.
 
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Today, I've realized while thinking about what bothers me the most about iPhone 16 Pro is the size. It's manageable when it's without a case - but I can't use it because it falls easily. So I started leaning towards 17 that I won't use case with or even maybe 16e as I've found a new one for 500 euros and I won't care if I ruin it -

The 2 things that might annoy a bit would be
1. 60Hz (though I have both Macbook Pro M2 Pro 14 and Macbook Air M3 and I don't care much about the difference) 2. The quality of the photos - I will have a newborn soon and I'm thinking whether I don't want to capture his life in a better quality (though my wife will have mine 16 Pro)
 
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