After 5 years with my iPhone 12 Pro Max which was an amazing phone, I had every intention of going longer with it until I decided that I was tired of having such a large phone. I told my wife, who has a 12 mini, that I wanted to look into getting a smaller phone. Since the mini is no longer offered, I decided to set my sights on the 17e or 17 and with t-mobile offering some good deals on trade-ins, I chose to trade in for the iPhone 17. I got the new phone on March 12th so I’ve now had it for a month and I’ve got some thoughts. Despite being slightly larger than the 17e and not as small as a mini, this new phone felt instantly more comfortable in my hand. When I put it in my pocket, it disappears to the point I forget it’s even there. With lugging a Max around it was like carrying a brick. The weight loss and size down from the 12 Pro Max is most appreciated and loved right off the bat. Holding the phone, I love the feel of the aluminum design on this I always have gone without a case for my phones and I certainly don’t need one for this.
This screen is a joy to use. Having 120 Hz refresh rate for the first time on a phone I feel incredibly spoiled. Everything just zips and flies and moving between apps, opening safari, any kind of software use and the phone is buttery smooth. Was 60 Hz so terrible before? No not at all. But now I’m afraid that I won’t be able to ever go back ( we do have an M3 MacBook Pro we got a couple years ago with Pro Motion so I had a taste of that already). For some people paying $200 more for pro motion isn’t worth it which I get but for me it’s absolutely worth it. I believe all Apple Devices should adopt 120 hz as far as I’m concerned. As for everything else, the display is lovely. I will admit that the Dynamic Island is cute and it’s nice to be able to tap it to get back to listening to my music which I have found is the most use I get out of it. Here’s hoping Apple can incorporate more uses for it in the future.
The action button I honestly don’t use much, but I do love the camera button. At work I need to take photos quite often, so it’s been very convenient being able to access the camera right away and the photos I’ve taken outside of work are very nice and a clear upgrade over what I had with the 12 Pro Max. And the A19 is no joke. Everything again just flies and for my uses I’ve had no issue with any kind of lag or drop in performance. This thing is a beast and like I stated, I’ve only had this phone for a month but I can comfortably say that here’s to at least 5 years with this awesome new phone that I would highly recommend!
This screen is a joy to use. Having 120 Hz refresh rate for the first time on a phone I feel incredibly spoiled. Everything just zips and flies and moving between apps, opening safari, any kind of software use and the phone is buttery smooth. Was 60 Hz so terrible before? No not at all. But now I’m afraid that I won’t be able to ever go back ( we do have an M3 MacBook Pro we got a couple years ago with Pro Motion so I had a taste of that already). For some people paying $200 more for pro motion isn’t worth it which I get but for me it’s absolutely worth it. I believe all Apple Devices should adopt 120 hz as far as I’m concerned. As for everything else, the display is lovely. I will admit that the Dynamic Island is cute and it’s nice to be able to tap it to get back to listening to my music which I have found is the most use I get out of it. Here’s hoping Apple can incorporate more uses for it in the future.
The action button I honestly don’t use much, but I do love the camera button. At work I need to take photos quite often, so it’s been very convenient being able to access the camera right away and the photos I’ve taken outside of work are very nice and a clear upgrade over what I had with the 12 Pro Max. And the A19 is no joke. Everything again just flies and for my uses I’ve had no issue with any kind of lag or drop in performance. This thing is a beast and like I stated, I’ve only had this phone for a month but I can comfortably say that here’s to at least 5 years with this awesome new phone that I would highly recommend!
