Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Review: A Week With the iPhone 17 Pro

punitnaker said:
Returned my Cosmic Orange Pro Max today for Silver. Its first phone I’ve ever returned as the color feels like the way to go in principle but just didn’t feel like something I could live with for a couple of years.
Click to expand...
I exchanged a deep blue PM I received via iUP, for silver. The process was a bit tricky, but SO glad I did. Silver is [subjectively] the best Pro color option this cycle. And if in-store availability is any indicator, seems the most popular color (followed by orange, then blue). It’s very striking. This is also my first PM and one of my fav iPhones to date. So far. We’ll see how it goes.
 
I am pleased so far having replaced my 16 Pro with a blue 17 Pro. Noticeable improvements in thermal management and battery life. Negatives are it seems to struggle connecting to wifi at times and I am not a fan of iOS 26. As to scratch-gate, I couldn't care less. It's in a Techwoven case and the case extends above the supposedly vulnerable camera plateau edges. I hope Apple will improve wifi connectivity with an update as I never had this issue with the 16 Pro.
 
  • Like
Reactions: roncron and MRSugarD
This will be my first pro. In fact, it will be my first time in more than a decade that I'm getting the top of the line.

I've gone iPhone OG > 3GS > 4S > 5c > SE (2016) > SE (2020) > 13 mini > 17 pro (shortly)

That's seven upgrades, but only two prior to this one have been to a design that was brand new to everyone. All the cameras were a generation old. TouchID, FaceID, ApplePay, ProMotion display, I'm sure a lot of the inner workings of the phone...all were a generation old or more when I finally got to them.

For the first time since the 4S/5c I'll be getting the latest generation design, latest generation chip, latest generation camera, latest generation display, latest generation battery, all of it. I'm excited and a little nervous honestly.
 
  • Like
Reactions: roncron and jjohnstonjr
willdude said:
Upgraded from the 14 Pro to 17 Pro, and liking it so far, though not 100% sold on whether I’ll keep it or just replace the battery on the old phone. A lot of nice little upgrades, but nothing huge.

I’ve also gone case free as I did with the 14P. No blemishes yet, but I’m usually careful with them. But going from sharp stainless steel edges to curved aluminum is quite different.
Click to expand...
Same here. 14Pro Max to the 17Pro Max. Performance has been the same or even lagging behind. I also still had iOS 17 on the 14, and this ios26 is definitley buggy, that could be the cause of the lag.
 
I believe the Vapor Chamber is working pretty well, playing Persona 5X on 16 Pro Max or an M1 iPad heats it up significantly and quickly, but that hasn't really happened with the 17 Pro Max. I'm not sure what GSMArena was talking about, saying they didn't see a big difference. This phone also seems to stay bright longer than the 16 Pro Max would. I never go around without a case anyways so the titanium vs aluminum doesn't bother me too much.

@Ing.ale I'm not taking both phones out side by side, but I was at a festival earlier today with the 17 Pro Max and it was very bright and legible, I didn't notice it dimming on me.
 
I got 17PM on day one and I am a little disappointed with battery life. I noticed the last couple of days that the battery drain is quite significant going from 100% to 50 in 3-5 hrs with little activity except email and some browsing. If I switch to low battery mode the battery drain stops. I don't have the typical battery draining apps like Facebook and have background updating for most apps except email off. I also "clean installed" it without migrating any data or backups from 16PM I had previously. I expect battery drain first couple of days since it is "indexing" etc. but seems like battery life is same or worse than 16PM.
 
pi6xjdskfa said:
I got 17PM on day one and I am a little disappointed with battery life. I noticed the last couple of days that the battery drain is quite significant going from 100% to 50 in 3-5 hrs with little activity except email and some browsing. If I switch to low battery mode the battery drain stops. I don't have the typical battery draining apps like Facebook and have background updating for most apps except email off. I also "clean installed" it without migrating any data or backups from 16PM I had previously. I expect battery drain first couple of days since it is "indexing" etc. but seems like battery life is same or worse than 16PM.
Click to expand...
Definitely not normal. My 12 Pro Max lasts all day on iOS 26 and it’s basically ancient now.
 
pi6xjdskfa said:
I got 17PM on day one and I am a little disappointed with battery life. I noticed the last couple of days that the battery drain is quite significant going from 100% to 50 in 3-5 hrs with little activity except email and some browsing. If I switch to low battery mode the battery drain stops. I don't have the typical battery draining apps like Facebook and have background updating for most apps except email off. I also "clean installed" it without migrating any data or backups from 16PM I had previously. I expect battery drain first couple of days since it is "indexing" etc. but seems like battery life is same or worse than 16PM.
Click to expand...
The battery life estimates are based on video playback, not web browsing or other apps, so that could be part of it. But you should be getting better battery life, maybe try reinstalling apps that are using too much energy.
 
I like my iPhone 17 Pro Max but honestly daily use feels like the iPhone 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 Apple needs to make people get excited and look forward to their products again. EVERYTHING feels very stagnant and boring same old same old. I hope Apple's solution to this is not the iPhone fold (or whatever they call it) boring!! Take risks, venture out with different designs that do not sacrifice features or quality. So the iPhone air tried but failed miserably. Apple just keeps falling behind it feels like.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Stormshadow and Johnnyponken
got mine the afternoon of release day.
1) the internet at times lags
2) Siri actually got dumber- shocker
3) no scratch issues mine in a case the next day wife a week
 
  • Like
Reactions: roncron
uacd said:
While I totally respect your opinion and most people who shoot casually will absolutely love iPhone 17 Pro cameras, I feel like HDR came way too far, and Apple doing nothing about it.

Imagine if you walk into sunset and from a distance you look like a shadow, due to how light works. And then iPhone decides to use SmartHDR, Deep Fusion and Photonic Engine all at once to get you out of this shadow. And I am not even making this up at this point! It happened to me even with such an ancient device as 11 Pro, but on it at least I can disable HDR whenever I want to, I do still have that toggle in camera settings! Also the burst shutter trick works to avoid this.

But what truly makes all iPhone photos look same and “stand out” in a bad sense is this, stole that example from Reddit but I guess everyone got that:

View attachment 2559461

I mean, what is that? All iPhones since 12 shoot sunsets like this. I have never ever seen similar sunsets in real life, this is not how it actually looks.

I am pretty sure older iPhones had more balanced photo output.

And sunsets is the only one example, it happens everywhere: when shooting buildings, daytime landscapes, even greenery and trees. I think Apple should give way to opt out of this cheap-looking AI stuff on new phones
Click to expand...
smart hdr 5 is artificially boosting dynamic range and modifying white balance in a way that's unnatural . it's sad.

I was excited when I read the rumor saying apple is developping an in house sensor that can capture 20-30 stops, but now that i got a 17 pro im not. such a sensor will only lead to apple boosting it even more I feel
 
  • Like
Reactions: uacd
Upgraded from 16PM to silver 17 pro….after 3 years with PM lineup I needed something smaller….and it was a good choice! (I thought PM was the only option for me but my next phone will be also P not PM). Battery life is a bit disappointing ….some irritating software related issues like keyboard and Carplay random disconnects…but I like the phone, fits the hand nicely, great photos and everything flies nicely. No case and no scratches so far
 
Loving my Cosmic Orange 17Pro, and no scratches so far because it's in a clear Spigen case :)

As someone who takes a lot of telephoto shots I'm loving the improved cameras, but I am finding that I'm unintentionally activating the camera a lot more often that I used to just by taking the phone out of my pocket. I don't know if there is any actual difference in the sensitivity of the camera control button on the 17 Pro compared to the 16 Pro, or if it might just be that I'm using a slightly different grip and accidentally touching the button more often because of the slight change in dimensions, but it's one of the main things I've noticed in the week so far.
 
  • Like
Reactions: roncron
Love-hate 🍏 relationship said:
smart hdr 5 is artificially boosting dynamic range and modifying white balance in a way that's unnatural . it's sad.

I was excited when I read the rumor saying apple is developping an in house sensor that can capture 20-30 stops, but now that i got a 17 pro im not. such a sensor will only lead to apple boosting it even more I feel
Click to expand...
I’ve heard that there might be a “fix” in photographic styles but I am yet to try it out, i.e. de-boosting the “tone” setting or using “natural” preset.

Given the amount of people who dislike all of this processing they could have easily added a special photographic style and called it “old-school”, “lofi” or smth where you would get more true-to-life image, I actually waited for them to at least give some upgrades to photographic styles this year, sad that they didn’t deliver it
 
I picked up my 17 Pro Friday and jetted off to vacation on Tuesday. I’m shooting in raw, so avoiding the overcorrection. The cameras are awesome. Yes, I’m disappointed that the 8x isn’t 8x optical as was brushed over during the unveiling but clearly stated on screen. But otherwise the image quality and clarity is exactly what I wanted, and better than I expected.
 
  • Like
Reactions: roncron
Anyone bothering with a screen protector. Just wondering how it’s held up for those who haven’t. I’m unsure whether one is necessary with Ceramic Shield 2.
 
darthbane2k said:
Anyone bothering with a screen protector. Just wondering how it’s held up for those who haven’t. I’m unsure whether one is necessary with Ceramic Shield 2.
Click to expand...
Last time I’ve used one was on my iPhone 5, due to me using it caseless. Not using it at all on 11 Pro and probably won’t use either on any new iPhone I might get, but I do use case, and if I was to go caseless again I would definitely slap a glossy film screen protector on it, which is easy job anyway and doesn’t ruin experience at all, as well as you don’t get fingerprints on display and scratches over time
 
  • Like
Reactions: darthbane2k
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back