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I'm upgrading from 14PM to 17PM as at least for me there seem to be enough changes to make a difference. I've always been a bit disappointed in the camera on the 14PM and the camera changes alone make me want to update.

My next planned update will be with the second release of an iPhone Fold (or whatever they end up calling it).
 
There‘s always that one person with an iPhone 6 who skips every iPhone talking about how the iPhone peaked in 2014
I'm assuming this is somewhat of a joke but unless you have a professional use for having the most powerful smart phone or are a hardcore mobile gamer, most non rich people are better off holding on to a smart phone as long as it meets their performance needs. In my country the iphone and iphone pro start at $1275/$1800 tax in no apple care and trade in values are a joke. That's a lot of coin.
 
You're not wrong. Nothing wrong with bigger phones but smaller options would be nice. I feel like battery life killed the mini. Maybe had they waited till they could have improved on that more, and released it later, it would have been more successful?

When they were explaining how most of the compute lives in the Plateau for Air, I was thinking that that would be a great way to build a small phone too, not just a thin phone. Push everything to the top or the bottom and fill the void with battery.

Alas, becuase of the Mini's battery, Apple is probably afraid of shipping sub-6" screens.
 
Will it be the best iPhone they have ever made?

Every new phone is!

This year, the iPhone 17 is the best phone they've ever made.

The 17 Pro is also the best phone they've ever made.

Additionally, the Air is the best phone they've ever made.

16's and earlier = pure garbage that are now obsolete and must be upgraded to ensure security and privacy.

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Looking at Apple's side by side comparison of iPhone 17 Pro Max and iPhone 16 Pro Max, there were not many changes between thee two and those that were changed are of no interest to me so plan on seeing what next year brings.

AirPods ae promising features. Been down that road so next year for those two. Possible Apple Ultra 3 in late fall.
 
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I may be skipping the Pro from here on out.

It seems clear the Air is the "future" of Apple's design aesthetic. The Pro is going to be more of an Apple Watch Ultra-like "rugged" device, which appeals to me less.
This seems accurate. The Pro will have greater functionality but the Air will carry the torch for beautiful design.

It's unfortunate because Pro users might miss the previous aesthetic (even if they don't realize it) and stop upgrading as frequently because of it. I was on the fence with the 17 Pro Max but after seeing the hands on of the actual colors and design, I really don't care for it, even if it is more functional.

And I'm a filmmaker, so I'm actually the demo for this product... :(
 
Looking at Apple's side by side comparison of iPhone 17 Pro Max and iPhone 16 Pro Max, there were not many changes between thee two and those that were changed are of no interest to me so plan on seeing what next year brings.

AirPods ae promising features. Been down that road so next year for those two. Possible Apple Ultra 3 in late fall.
Whoever updates phones yearly on their dime is pissing money away.
I’ve only done it once, with great regret.
The depreciation is crazy year 1 - years 2 and 3 flatten out making it a better fiscal decision.
Especially splitting hairs on features.
 
There‘s always that one person with an iPhone 6 who skips every iPhone talking about how the iPhone peaked in 2014
I've been rocking a 1st gen SE since it came out. I'm finally ready to upgrade. I'm torn between the lighter weight of the air vs the better camera system of the pro.
 
Given the tiny sensors, I doubt variable aperture is about controlling depth of field.

My guess is that it would be used as an additional variable alongside exposure time to add more dynamic range.
It’s not. It makes persons that are slightly apart from each other depth-wise, both be in focus. Available on android since like 2021.
 
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It seems clear the Air is the "future" of Apple's design aesthetic.
It's what they would like the aesthetic to be, but they often get that wrong. Everytime they introduce a 4th iPhone, it fails in 1-2 years. They didn't even number this phone, so there might be no sequel. They learned some lessons on how to make it thinner that will carry them over to making a folding phone and that will be their new aesthetic... for a year or two at least.
 
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Disappointing that they’ve used the exact same Main camera sensor for 4 generations now (since 14 Pro). Stop being lazy, Apple.

Hopefully 18 Pro changes that with this supposed new stacked sensor, but even that was recently rumored to be pushed to 2027.
Was changed for 16 Pro. 14/15 Pro used IMX803. 16 Pro - IMX903.
 
I have a 16 Pro and am not even considering replacing it this year and possibly waiting for something in a couple years. I was doing every two years then every year for the past three years but I want the durability of the titanium that I have now. Also a year old phone with 100% battery health I just sit and wait.
 
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Was changed for 16 Pro. 14/15 Pro used IMX803. 16 Pro - IMX903.

The IMX903 in the iPhone 16 Pro maintains the same 1/1.28-inch size, 48MP resolution, and 1.22µm pixel pitch as last year.
It was focused on efficiency and speed improvements (eg enabling 4K120), so while technically not the exact same, from a still camera perspective it hasn’t changed.
 
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In comparison to the great updates brought to the 17, the improvements to the 17 Pro are quite iterative. I think we may see more substantial updates to the Pros next year, in response to more people choosing the base 17 version over the 17 Pro this year.
 
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