I disagree. We like to discuss everything Apple here. And not much is happening in May.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Other What would I be missing if I got the 17 base?
- Thread starter johannnn
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
If you are on the 16 Pro, why consider any 17 series? Are you jonesing for an ugly camera module?
Kidding aside, assuming the 120hz rumor pans out, the Pro will probably still have a better panel in some ways that are perhaps less obvious. Samsung and Google phones have multiple variations of 120hz screens, so I doubt the best screen is going to be on the base phone.
If you like the screen on the base 17 though, then your decision comes down to do you want slightly worse cameras for an ~1 oz. weight savings.
The 17 Pro is rumored to get better cooling, 12 GB RAM, and selfie/telephoto camera upgrades, so if you are upgrading anyway, you might want to consider them too. I doubt they will get lighter though. Those camera modules make me think any weight savings from aluminum vs titanium is just going to be used elsewhere (more battery, maybe?).
Kidding aside, assuming the 120hz rumor pans out, the Pro will probably still have a better panel in some ways that are perhaps less obvious. Samsung and Google phones have multiple variations of 120hz screens, so I doubt the best screen is going to be on the base phone.
If you like the screen on the base 17 though, then your decision comes down to do you want slightly worse cameras for an ~1 oz. weight savings.
The 17 Pro is rumored to get better cooling, 12 GB RAM, and selfie/telephoto camera upgrades, so if you are upgrading anyway, you might want to consider them too. I doubt they will get lighter though. Those camera modules make me think any weight savings from aluminum vs titanium is just going to be used elsewhere (more battery, maybe?).
There is easy hack to enable it. Just go to global settings, set your region to United States and language to English (US). It won’t influence anything on your phone and won’t affect any of the other specific settings but you will be able to turn on Apple Intelligence.
If you are not using your 5X on 16 Pro then yeah, you will regret nothing. But remember that 2x is still digital zoom with tons of computations on top so you lose some natural image sharpness when you do it. Not much but might be noticeable in certain scenarios.
Well, turns out 16 Pro and regular 16 have different sensors on main cameras, and 16 got worse sensor than the 16 Pro, it technically gathers less light. Maybe in real world use it is not noticeable but for more experienced photo fiddling Pro is still way ahead. With Pro model you get ProRAW as a plus, Apple’s less processed image format that has much less sharpness baked into shots so you don’t get this usual oversharpened “crunchiness” as with regular iPhone JPEGs. I think 17 and 17 Pro will mostly be the same in this regards, maybe with slightly better low light performance, some new image simulation modes (continuation of photographic styles but full blown simulation of film cameras supported by neural engine, at least thats what I think), also 8K videos are on the table and might finally be available on iPhones.
I agree with you 100% and I had noticed this ever since my current 11 Pro. Back when I asked this question on Reddit around these days ppl told me to “go and hit the gym”. Well I then started exercising but phones are still thick and fat, very hard to hold in one hand. Tried 16 Pro and it is indeed impossible to use with one hand, it is a brick… 17 Pro will be aluminum so weight might be slightly reduced.
They have been fiddling with materials a lot. Imo nothing will beat the light feel of an old iPhone 5. This so far was their best iPhone, it fit in any pocket and was perfect for snapping photos, especially with one hand. Then they have moved to stainless but it didn’t take long before moving to titanium now and with 17 they will probably jump back to aluminum, I hope to the one that doesn’t bend like in iPhone 6 series. I am also in the market for a new upcoming iPhone so I want it to be light, sleek and powerful. Or at least better than 16 Pro that feels like copy-paste, it barely differs from 14 Pro or even from 12 Pro
We live in the future😎
Since there are no time machines, we gotta think about the future while living in the past
A lot of money 
Now, seriously, probably mostly the zoom lens and better autofocus at night thanks to lidar. A slightly better battery.
And obviously, more weight. I‘ve been playing wround with Samsung‘s „iphone air clone even before the air comes out“. When you hold it, it‘s mostly „it‘s a little thinner, but feels normal“ - but when you look at the ultra again after that, it looks fat and bulky. Also the thin samsung is noticeable lighter, so you might want to have a look at the iphone air. but again, it‘s like with screens - if you don‘t put them side by side, you have o make an effort to notice the difference.
Now, seriously, probably mostly the zoom lens and better autofocus at night thanks to lidar. A slightly better battery.
And obviously, more weight. I‘ve been playing wround with Samsung‘s „iphone air clone even before the air comes out“. When you hold it, it‘s mostly „it‘s a little thinner, but feels normal“ - but when you look at the ultra again after that, it looks fat and bulky. Also the thin samsung is noticeable lighter, so you might want to have a look at the iphone air. but again, it‘s like with screens - if you don‘t put them side by side, you have o make an effort to notice the difference.
Iphones have been stagnant since at least the X. Not that hard to predict that there again won‘t be much changes this year. The camera hump will look different, and there will be a slim model. Maybe they‘ll fix the camera control button, but to me that rather feels like one of those features like the touch bar or 3D touch that will starve for a few generations before they again pull the plug on it.
Last edited:
The reason I have never bought a base is because it doesn't have a zoom lens. As a parent of a kid who just completed Pre-K I regularly find myself in situations where I take photos with the zoom lens. At a Teeball game when he is batting, at graduation when he is on stage, etc. Losing the zoom lens will definitely impact the quality of my ability to photograph my son.
What makes me angry at Apple is that they know the zoom lens is more valuable than the wide angle, and yet they prioritize the wide angle over the zoom on the base iPhone. I think they do this because they want the base to be a meaningful compromise. If the base had the zoom and no wide-angle, I would buy a base. I rarely use the wide angle.
If you’re bored and want to speculate based off rumors and guess work go for it. It’s ultimately a waste of time until the release or a legitimate leak of specs.
I understand what you mean as a 16 Pro owner. The iPhone 17 is rumored to have pretty much all of the features of the 16 Pro other than some minor stuff and a few camera things. Including a possible upgrade to 12GB of RAM instead of 8, new 24MP 4K front camera and it should be lighter as well. We will have to wait and see if Apple does something to make it less appealing coming from the 16 Pro.
I’m in a similar spot — using the 16 Pro, mostly for the 120Hz and camera, but yeah, the weight gets annoying fast, especially one-handed. The camera bump makes it feel even more unbalanced.
I don’t really use 5x zoom or ProRAW much, mostly just 1x and 2x for family pics. If the 17 base gets 120Hz and is lighter with similar main camera quality, I’m seriously thinking of switching. At this point, comfort matters more to me than features I barely use.
I don’t really use 5x zoom or ProRAW much, mostly just 1x and 2x for family pics. If the 17 base gets 120Hz and is lighter with similar main camera quality, I’m seriously thinking of switching. At this point, comfort matters more to me than features I barely use.
None of us have seen one yet, so speculate away. Since you are considering downgrading your phone and care a lot about feel, looking to find something that "will feel much less front heavy" is not something that you can do via speculative online chat. You are wasting bandwidth until you can handle the new phones and see how each feels to you.
Personally I have never felt the front heaviness that you report. However for decades I have hauled around 3+ pound Nikons with lenses sticking out front that weigh much more than several iPhones do, so I am not particularly sensitive to tiny shifts in placement of a couple of grams of weight on an iPhone Pro.
As to how the 17 and 17 Pro cameras will perform, again speculation is a waste of bandwidth. We will not know what changes are made under the hood until the 17 series is available to test. Talk about new camera features is just talk. Cameras are never about features chatted on some rumors website; one must test the cameras' actual competence.
Last edited:
FWIW I am a photog, and I find the camera control button to be a huge value add. We agree the UI needs work, but the camera control button is a good step in the right direction.A lot of money
Now, seriously, probably mostly the zoom lens and better autofocus at night thanks to lidar. A slightly better battery.
And obviously, more weight. I‘ve been playing wround with Samsung‘s „iphone air clone even before the air comes out“. When you hold it, it‘s mostly „it‘s a little thinner, but feels normal“ - but when you look at the ultra again after that, it looks fat and bulky. Also the thin samsung is noticeable lighter, so you might want to have a look at the iphone air. but again, it‘s like with screens - if you don‘t put them side by side, you have o make an effort to notice the difference.
Iphones have been stagnant since at least the X. Not that hard to predict that there again won‘t be much changes this year. The camera hump will look different, and there will be a slim model. Maybe they‘ll fix the camera control button, but to me that rather feels like one of those features like the touch bar or 3D touch that will starve for a few generations before they again pull the plug on it.
Folks for whom comfort matters more and intent on one-handed usage should not be expecting to achieve more than mediocre image captures. So yes go for a lighter, cheaper iPhone with lesser camera system.
While that might be the case for you, putting 1x and 5x on the base iPhone would force me to a Pro, since a phone without the wide-angle lens is useless to me. Having the 5x telephoto would be nice, and I would use it, but it's not important. I'm not in situations where I NEED to get closer, like you are. However, I need the wide-angle to take reference photos for my job that need a wider angle than 1x. My life would be a lot harder without it.
I'm on a 14, and a couple of weeks ago I shattered the screen, so now I have to decide what to do. Most probably I will try to eat the $465 repair cost from Apple, and keep it another couple of years, and save on the obscene carrier costs. I'm not making a decision though, until the 17 is out, and I've worked out what's best for me.
The iPhone 17 Air|Slim|Whatever was looking quite intriguing to me, but if the rumours are true then the lack of wide-angle will rule it out for me. I don’t give a toss about the refresh rate of the screen as long as it is at least 60Hz, but my tired eyes would appreciate a larger screen, and the LiDAR could be useful for my job too, so I’ll have to see how much a Pro Max will set me back a month. Currently, a 16 Pro Max is $5/m more than the extortion money I’m paying for my 14. I’ll have to see how my job is going, when the 17 drops. Maybe I get a 17, or maybe I fix my 14 and get a cheap SIM, and save $80/m.
Your anger at Apple is misplaced. Sorry but your needs just do not coincide with photography costs. The base iPhone is the low end, and telephoto lenses cost much more to make, especially on a tiny phone.
Ask any photographer. A really good normal lens can be had for a few hundred dollars, but a really good telephoto lens will cost many thousands.
For all the people that are saying that the new iPhone 17 base is gong to definitely be lighter than the current 16 Pro, you cannot possibly know that yet. The only new iPhone that is expected to be significantly lighter than any current iPhone is the iPhone 17 Air, which will not be the base model. Since many rumors have stated that the base model 17 could be the same size as the current 16 Pro (6.3 ") they could for all we know end up being the same weight, or the new iPhone 17 could even be slightly heavier.
The whole titanium versus aluminum in terms of weight has gotten out of hand. Yes it's possible that the new iPhone 17 base with aluminum frame could be slightly lighter than the iPhone 16 Pro, but even if it is technically lighter, it might not feel that much noticeably lighter.
The tiny amount of titanium that Apple uses in the 16 Pro lineup, at least IMO, doesn't add up to much in terms of real weight difference as compared to previous aluminum iPhone of the same size.
The whole titanium versus aluminum in terms of weight has gotten out of hand. Yes it's possible that the new iPhone 17 base with aluminum frame could be slightly lighter than the iPhone 16 Pro, but even if it is technically lighter, it might not feel that much noticeably lighter.
The tiny amount of titanium that Apple uses in the 16 Pro lineup, at least IMO, doesn't add up to much in terms of real weight difference as compared to previous aluminum iPhone of the same size.
You say that "Iphones have been stagnant since at least the X" and I disagree very strongly. I use a 16 Pro Max every day and find it to be a substantive improvement (well worth the cost) over the 15 Pro that I used every day and find it to be a very substantive improvement over the 14 Pro that I used every day.
What phone do you use? Certainly YoY improvements are incremental, not earth-shattering, but that is to be expected with any mature device.