iPhone 17 Pro Why do we accept anything other than absolute perfection in $1100+ phones?

[no0nefamous]

I recently upgraded from the 13 Pro to the 17 Pro, and had I actually paid out of pocket for this I would have felt like a sucker. I'm still annoyed even without technically paying anything since I got it through a new customer promotion because it was still a bit of a hassle just to make the switch. The 17 Pro basically does not perform better than the 13 Pro. All of the additions are superfluous. But that's not really the surprising part.

The worst part is that there are still micro-stutters, jitters, and glitches galore. No, there is nothing wrong with my particular phone, I've had it tested, I've tried other phones. I've restored my phone. They're all like this, some people might just not be as in tune to jitters and stutters as others.

An $1100 phone should be basically flawless! Especially when all its doing is scrolling and animating the OS and launching standard apps! Everything should be 100% smooth. I know bugs are unavoidable, but an $1100 phone should also not have any widespread bugs that everyone is aware of when it launches.

Why do we keep accepting this as okay/falling for this? An $1100 phone with any kind of visual stutters or lag when doing basic things is like buying/building a brand new top of the line gaming rig and having it struggle to run Half-Life 2 or something. Heck, $1100 for a gaming rig today will get you a pretty damn good setup even if not top of the line. But somehow a $1100 phone can't scroll through its apps and own OS without being consistently smooth?

Maybe it's time we realize that we should be keeping these phones for years, and maybe they don't have to churn out a new phone and entirely overhaul the OS every single year.

 

[Palindrom]

Didn’t read too long

No issues on my 2 years old 15pm on iOS 26.2.

Since you set up the phone freshly I assume you also transferred your data from your old iPhone. Indexing and other setting up might happen in the background

 

[1rottenapple]

I have no idea what problems you are having. I can't say I encounter in on my air which should perform worst than a pro. It's smooth to me. And I agree its too expensive these phones. But so is everything else.

 

[James6s]

Over the last few years smartphones have plateaued IMO. There’s only so fast you can get them to open Facebook, Snapchat, scrolling, shoot a photo etc etc.

Since September I’ve used a couple of devices from the iPhone 17 range which have been great! However for the last week I’ve been using a 14 Pro running iOS 26.2.1.

I was surprised in a good way and realised that honestly the difference in performance, speed opening apps etc is negligible, and every bit as smooth of an experience vs the newest iPhones.

Where the 14 Pro is now lagging behind is with the improvements to efficiency, battery life & camera zoom range (17 Pro) amongst some other minor things, having used both.

iOS 26 did start off quite buggy with visual issues here and there, but recent updates are getting better and better as Apple works to make it more stable during it’s lifetime. I’m very happy with 26.2.1 which has been a great experience, and hope 26.3 will bring further improvements.

 

[Analog Kid]

Why do people accept anything but perfection in $1,100,000 homes?

The answer, of course, is that no one has to. The people who do find the total value, even with imperfections, worth the cost. Those who don’t, find other things.

 

[Apple_Robert]

I recently upgraded from the 13 Pro to the 17 Pro, and had I actually paid out of pocket for this I would have felt like a sucker. I'm still annoyed even without technically paying anything since I got it through a new customer promotion because it was still a bit of a hassle just to make the switch. The 17 Pro basically does not perform better than the 13 Pro. All of the additions are superfluous. But that's not really the surprising part.

The worst part is that there are still micro-stutters, jitters, and glitches galore. No, there is nothing wrong with my particular phone, I've had it tested, I've tried other phones. I've restored my phone. They're all like this, some people might just not be as in tune to jitters and stutters as others.

An $1100 phone should be basically flawless! Especially when all its doing is scrolling and animating the OS and launching standard apps! Everything should be 100% smooth. I know bugs are unavoidable, but an $1100 phone should also not have any widespread bugs that everyone is aware of when it launches.

Why do we keep accepting this as okay/falling for this? An $1100 phone with any kind of visual stutters or lag when doing basic things is like buying/building a brand new top of the line gaming rig and having it struggle to run Half-Life 2 or something. Heck, $1100 for a gaming rig today will get you a pretty damn good setup even if not top of the line. But somehow a $1100 phone can't scroll through its apps and own OS without being consistently smooth?

Maybe it's time we realize that we should be keeping these phones for years, and maybe they don't have to churn out a new phone and entirely overhaul the OS every single year.

Return the phone and buy a phone (any brand) that is perfect with OS and hardware.

 

[jz0309]

I recently upgraded from the 13 Pro to the 17 Pro, and had I actually paid out of pocket for this I would have felt like a sucker. I'm still annoyed even without technically paying anything since I got it through a new customer promotion because it was still a bit of a hassle just to make the switch. The 17 Pro basically does not perform better than the 13 Pro. All of the additions are superfluous. But that's not really the surprising part.

The worst part is that there are still micro-stutters, jitters, and glitches galore. No, there is nothing wrong with my particular phone, I've had it tested, I've tried other phones. I've restored my phone. They're all like this, some people might just not be as in tune to jitters and stutters as others.

An $1100 phone should be basically flawless! Especially when all its doing is scrolling and animating the OS and launching standard apps! Everything should be 100% smooth. I know bugs are unavoidable, but an $1100 phone should also not have any widespread bugs that everyone is aware of when it launches.

Why do we keep accepting this as okay/falling for this? An $1100 phone with any kind of visual stutters or lag when doing basic things is like buying/building a brand new top of the line gaming rig and having it struggle to run Half-Life 2 or something. Heck, $1100 for a gaming rig today will get you a pretty damn good setup even if not top of the line. But somehow a $1100 phone can't scroll through its apps and own OS without being consistently smooth?

Maybe it's time we realize that we should be keeping these phones for years, and maybe they don't have to churn out a new phone and entirely overhaul the OS every single year.

sorry that you are having issues with your 17P. I upgraded from a 13PM to a 17PM on launch and besides the wifi issue (fixes in 26.01) have not experienced anything like you describe. Very happy with my purchase.
But, if you expect "perfection" from SW, well, you will be disappointed.
The best I can suggest is to vote with your wallet if you're so disappointed.

 

[eyoungren]

Because we don't want anything to take away from the 'cool factor that owning an Apple device is supposed to give us in public?

 

[1rottenapple]

Why do people accept anything but perfection in $1,100,000 homes?

The answer, of course, is that no one has to. The people who do find the total value, even with imperfections, worth the cost. Those who don’t, find other things.

My friend just bought one for 1,0xx,xxx Oct 2025. He had to redo electric, plumbing, kitchens, floor windows, repair parts of roof. About 150x extra on top of the price. His family will finally move in mid Feb 2026.

He doesn't complain about his 13 Pro though.

 

[1rottenapple]

sorry that you are having issues with your 17P. I upgraded from a 13PM to a 17PM on launch and besides the wifi issue (fixes in 26.01) have not experienced anything like you describe. Very happy with my purchase.
But, if you expect "perfection" from SW, well, you will be disappointed.
The best I can suggest is to vote with your wallet if you're so disappointed.

I am not sure how his 17 pro is stuttery, not saying it's not an issue but I would return/exchange it then.

 

[Killbynumbers]

It's impossible to buy a phone today that doesn't have some bugs in the firmware. That's why they release updates. Then there will be more bugs. Happens with every manufacturer and software producer.

I have no problems with my 17 Pro Max that I bought in November. I bought a second one for my T-Mobile line on Monday. Great phones.

 

[snipr125]

Ill be honest and say that I have not experienced any real glitches/bugs on any of my Apple devices since I switched over in 2015. 26.2 pretty much flawless for me so far on my iPP M4, 17 Pro and AWU 3!

 

[Macdctr]

Maybe it's time we realize that we should be keeping these phones for years, and maybe they don't have to churn out a new phone and entirely overhaul the OS every single year.

At this point where iPhones can run you into the mid 1000's to $2k, you may have a good point in saying this. I cycle thru a few iPhones in my collection (Air, 17 Pro, 15 Pro Max, 15 Pro and my 13 minis). This week I have been using my 15 Pro as my primary iPhone and my red 256GB 13 mini as my backup iPhone. My Air and 17 Pro has been placed in my iPhone collection while I am using my 15 Pro and 13 mini and I have not had any issues using the older iPhones on the daily.

It comes down to an individual's use case and how they use their phones. I don't use my iPhones too much other than texting and light game playing when not using them as phones or portable cameras. The iPhones I use have not given me any issues and some of my 13 minis have iOS 26.3 (build 23D125) on them which my 15 Pro also has.

I still think for the money, getting the 15 Pro is a very solid choice over getting the new 17 series iPhones as you can still get by with anything you need unless you have to have the camera system or the newest processors/memory. They are cheaper and can handle pretty much any task you throw at it as a normal iPhone user. That is my take on things here but I have to agree these iPhones can be used for years based on the tech and how well these iPhones are built.

 

[FunkyTang]

If you don’t have a Samsung panel iPhone you’re a rube. Even if you think it looks good.

 

[Zazoh]

Sticky services. Apple just announced record growth on services, iCloud, Music, etc. we can switch away if we want the hassle of doing that. Also FOMO. Apple knows exactly how much we will put up with before we bail.

 

[Mrbobb]

Must view: A repair utuber was sent a UK$25,000 preamplifier and got a big shock when he removed the cover of a supposedly high-end gear. The maker of the preamp threatens to sue the utuber due to comments made.

What do you expect of a UK$25,000 high-fi gear?

 

[TechnoMonk]

Why do people accept anything but perfection in $1,100,000 homes?

The answer, of course, is that no one has to. The people who do find the total value, even with imperfections, worth the cost. Those who don’t, find other things.

1 M or 100 M mansion is going to be imperfect. That said folks are entitled to vent, reasonable or not. Personally for me life became a breeze and almost like a blessing when I stopped chasing perfection. I see some on my family suffer with OCD and perfectionism. Just glad I am not that any more.

 

[TracerAnalog]

I recently upgraded from the 13 Pro to the 17 Pro, and had I actually paid out of pocket for this I would have felt like a sucker. I'm still annoyed even without technically paying anything since I got it through a new customer promotion because it was still a bit of a hassle just to make the switch. The 17 Pro basically does not perform better than the 13 Pro. All of the additions are superfluous. But that's not really the surprising part.

The worst part is that there are still micro-stutters, jitters, and glitches galore. No, there is nothing wrong with my particular phone, I've had it tested, I've tried other phones. I've restored my phone. They're all like this, some people might just not be as in tune to jitters and stutters as others.

An $1100 phone should be basically flawless! Especially when all its doing is scrolling and animating the OS and launching standard apps! Everything should be 100% smooth. I know bugs are unavoidable, but an $1100 phone should also not have any widespread bugs that everyone is aware of when it launches.

Why do we keep accepting this as okay/falling for this? An $1100 phone with any kind of visual stutters or lag when doing basic things is like buying/building a brand new top of the line gaming rig and having it struggle to run Half-Life 2 or something. Heck, $1100 for a gaming rig today will get you a pretty damn good setup even if not top of the line. But somehow a $1100 phone can't scroll through its apps and own OS without being consistently smooth?

Maybe it's time we realize that we should be keeping these phones for years, and maybe they don't have to churn out a new phone and entirely overhaul the OS every single year.

Show us those crazy glitches. Why don't you post some so we can see what you mean?

 

[eyoungren]

Sticky services. Apple just announced record growth on services, iCloud, Music, etc. we can switch away if we want the hassle of doing that. Also FOMO. Apple knows exactly how much we will put up with before we bail.

This is precisely why I established a system for myself that is agnostic to platform and non-dependent. With the exception of iMessages, I could leave iPhone at any time. And nothing I can't afford to lose is done via iMessage or left there. Give me a minute, and I can set up AirMessage on an Android.

In an age where companies try to lock you in, I'm not interested. I use services where they are convenient to me but do not have all my eggs in one basket.

FOMO is, was and never will be anything I've had to deal with. All my life, the in-group has always let me know very pointedly that I'm not included. So I do my own thing.

 

[ScanTheNavian]

Apple is not perfect when it comes to details. Buying my iPad Pro M1 for a hefty sum and getting one of the paltriest cameras I've experienced, made me recalibrate my expectations for Apple products. Everything else is terrific so it sticks out like a sore thumb. The camera on my super cheap Mi phone is slightly better than the one on the iPad.

 

[sc00ba]

The iPhone 13 Pro was a great phone & it was the first year when they put the same camera cluster from the Pro Max was also put into the standard Pro model which was great to shoot photos and 4K videos without having to buy the most expensive & largest handset.
Then I moved to the 15 Pro & it seemed the software quality was pretty bloody awful with bugs, stutters & freezes on a regular basis which made it all the more glaringly obvious.

But yes, you are right. Down here in Australia the base model iPhone 17 Pro is $2K and we really should expect perfection, ESPECIALLY in the software department & not just the new status symbol/toy👍🏻.

 

[TechnoMonk]

Apple is not perfect when it comes to details. Buying my iPad Pro M1 for a hefty sum and getting one of the paltriest cameras I've experienced, made me recalibrate my expectations for Apple products. Everything else is terrific so it sticks out like a sore thumb. The camera on my super cheap Mi phone is slightly better than the one on the iPad.

iPad/tablets never had good cameras, I personally find it awkward to take pics from iPad pro 13 inch. If you need camera probably get a bigger phone.

 

[joshwithachance]

Because perfection doesn't exist.

 

[RRC]

Perfection doesn't exist, and if it did you'd be paying a lot more than 1k...

It's a mass produced consumer device at the end of the day, not a hand made specialist item.

Zero issues on any of my iPhones from the original to my current 17 Pro. Smooth as silk in how it performs as well.

 

[Mr_Brightside_@]

Oh heavens, the very specific 'micro-stutters, jitters, and glitches' issue!
How are you coping?