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iPhone 17 Pro Why do YOU buy a iPhone pro?

gomakoto

gomakoto

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 24, 2021
44
24
I saw the poll where 60% of people on these forums are buying a Pro. I thought the AIR would be more popular. It got me to wondering why do you like the iPhone pro?

I see that Apple page and it has people on film sets filming movies and talking of offering pro-res video codecs and it has me wondering do I even need a pro?

I like it because it has extra camera lenses and..... well, that's about it. Battery life on all of them now days is very good. The screens are the same... so is it only for extra lenses? I haven't used lidar yet, as my current phone doesn't have it, but maybe that may be useful? Can someone sell me on use-cases on why you prefer the pro, over the almost similar Air?
 
It was a very, very close call. I almost went with the Air and part of me still wishes I had. But the Pro eventually won over because of camera system and screen size. Everything else was in favor of the Air, I just couldn't quite get over those enough with having put hands on it in person.
 
Subject to the disabling PWM toggle working and being the answer many, including myself, have wished for, then I will be treating myself to a Pro as I’ve been unable to use OLED phones due to the flickering hell that OLED screens have been. Consequently having been stuck on old or low spec’d devices for nearly a decade, if I’m suddenly able to use a flagship phone, then I’m going for it.
 
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Pure performance.

I’m not sure how some 17 Pro Max out there are getting Geekbench on them but here is one result that got uploaded just now. No surprise here, it’s an absolute screamer of a phone.

IMG_3817.jpeg
 
gomakoto said:
I saw the poll where 60% of people on these forums are buying a Pro. I thought the AIR would be more popular. It got me to wondering why do you like the iPhone pro?

I see that Apple page and it has people on film sets filming movies and talking of offering pro-res video codecs and it has me wondering do I even need a pro?

I like it because it has extra camera lenses and..... well, that's about it. Battery life on all of them now days is very good. The screens are the same... so is it only for extra lenses? I haven't used lidar yet, as my current phone doesn't have it, but maybe that may be useful? Can someone sell me on use-cases on why you prefer the pro, over the almost similar Air?
Click to expand...
screen size
cameras
 
I'm debating between the base 17 and the Pro Max. I'll decide once I see and handle them in a store.

Reasons for the Pro Max:

I'm upgrading from an 11, hence I tend to keep my phone for a few years so why not just get the most expensive one. Cost per month is low.

Telephoto lens. Maybe I'll find LiDAR useful.

Nice big size. Longer-lasting battery.

In a few years, it may run smoother with later iOS versions due to the extra RAM

Reasons for the base 17:

I'm not a professional photographer and am happy to simply crop the photo to zoom in. There seems to be loads of pixels to play around with, with the standard "wide" lens.

It's cheaper - noticeable cheaper than the Pro Max

I might decide the Max is too big and/or too heavy

Reasons for discounting the Air:

Almost the same cost as the Pro

No telephoto lens, no ultra wide lens (which I do use), no macro

Thickness of the other phones doesn't bother me
 
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I have small hands and short fingers. The Pro and 17 has the smallest screen of the lineup so then it comes to the 17 and 17 Pro and for the additional money, the additional camera is a nice to have - especially with kids in sports.

I would've purchased an iPhone Mini if it would've had the Pro camera's on it. Apple hamstrung it in that regard, IMO.
 
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Because in my opinion, the Pro is the true and standard iPhone. The ‘standard’ is really the economic iPhone. There used to be just one iPhone, and it was always a premium device. At some point, Apple raised the price and renamed it ‘Pro’ to justify it. Then they introduced a cheaper option and called that the base/standard iPhone.


Now the Air is a completely new class. I’ve got nothing against it—in fact, I was really close to ordering one instead. But I just don’t fully trust the battery and camera performance, and I also feel like once you put a case on it, it might not feel or look that special anymore. I could be wrong, and I might eventually switch to the Air.


But that’s my general reasoning for always buying the Pro, never the base. I also pre-ordered the iPhone X on launch—it was a big deal back then being the first $1000 iPhone, but I loved it.
 
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When I buy a phone, I usually keep it for 10+ years so I buy the absolute top of the line. I am upgrading from an iPhone 5s to an iPhone 17 pro max which should keep me good until iPhone 27 or so I figure haha.
 
For me it’s to have all functionality. I always thought it was a bit strange to spend lots on a new iPhone, only to not get all features within the same generation set. Even when I got the first ‘pro’ iPhone, I was disappointed that it missed some camera stuff. Eventually I went for the Pro Max, to have that large screen estate, superb battery life as well as ALL camera features (even though the current pro line-up doesn’t differentiate in that area). I’ve got small hands, so these phones are pretty huge. But it does get me everything possible.

I do quite like the design of the iPhone Air, but I’d be slapping a case or bumper on it anyway. So I would not even get to fully enjoy it anyway. In the end it’s much more about functionality than it is about aesthetics. And I firmly believe it’s exactly why the iPhone 17 Pro series look like they do now. Like fat, bulky pieces of aluminum in industrial colors. I’ll take that any day over what the iPhone Air is now.
 
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