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iPhone 17 Pro Why do YOU buy a iPhone pro?

It’s not just an extra camera lens.

It’s the entire camera system, superior to the other models, which, to me, is of great value. It’s faster CPU, faster GPU, faster Neural Engine, often more RAM, better battery life. It’s an enhanced set of capabilities all across the board.

For me, for a device I use so frequently, those enhancements are absolutely worth getting the Pro model.
 
It’s all about the camera for me. I get the smallest phone with the best cameras, so I get the Pro, except the 12 and 15 when the Max had a better camera.

I’d love the Air, and I could maybe live without ultra-wide, although I do use it. But I don’t wanna go without the telephoto. I wouldn’t mind the battery life; it’s pretty close to the 16 Pro. I might miss the stereo speaker, don’t mind one less graphics core, and while I’m rarely in an area where it exists, I’d still like to have mmWave for the few times I am.

If they ever figure out a way to squeeze a telephoto in the Air, it’ll be a lot harder to decide.
 
eoblaed said:
It’s not just an extra camera lens.

It’s the entire camera system, superior to the other models, which, to me, is of great value. It’s faster CPU, faster GPU, faster Neural Engine, often more RAM, better battery life. It’s an enhanced set of capabilities all across the board.

For me, for a device I use so frequently, those enhancements are absolutely worth getting the Pro model.
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Geekbench has 12gb RAM for the Pro and Pro Max
 
For me it is battery. I have the base 15 now and its fine batterywise but I feel like I always have to have a charger handy in case. I also miss the camera - especially the macro from my 14 pro max.

With all that said I am not buying this with my own money, my company buys them for all their employees. So if I was buying myself I would have kept the 15 at least another year, or possibly upgraded to the base 17. The pro max would have been too expensive for me personally.
 
I received $1100 in trade in value for my old phone, makes the choice easy for me. Also, I want the best of the best of the best, sir. LOL
 
C225 said:
Cameras basically, All year I've been really wanting the Air but when it came down to it I'd have missed the wide and telephoto lenses so Pro Max it was.
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Same. I even had an Air all set up for preorder. But I realized I didn’t want to give up the cameras of the pro. I use the telephoto lens a lot and would miss it. I like the new look and colors of the pro anyway.
 
I used to be a tech nerd, now that I am getting old. It is not that important. I just want it to fit my needs. The iPhone Pro Max is just too big. I will definitely drop it. My eyesight is bad, so I do not see that much videos on it. I use iPhone on the go, I use iPad around the house, and use my Mac at my desk.
 
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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?
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I do not own a camera. When I take vacation, family or nature photos (with my phone) I want the best possible images I can get.
 
Cameras as well.

I bought a smallish mirrorless camera (APS-C) and a couple of lenses for vacation a couple of years ago. Bit of a waste since I ended up just using the iPhone 15 Pro most of the time. I realized that phone cameras are just a lot more practical for me.

This time around, I’m ditching the mirrorless and just bringing the iPhone 17 Pro. I still might get a base 17 or Air as my daily driver though. We’ll see.
 
For me this time it was a real close call between the pro and the air. The pro won out for the camera system. Plus the battery on my 14 pro max has depleted more rapidly than past iPhones so was concerned that if this happens on the air it would be a real issue.

I’m hoping that they use the next gen batteries in it in a year or so and it will be a real option perhaps especially if they added a wide angle camera.
 
I used to buy them for ProMotion and the AOD but now that those are gone I probably won’t buy the pro again, base model for me.
 
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If the screen is really scratch proof (is it?), i might get one to replace the 14PM. I really hate these glass screen protectors.
 
rui no onna said:
Cameras as well.

I bought a smallish mirrorless camera (APS-C) and a couple of lenses for vacation a couple of years ago. Bit of a waste since I ended up just using the iPhone 15 Pro most of the time. I realized that phone cameras are just a lot more practical for me.

This time around, I’m ditching the mirrorless and just bringing the iPhone 17 Pro. I still might get a base 17 or Air as my daily driver though. We’ll see.
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I had a DSLR kit with multiple lenses, flashes, etc. I found that I was leaving it at home all the time unless I was going somewhere specifically to shoot photos because it was such a hassle to carry, get it in and out of the bag, swap lenses, etc. If I'm on vacation or out somewhere doing something active, it's a burden to be stuck with a camera or camera bag around my neck the whole time.

The iPhone Pro cameras are admittedly nowhere near as capable as the DSLR was, but the DSLR wasn't very capable when it was sitting in the cabinet at home. The iPhone Pro cameras are more than capable enough for 99% of my photography - I do it for enjoyment, not for a living. As the saying goes, the best camera is the one you have with you, and my phone is always with me.
 
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I am used to large iPhones, and now, if you want to have a big iPhone, you either have to choose the Air or the Pro Max. My choice goes to the Pro Max for its Max battery.
 
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Pro usually offers much more than any iPhone.
Apart from all the video and photo things I am currently missing on my 11 Pro, it now finally has vapor chamber so device hypothetically will run cooler. Also telephoto camera, ultrawide + wide is the most useless combo for me since I rarely need wider angle but instead I would often zoom into things
 
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mous94410 said:
I am used to large iPhones, and now, if you want to have a big iPhone, you either have to choose the Air or the Pro Max. My choice goes to the Pro Max for its Max battery.
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I generally like large phones (and currently have the 15 PM), but they are just getting too big and heavy. I'm looking forward to going down to the 17 Pro both for the new camera, increased battery, and smaller size and weight.
 
uacd said:
Pro usually offers much more than any iPhone.
Apart from all the video and photo things I am currently missing on my 11 Pro, it now finally has vapor chamber so device hypothetically will run cooler. Also telephoto camera, ultrawide + wide is the most useless combo for me since I rarely need wider angle but instead I would often zoom into things
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I use ultrawide quite a bit, especially indoors in close quarters. Not that I couldn't live without it, but it's certainly nice to have. I use macro even more often, and that's the capability I absolutely would not want to lose in my camera.

I use 2x telephoto often, but 5x telephoto on my 16 Pro is probably my least used lens. I like having it there for the occasions when I do want it, but it's probably the lens I would be most willing to give up if I had to make a choice.
 
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uacd said:
Pro usually offers much more than any iPhone.
Apart from all the video and photo things I am currently missing on my 11 Pro, it now finally has vapor chamber so device hypothetically will run cooler. Also telephoto camera, ultrawide + wide is the most useless combo for me since I rarely need wider angle but instead I would often zoom into things
Click to expand...

Same. If the regular 17 had wide+telephoto, I'd just get that instead of Pro. I do use the ultrawide sometimes but I'd be happier with the $300(+10.25% tax) savings and a lighter phone.
 
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azhava said:
I use 2x telephoto often, but 5x telephoto on my 16 Pro is probably my least used lens. I like having it there for the occasions when I do want it, but it's probably the lens I would be most willing to give up if I had to make a choice.
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I have a 15 Pro as my secondary phone and that one has 3x. Works well for my use most of the time but there are times I wish it was higher.

I reckon the 4x 48MP and 8x 12MP on the 17 Pro will suit me better.
 
azhava said:
I use ultrawide quite a bit, especially indoors in close quarters. Not that I couldn't live without it, but it's certainly nice to have. I use macro even more often, and that's the capability I absolutely would not want to lose in my camera.

I use 2x telephoto often, but 5x telephoto on my 16 Pro is probably my least used lens. I like having it there for the occasions when I do want it, but it's probably the lens I would be most willing to give up if I had to make a choice.
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Interesting! I've tried 5x on my gf's 16 Pro and tbh I loved that. Comparing to my 2x it is night and day in terms of how much I can actually zoom, also portraits turn out wonderful. It doesn't work well in low light but it gets very sharp images of distant objects in good lighting. 17 Pro's upgraded telephoto (or, well, kinda downgraded 4x but with better res larger sensor) is my way to go. I do also use UW from time to time but only in ideal light and just for some fun perspectives.

Kinda tempted to compare actual optical 2x with "optical quality" 2x, it would be fun to see which one wins: cropped 48mp>12mp or actual 12mp
 
rui no onna said:
Same. If the regular 17 had wide+telephoto, I'd just get that instead of Pro. I do use the ultrawide sometimes but I'd be happier with the $300(+10.25% tax) savings and a lighter phone.
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Especially now since all 17 models have 120Mhz... I agree.
 
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