For the sake of this iPhone 17 Professional overview, I’ve developed a gaming dependancy.
I don’t imply triple-A video games like Future: Rising and Genshin Affect, and even double-A or non-A titles like Inside or Vampire Survivors, each ofwhich I drastically take pleasure in. I’m particularly referring to Snake Conflict on YouTube Video games — the kind of factor you mindlessly play whereas pretending to observe a documentary on TV, or whereas sitting on the throne, slowly rising a hemorrhoid.
The explanation I’ve been enjoying a lot Snake Conflict is as a result of I’ve seen in my 12 months with an iPhone 16 Professional that numerous hours with video games like this trigger the gadget to fritter away in my fingers. And possibly another title may additionally push thermal efficiency in comparable methods, however alas, such is my style. (Additionally, Inside and Vampire Survivors by no means induced my cellphone to get too heat.)
I spent a whole lot of time on the iPhone 17 Professional and Professional Max making an attempt to get them to run sizzling, as a result of one of the attention-grabbing additions this 12 months is a vapor chamber. That thermal administration function, along with the aluminum unibody redesign and three 48-megapixel rear cameras, is among the many most compelling updates for this technology. Throw within the highly effective A19 Professional chip (now located within the “plateau”), a novel Middle Stage selfie digital camera, guarantees of longer battery life and an eye catching new colour, and admittedly the most recent Professional telephones seem to be a critical leap.
For this overview, I targeted on the efficiency, thermal administration, digital camera capabilities and battery lifetime of the iPhone 17 Professional and Professional Max. I’m bundling them collectively as a result of other than display measurement, battery capability and worth, the 2 are functionally similar. I additionally frolicked testing Apple Intelligence and iOS 26 options, which gained’t be unique to the brand new {hardware} and I’ll refer you to our iOS 26 preview for a deeper dive on.
Editor's word (on September 19, 8:00AM ET): The iPhone 17 Professional and Professional Max at the moment are formally accessible in shops, and those that have pre-ordered their gadgets can be receiving them beginning at the moment. As you make your selections on whether or not or which of those you can purchase, be certain to take a look at our opinions of the iPhone Air and the iPhone 17, in addition to the AirPods Pro 3 and the Apple Watch Series 11. We additionally printed a better take a look at the Apple Watch Ultra 3’s satellite connectivity function, which has some impressions of what it’s like to make use of in actual life.
An aluminum unibody design that’s new and acquainted all of sudden
After I first picked up the iPhone 17 Professional at Apple Park, I discovered it refreshingly totally different from the iPhone 16 Professional I’d been utilizing for a 12 months (and in addition the iPhone 15 Professional earlier than that). However the longer I caressed the matte edges of my overview unit, the extra I felt sparks of familiarity. The aluminum unibody right here jogged my memory of the iPhone 8, which is not any shock since that gadget was manufactured from metal wrapped in an aluminum band. Each the iPhone 8 and iPhone 17 Execs use the identical 7000-series aluminum alloy that’s proprietary to Apple in order that is sensible. In fact, the iPhone 17 Professional and Professional Max are removed from being as skinny because the older handset, however one thing in regards to the matte end felt nice.
Two weeks earlier than the iPhone launch occasion, my iPhone 16 Professional slipped out of my hand and crashed to the ground of a dirty public lavatory. It had landed at an ungainly angle on its edge and cracked spectacularly. Fortunately, a lot of the shattered glass was close to the underside edge, whereas hairline fractures reached up in a surprisingly fairly sample to the rear digital camera module. These didn’t minimize my fingers, however I knew I needed the following iPhone to be much more sturdy.
With its aluminum body defending the perimeters of the rear and again, there may be little likelihood the iPhone 17 Professional will break in the way in which my iPhone 16 Professional did. Its display is now protected by Ceramic Defend 2, so if it fell flat on its face it ought to nonetheless be capable of survive the affect. The rear is a little more weak, because the three cameras nonetheless protrude barely from the plateau, however these are coated by the identical sapphire crystal that earlier fashions have been. I’ve but to crack an iPhone’s digital camera regardless of my years of klutzy habits.
This bodes nicely for the iPhone 17 Professional, although I’ll say I didn’t attempt very laborious to scratch my overview unit. I really went so far as to maintain it within the Finewoven case that Apple offered within the first few days so I may preserve a pristine floor for our overview pictures. After eradicating the case, I did put each the iPhone 17 Professional and Professional Max in a bag with the iPhone 16 Professional and Pixel 10 Professional so I may carry them round whereas digital camera testing, and it was fairly good to have the ability to establish the most recent fashions just by contact. For years, I’ve seen Android telephones, significantly these by Samsung, develop increasingly more iPhone-like so the departure from shiny glass is welcome.
Plus, neither the Professional nor the Professional Max have been scratched regardless of my putting them, bare, in backpacks or pockets with different telephones, keys or badges with hooks in them, although to be honest the identical is true of the iPhone 16 Professional till its unlucky fall.
One different manner the iPhone 17 Professional is distinct? That orange colour, which is paying homage to the Motion Button on Apple Watch Ultras. It’s additionally pretty much like the hue on some site visitors cones, although in a extra metallic, burnished manner. As a result of the iPhone 17 Professional is meant to be a lot extra sturdy and scratch-resistant, I’d argue for merely displaying off its daring new colour by going case-free. I additionally took a complete bunch of images of the orange iPhone 17 Professional Max I’ve been testing in a wide range of lighting circumstances so you’ll be able to higher perceive what it appears like in actual life. Get pleasure from:
After publishing this overview, I seen our slideshow’s captions said the iPhone 17 Professional was silver, after I believed it was white. I set about complaining to our staff in regards to the error after I was rightfully knowledgeable it’s really silver. So you need to be conscious that the silver iPhone 17 Professional appears white on its again, the place the aluminum ends and Ceramic Defend begins.
Sooner AI processing and a physique that’s largely cooler to carry
Aside from the fabric and the digital camera plateau, the iPhone 17 Professional’s redesign had so much to do with thermal administration and battery life. Like I discussed at first of this overview, my iPhone 16 Professional runs sizzling generally, particularly in current months. I used to be desirous to see if the vapor chamber within the new gadgets was efficient at retaining them cool in comparable conditions.
On the whole, the iPhone 17 Professional stayed cool — and that’s each throughout the first few days with the case on and after I eliminated it altogether. After I performed Snake Crash for about 25 minutes, I began noticing some light heat emanating from the digital camera plateau. I put the gadget down on a terry fabric blanket and picked up the iPhone 16 Professional to play on as an alternative, and simply 5 minutes later it had gotten as heat because the 17 Professional. Ten minutes later, I needed to regulate my fingers so the iPhone 16 Professional didn’t really feel like an iron. In the meantime, the iPhone 17 Professional had cooled down in that point regardless of being on one thing I normally use to maintain heat.
That’s to not say the iPhone 17 Professional by no means bought noticeably sizzling in my testing, by the way in which. In my expertise, producing pictures in Picture Playground or creating Genmoji sometimes induced my iPhone 16 Professional to warmth as much as scary ranges. On the iPhone 17 Professional, it took a barely longer time to get as heat, but it surely did ultimately turn into so sizzling I felt the necessity to warn folks if I have been handy the gadget off. I discovered the aluminum elements of the handset to be the most popular, which is sensible each scientifically and in the way in which our pores and skin perceives temperatures.
I do need to commend Apple for the improved efficiency in Picture Playground and Genmoji. It used to take ages for AI-generated photos or emoji to seem (particularly these based mostly on an image of somebody in my photograph album), however on the iPhone 17 Professional I used to be in a position to get a number of choices in succession earlier than issues slowed down. Photos the place I opted to make use of ChatGPT’s extra lifelike kinds took so much longer, however by and huge I noticed a marked enchancment in pace right here. These neural accelerators within the A19 Professional’s six-core GPU are definitely pulling their weight.
It may be value noting that within the 25 minutes of Snake Conflict time, the iPhone 17 Professional’s battery degree dropped about ten %. The iPhone 16 Professional went from 90 % to 79 % in roughly the identical length, so energy effectivity on this particular use case appears pretty comparable.
Digital camera efficiency
The trio of 48MP cameras on the iPhone 17 Professional and Professional Max are impressively versatile. Not solely are they sharp, megapixel-laden sensors that ship wealthy element and vibrant colours, but in addition pull double obligation and supply extra zoom choices. After I was taking pictures on the iPhone 17 Professional, the digital camera app confirmed shortcuts for 0.5x, 1x, 2x, 4x and 8x, which is barely totally different from the iPhone 16 Professional’s 0.5x, 1x, 2x and 5x.
As I point out these two fashions, I’m deeply conscious that most individuals aren’t going to be contemplating upgrading from a cellphone as current because the iPhone 16 Professional. So I’ll simply say that so long as you’re swapping from the iPhone 14 Professional and older, you’ll get a considerably higher digital camera system. For these already on an iPhone 15 Professional, it will depend on whether or not you’re utilizing a Max mannequin and care so much about some further zooming means.
I in contrast the iPhone 17 Professional largely to the iPhone 16 Professional to see its enhancements, in addition to to the Pixel 10 Professional, since I think about it to be the most effective smartphone digital camera this 12 months. To this point, anyway. Because it seems, the iPhone 17 Professional holds its personal towards Google’s newest in most conditions. The truth is, it’s normally a bit higher at retaining element in shadows in pictures with excessive dynamic vary.
Additionally, as has been the case in the previous few generations of iPhones, Apple’s photographs are typically hotter and extra saturated, whereas Google’s appear a bit muted and grey as compared. That’s a considerably subjective statement, actually, and sure gained’t affect anybody that’s not continually carrying each telephones round.
All about zoom
It will get a bit sophisticated to match the three telephones on their varied zoom capabilities, since all of them have totally different limits and devoted pipelines. However by and huge, the iPhones carried out equally on the 1x degree, which isn’t shocking given they’re mainly the identical {hardware}. They have been additionally fairly intently tied on the 2x degree, and additional zooms have been barely totally different from that time.
I did discover that the 8x choice on the iPhone 17 Professional delivered clear photographs with little noise or blur, and so they have been well-exposed usually. The truth that I may now go as much as 40x in comparison with the iPhone 16 Professional’s prime restrict of 25x with digital zoom was a pleasant bonus, particularly after I was photographing some geese chilling by the river.
The Pixel 10 Professional’s scene choices are 0.5x, 1x, 2x, 5x and 10x, with Professional Res Zoom permitting you to get all the way in which as much as 100x, when you don’t thoughts AI filling in some gaps. I’d warning towards that, given the unusual issues it’s generated to this point, however you’ll additionally nonetheless be capable of use Tremendous Res Zoom for as much as 20x zoom with none generative AI help, simply good ol’ computational pictures (Math).
For what it’s value, not one of the pictures past 8x on the iPhone 17 Professional and 10x on the Pixel 10 Professional look nice. However in photos I took of the “Water’s Soul” sculpture from my vantage level alongside the waterfront in downtown Jersey Metropolis, the Google model delivered cleaner traces and customarily appeared extra sharp. I’ve but to come across clearly bizarre hallucinations in my pictures, although in a single close-up shot of a window in a skyscraper, the Pixel turned a white object contained in the constructing into what seemed to be a smear of fowl poop.
As an apart, I additionally needed to marvel what the lettering on the Hoboken Terminal clock tower really appeared like up shut, because the Pixel-rendered picture had the phrase “Lackawanna” seem to be it had bulbs or dots.
In brief, you’ll be able to rise up nearer to faraway topics with a Pixel 10 Professional and sometimes get cleaner pictures, however be conscious that the AI may generate some bizarre issues. In the meantime, the iPhone 17 Professional delivers strong high quality at 8x and offers you better flexibility than it did earlier than.
Portrait mode is healthier now
Apple is even closing the hole that Google has had in the previous few years in Portrait mode, with its up to date engine for pictures with digitally utilized background blur. The variations, I’ve realized, are in total Portrait high quality on the 2x zoom degree, in addition to refinements in separation of stray hairs from the background throughout the mode.
In these portraits I shot of a pal, in addition to of a canine statue with a furry tail, there was a big enchancment, significantly at 2x zoom (which is the extent I at all times use for portraits on an iPhone anyway). The iPhone 16 Professional blended some bits of hair (and fur) that caught out of the silhouette into the mudded background, whereas the iPhone 17 Professional managed to precisely hold each in focus.
After I in contrast the portraits by the iPhone 17 Professional to these from the Pixel 10 Professional, it was an in depth combat. Whereas the Pixel was higher at retaining definition alongside my pal’s temples, the iPhone was barely higher at mimicking the falloff in focus you'd get from a standalone digital camera with a big sensor. That is particularly noticeable with the tuft of blonde hair poking out of her post-cardio ponytail, which the Pixel blurred utterly into the background, whereas the iPhone 17 Professional stored it extra in focus.
I’ll level out that I nonetheless want Google’s method on the subject of taking pictures in portrait mode. Within the devoted mode on iPhones, it’s a must to wait until the interface lights as much as take your shot. That's outdoors of the same old photograph mode the place the impact kicks in as quickly because it detects faces of individuals and a few animals. On a Pixel, you’ll be able to merely swipe to Portrait mode, goal your digital camera and snap — no want to attend for the system to let you know it's okay to shoot.
It’s additionally value noting that individuals may want how they give the impression of being with the coloration of the iPhone photographs in comparison with the Pixel’s, no matter which is more true to life. You’ll be able to at all times edit an image in post-processing to get it to your required illustration, in fact, and Apple’s portraits are additionally topic to the precise model chosen by the photographer.
I do need to shout out how a lot I really like Apple’s Photographic Kinds, that are mainly refined filters that apply results based mostly on depth maps. This 12 months, the corporate added a brand new Shiny model, which makes every thing pop in a pleasing manner (and is much like my once-favorite Instagram filter “Oslo,” that’s sadly now not accessible).
Middle Stage sq. sensor for portrait and panorama selfies
Apple’s newest selfie-camera replace is, fairly merely, a stroke of genius. I do know it sounds hyperbolic, and I need to reassure the skeptics that I used to be in your facet. At first. However I used to be gained over when, nearly instantly after saying I didn’t see the sensible use for Middle Stage in selfies, I used to be pressured to show my iPhone horizontally so I may squeeze in an additional individual when making an attempt to seize a photograph of myself and my podcast guests Karissa Bell and The Verge’s Allison Johnson. Nothing convinces as shortly as prompt disgrace.
I used to be all of the extra persuaded after I paired Middle Stage with a timer or distant management of the selfie digital camera and positioned the iPhone 17 Professional Max on a desk. A gaggle of seven or so pals and I gathered in entrance of the gadget and watched it flip into panorama mode as extra of us bought into the scene. It has been useful in a lot of surprising methods.
Should you’re like me and have grown used to zooming out everytime you flip over to the iPhone’s entrance digital camera, you’ll discover that tapping the onscreen button to take action will disable Middle Stage for that photograph session. Don’t fret although, everytime you exit the digital camera app and relaunch it, Middle Stage can be on once more. You’ll be able to flip it off altogether by tapping the button on the highest proper of the viewfinder and disabling each the zoom and orientation choices. Or you’ll be able to choose one of many two, whichever you favor to have.
I’ll additionally level out that the digital camera is sharper now, because the 24MP sq. sensor delivers 18MP selfies, in comparison with the 12MP TrueDepth system earlier than. Although I‘ve seen some points with FaceID, no adjustments have been made to both TrueDepth or FaceID, so it’s possible my struggles have been to do with the way in which I had set it up on the iPhone 17 Professional in comparison with the 16 Professional.
I’m not normally a fan of higher-resolution selfies, and did discover my freckles have been much more outstanding in some sunlit photographs, however by and huge the photographs haven’t been jarringly totally different.
Middle Stage additionally works on FaceTime calls, though there it largely tries to maintain your face centered, equally to the way it features on iPad and Macbook. Nevertheless, the execution is barely totally different, because it’s meant for hand-held calls as you’re strolling on the road, for instance, or once you don’t have a secure floor to position your cellphone. I’d have beloved it if my accomplice had Middle Stage when he FaceTimed me from the streets of New York throughout a wild night time out in town.
After I referred to as my coworker and paced round a big assembly room, we each seen the distinction with Middle Stage and after I turned it off. It was most evident after I stood nonetheless, held out my arm and didn’t transfer it, then shifted my head round. The iPhone 17 Professional adjusted the background and think about of the decision to maintain my face totally in body. Now I need to use Middle Stage each time I’m pressured to carry my cellphone throughout a FaceTime (like an impromptu remedy session, as an example), so I can fear much less about whether or not I’m in view and deal with the dialog.
Twin-camera video recording
I don’t learn about you, however my selfie video angle is sort of totally different from my common angle. That’s to say, I maintain my hand stretched out farther away from my physique, generally larger up than my face, tilted barely down. I discover it extra flattering. After I shoot something utilizing the rear cameras, I merely maintain it up in entrance of my face, not as far-off as it could be for a selfie.
What I’m making an attempt to say is: I didn’t like a lot of the dual-camera movies I shot as a result of I may both prioritize the angle for the selfie digital camera, which could not be nice for the rear sensor. Or I may deal with taking pictures what was behind the cellphone and embody lovely footage of my brow. And I’ll be sincere, I often discovered myself watching my face within the little picture-in-picture field and generally even moved the cellphone round to point out landmarks behind me, solely to comprehend the primary digital camera (and the remainder of the display) had already been recording all of it alongside.
I don’t suppose there can be too many conditions the place dual-camera movies can be helpful or share-worthy, however not less than it’s a mode you activate solely once you need and isn’t in the way in which. Plus, for the precise occasions once you need to showcase the place you’re at whereas proving you’re additionally within the scene, it’s a pleasant instrument to have helpful. I did find yourself liking one dual-camera video I shot of myself having fun with the breeze by the Hudson River.
Higher battery life
I had one purpose throughout this overview, and that was to see if the iPhone 17 Professional or Professional Max would be capable of final throughout my testing interval while not having a cost. Since there was supposedly more room and higher effectivity due to the redesign creating extra room for the battery, I assumed, maybe naively, that possibly there can be a leap in endurance.
Alas, I used to be unsuitable. The smaller Professional fell in need of these admittedly nice expectations, the Professional Max did come shut. Normally, the bigger handset lasts about two full days as I’m going about my overview course of, which generally largely includes digital camera testing, messaging and gaming. I are inclined to spend extra time on the smaller gadget, utilizing it for duties like banking, emailing, social media looking and posting, all along with the issues I do on the Max. All that’s to say that the 2 days I usually get out of the Professional Max is probably going due partially to the truth that I exploit it lower than the Professional, so don’t count on yours to final that lengthy.
With that in thoughts, the iPhone 17 Professional Max made it to the tip of Saturday earlier than it dropped to twenty %, having final been charged to about 95 % on Thursday at 8:54AM. In the meantime, the iPhone 17 Professional sometimes will get from 7AM until about 11pm ET with out breaking a sweat. I nonetheless plugged it in in a single day although, as a result of I typically don’t like leaving the home within the morning with lower than 50 %, and the iPhone 17 Professional normally ends the day near 25 %. To this point it mirrors my expertise with the iPhone 16 Professional, although I’ll want a bit extra time to raised gauge the variations.
iOS 26 updates and different areas of enchancment
I can’t write a overview of the iPhone 17 Professional and Professional Max and never point out their display sizes, so right here: they’re 6.3 inches and 6.9 inches respectively. ProMotion’s adaptive refresh charges of as much as 120Hz proceed to make scrolling Reddit a breeze, and whereas Apple has improved the anti-reflection remedy right here, it’s been laborious for me to find out what’s modified.
The extra apparent refresh when utilizing the iPhone 17 Professional is in iOS 26, which rolled out this week to the general public. Buddies have already begun to complain about or praise the brand new Liquid Glass aesthetic, and one buddy instantly needed to activate the “scale back transparency” choice.
There’s so much I may say about how a lot I admire the larger buttons all through the system, or the brand new lock display kinds. I may additionally go on about how I needed to regulate to the brand new Screenshots interface and hate that it now requires an additional swipe to dismiss. The revamped Images, Digital camera and Cellphone apps are… wonderful. I don’t hate the adjustments, and truly like the brand new Cellphone structure.
Finally, iOS 26 looks like a big refresh that matches the vibes of Apple’s new {hardware} — particularly the Air. However as a result of it additionally rolls out to a number of earlier generations, it’s not one thing that may affect your (or my) analysis of the iPhone 17 Professional and Professional Max.
Why a Professional and never an Air or the iPhone 17?
This 12 months, the iPhone Air really feels just like the standing image mannequin for individuals who must personal fancy {hardware} for exterior validation. It’s impressively svelte, has an A19 Professional chip and is simply one thing I can’t cease making an attempt to wave in folks’s faces to get them to the touch. It supplants the Plus mannequin, not less than this 12 months, and has a medium-sized 6.5-inch display that may be supreme for a lot of. And regardless of its skinny profile, the iPhone Air nonetheless managed to ship respectable battery life, in accordance with my colleague Sam Rutherford.
If a 6.5-inch display or a brilliant skinny cellphone is one thing you merely will need to have, by all means go for the iPhone Air. However as a result of I like to shoot ultrawide photographs in addition to closeups of distant, skittish wildlife, a flexible multi-camera setup is a should for me. If that sounds such as you, decide a Professional. Whether or not you go for the Max boils all the way down to your desire for measurement (and I’ve to confess utilizing the bigger 6.9-inch display was so much simpler on my eyes).
These with limitless assets can, in fact, get each. Congrats on the wealth.
Individuals with companions or members of the family that want to improve on the similar time can think about getting one in every of every. I’ve instructed that to my pals who’re married, so the one that cares extra about pictures will get the Professional and the one who hates bulk will get the Air. Neither is a nasty buy, however the Professional is barely extra dependable. In change, you’ll need to fork over extra money and quit some pocket house.
Lastly, it’s value trying critically on the iPhone 17 this 12 months. With its new ProMotion display, twin 48MP rear cameras and Middle Stage selfie setup (that helps the identical dual-camera video function because the Execs), it’s a compelling bundle for tons of much less. You’ll even get the identical Portrait mode that the 17 Execs supply, whereas the Air has its personal particular picture pipeline that permits automated depth seize with a single digital camera.
Should you’re a video creator or producer, I ought to level out that the iPhone Air's USB-C port is just rated for USB 2 switch speeds of 480Mbps and doesn't help DisplayPort for video out. The common iPhone 17 can be USB 2, however does help DisplayPort, whereas the Professional line can deal with USB 3 speeds of as much as 10Gbps and DisplayPort.
Wrap-up
This 12 months’s iPhone lineup is forcing me to re-think the thought of a Professional cellphone. Is it one which appears and feels costly or is it one which’s barely extra sturdy and possibly doesn’t seem as trendy? I’ve seen some discourse on-line about how the iPhone 17 Professional and Professional Max don’t look as elegant as earlier than and that the iPhone Air appears to be the extra premium of the household. And whereas I agree that the Air is a shinier, extra engaging gadget, for my wants the iPhone 17 Professional continues to be the way in which to go.
In fact, it could be higher if Apple didn’t create this conundrum with this 12 months’s iPhones, but it surely nonetheless has to obey the legal guidelines of physics. I like a dependable, sturdy cellphone that simply lasts all day, takes nice photos from all distances and angles and gained’t burn a literal gap in my pocket. It’d fritter away your pockets, because the $1,099 worth is definitely not one thing everybody can afford, but it surely does purchase some safety and longevity.
The iPhone 17 Professional and Professional Max are a big replace from earlier fashions, and I haven’t felt this excited by a brand new technology of iPhones in a really very long time.
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