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Apple simply introduced the brand new iPhone 17 Professional at its Awe Dropping stay occasion, and it comes with some pretty substantial upgrades each when it comes to design and capabilities. We’re speaking longer battery life, extra onboard reminiscence, a much bigger and brighter display screen, and an improved digital camera system.
Should you’ve acquired an iPhone 15 Professional, your gadget is already two years outdated. It could appear like a very good time to spring for the brand new cellphone, however how large of an improve is the 17 Professional, actually?
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Take the software program, for instance: Each telephones run Apple’s newest working system, iOS 26, with most of the similar Apple Intelligence options. Moreover, the iPhone 15 Professional is smaller and lighter. So is it value upgrading? Let’s break down the variations between the iPhone 15 Professional and the brand new iPhone 17 Professional.
Specs
|
iPhone 17 Professional |
iPhone 15 Professional | |
|
Show |
6.9-inch AMOLED with 120Hz, 3,000 nits peak |
6.1-inch OLED 120Hz, 2,000 nits peak |
|
Weight |
206 grams (7.27 ounces) |
187 grams (6.60 ounces) |
|
Processor |
Apple A19 Professional |
Apple A17 Professional |
|
RAM/Storage |
12GB of RAM, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB |
8GB of RAM, 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB |
|
Battery |
33 hours of video playback |
23 hours of video playback |
|
Digicam |
48MP Fusion, 48MP Fusion ultrawide, 48MP Fusion telephoto, 18MP entrance |
48MP huge, 12MP ultrawide, 12MP telephoto, 12MP entrance |
|
Colours |
Silver, Cosmic Orange, and Deep Blue |
Black Titanium, White Titanium, Blue Titanium, Pure Titanium |
|
Worth |
$1,099 |
$679 refurbished (on sale) |
You should purchase the iPhone 17 Professional if…
1. You need the upgraded digital camera
The digital camera system within the iPhone 17 Professional is a major step up from the 15 Professional, with a 48MP Fusion, ultrawide, and telephoto, together with an 18MP Middle Stage selfie digital camera. That is the most effective front-facing digital camera you will discover on any iPhone.
What’s extra, the optical zoom has been upgraded to 8x, which successfully doubles the zoom from the earlier mannequin and is likely one of the highest on the market proper now. That is all the results of a 56% bigger digital camera sensor, which is able to produce sharper, better-quality photos, particularly in low gentle.
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The upgraded Digicam app additionally has some new options — like the power to vary the orientation of the photograph by way of the software program, as an alternative of bodily rotating the cellphone. You additionally get Twin Seize, which helps you to report from the front- and rear-facing cameras concurrently. Merely put, the digital camera on the 17 Professional is the most effective iPhone digital camera thus far. If you wish to shoot DSLR-quality photographs, it is definitely worth the improve.
2. You need the most effective efficiency
The iPhone 17 Professional comes with the A19 Professional processor, a chip that Apple referred to as “MacBook stage energy in an iPhone” throughout the stay occasion. This is not an exaggeration. Apple says the A19 Professional delivers as much as 40% higher efficiency in comparison with the iPhone 16 Professional, with close to half-as-fast efficiency in comparison with the 15 Professional.
Mixed with extra base RAM (12GB as an alternative of 8GB), you are getting a cellphone that is quick and responsive, particularly whereas multitasking, like browsing the online, listening to music, or enjoying YouTube within the background concurrently, all duties the 17 Professional is made to do with out skipping a beat. Should you’re a cellular gamer, the GPU within the 17 Professional is twice as quick because the earlier iPhone.
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The processor on the 15 Professional is not any slouch — the A17 Professional makes use of a 3nm node with plenty of energy for no matter you need to do — however the elevated energy on the 17 Professional is paired with an upgraded cooling system, using a vapor chamber to push the capabilities of the A19 to larger ranges. Paired with the 120Hz refresh price, the 17 Professional gives a quick, easy person expertise.
3. You need an all-day battery
Apple would not launch precise metrics for its batteries besides when it comes to hours for video playback. It says the iPhone 15 Professional can stand up to 23 hours, whereas the bigger battery within the 17 Professional can obtain 33 hours. We’ll must go hands-on and check this ourselves, however that 10-hour improve signifies a fairly vital bump up in battery capability.
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In case you have an iPhone 15 Professional or an older cellphone and are beginning to see battery life degradation, upgrading provides you with entry to probably the most highly effective battery in an iPhone but.
Moreover, regardless of the elevated capability, the iPhone 17 Professional’s battery is extra environment friendly. Apple says the iPhone 17 Professional prices to 50% in simply 20 minutes, 10 minutes sooner than it takes the 15 Professional to get to the identical proportion.
You should purchase the iPhone 15 Professional if…
1. You simply need the newest software program
Should you’re stoked in regards to the newest options in iOS 26, each the iPhone 15 Professional and 17 Professional have entry to the identical options. That goes for Apple Intelligence options like real-time translation, Shortcuts, and Visible Intelligence. Actually, there aren’t actually any particular Apple Intelligence options distinctive to the 17 Professional.
Additionally: The iPhone 17 series could be Apple’s boldest move in years – here’s why
The 17 Professional is actually sooner, with a extra highly effective chip, however the 15 Professional’s A17 Professional processor continues to be well-equipped to deal with on-device AI, because the earliest iPhone with sufficient processing energy to take action. If you have already got the 15 Professional and also you’re eager on leaping into all iOS 26 has to supply, you are not lacking out by not upgrading.
2. You do not need a much bigger cellphone
Though this won’t be an enormous deal for some, it is necessary to notice that the iPhone 17 Professional is sort of a bit chunkier than the 15 Professional. All that highly effective {hardware} is larger, requires a extra highly effective battery, and weighs extra — 206 grams (7.27 ounces) in comparison with the iPhone 15 Professional’s 187 grams (6.6 ounces).
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The 17 Professional can be longer: 5.91 inches vs. 5.77 inches on the 15 Professional, barely wider, and barely thicker. All of those measurements add as much as a cellphone that’ll positively really feel heavier within the hand.
Moreover, the 17 Professional’s digital camera system is a brand new design for iPhones, that includes a raised “plateau” that stretches your complete size of the cellphone, just like the Google Pixel 10 — however even greater. Should you do not fancy a much bigger cellphone, you won’t need to improve.
