This photograph of the iPhone 17 Professional Max in Cosmic Orange was taken with the telephoto lens on an iPhone 17 Professional Max.
Jason Hiner/ZDNET
The thought of “tyranny of choice” says that having a set of fine selections is meant to let everybody discover precisely what makes them most blissful, however the actuality is that having so many good selections can usually result in anxiousness, indecisiveness, and discontent. If we apply this idea to the iPhone 17 lineup, then Apple is sort of the tyrant this 12 months.
In any case, the bottom mannequin iPhone 17 is extra professional than ever and affords one of the best value-for-money in 2025. The iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max have addressed the 2 largest weak spots of final 12 months’s Professional fashions. And the iPhone Air provides you an opportunity to make use of tomorrow’s know-how in the present day.
Additionally: I tested the iPhone 17 for 24 hours, and I’m already questioning if I need a Pro
I’ve upgraded my iPhone yearly because the first iPhone in 2007 and I’ve spent hands-on time with all 4 of this 12 months’s iPhone fashions. And but, my shopping for recommendation this 12 months is wildly completely different than some other 12 months up to now. And there are a number of explanation why.
Let’s unpack it by every of the product traces, in addition to who I might advocate as the perfect upgrader for each.
The $799 iPhone 17 fits extra folks than ever
Don’t sleep on the bottom mannequin iPhone 17 this 12 months.
Lately I largely relegated my suggestions of the bottom mannequin iPhone to youngsters, youngsters, first-time iPhone customers, and individuals who simply wanted a cellphone that may work as a result of their previous cellphone had a cracked display screen or a battery that would not maintain a cost — they usually needed to restrict how a lot they spent on a cellphone.
Not so this 12 months.
The truth that Apple poured so many upgrades into the iPhone 17 was the shock of the 2025 Apple Event for me. To start with, Apple lastly did a significant facelift to the iPhone 17’s display screen know-how, kicking it as much as 6.3-inches (from 6.1 final 12 months) with thinner bezels, 120Hz ProMotion show, 3000 nits of peak brightness, an anti-reflective coating, and an always-on show.
Additionally: Want Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses? You have to book a demo first – and they are going fast
Apple additionally upgraded the cameras on the iPhone 17, shifting to a 48MP twin fusion digital camera with a 48MP fundamental digital camera and 48MP ultrawide. Plus, the iPhone 17 will get the identical upgraded selfie digital camera know-how because the Execs and Air get this 12 months. That is a 24MP sq. sensor that successfully shoots 18MP photographs in both portrait or panorama mode and may now mechanically change between the 2 with out forcing you to flip your cellphone.
Even higher, you’ll be able to let the digital camera use machine studying to search out all of the faces within the shot and mechanically use portrait or panorama mode to get one of the best photograph. Kudos to Apple for not preserving this new digital camera tech within the Professional telephones solely this 12 months.
The bottom mannequin iPhone 17 compares very effectively to final 12 months’s iPhone 16 Professional.
Nina Raemont/ZDNET
Apple additionally stored the value of the iPhone 17 at $799 whereas elevating the bottom storage from 128GB to 256GB. Final 12 months, 256GB of storage on the iPhone 16 would have put the value of the cellphone at $899. From that perspective, Apple successfully gave the iPhone 17 a $100 worth reduce. Likewise, the iPhone 17’s two largest Android opponents, the Pixel 10 and the Samsung Galaxy S25 nonetheless begin with 128GB of storage on their base fashions and each value $799.
Additionally: I compared the iPhone 17, iPhone Air, 17 Pro, and 17 Pro Max: Here’s who should upgrade
From one other perspective, this 12 months’s iPhone 17 is almost similar to final 12 months’s iPhone 16 Professional, besides that it does not have the telephoto zoom, nevertheless it provides the next-gen selfie digital camera and the dual-capture digital camera. And final 12 months’s iPhone 16 Professional began at $999 for 128GB of storage and $1,099 for 256GB.
Consequently, there are folks I might have beforehand beneficial to go for the iPhone Professional line who I am very blissful to advocate the iPhone 17 base mannequin to as a substitute this 12 months, saving them a pair hundred {dollars}. In the event you’re somebody who does not use the telephoto zoom very a lot and also you’re coming from an iPhone 14 Professional or an iPhone 13 Professional (or earlier), then I might advocate contemplating the iPhone 17 this 12 months. It is a way more highly effective and critical cellphone now.
The iPhone Air affords a style of the longer term
The iPhone Air steps right into a little bit of a cursed place within the iPhone lineup between the bottom mannequin and Execs — a spot the place the iPhone 12-13 Mini and the iPhone 14-16 Plus fashions all struggled to generate a lot curiosity over the previous half decade.
Like Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Edge, the iPhone Air is taken into account a know-how demonstration of simply how skinny its engineers could make a cellphone as a precursor to a leap ahead in foldables — the Fold 7 in Samsung’s case.
Here is the iPhone Air in one of many new bumper instances that Apple is making.
Jason Hiner/ZDNET
So the iPhone Air is not simply haunted by the previous, it is also standing within the shadow of the long-awaited foldable iPhone that is broadly anticipated to launch within the fall of 2026.
Additionally: I replaced my iPhone 16 Pro Max with the iPhone Air – here’s my buying advice now
Nonetheless, the iPhone Air is undoubtedly the one which generated the largest wow issue when holding it in my fingers. It is tremendous spectacular how skinny, gentle, and futuristic it feels. I might encourage you to enter an Apple Retailer or one of many wi-fi service shops beginning on Sept. 19 to see if you happen to get the identical emotional response to holding a cellphone that’s principally the width of a USB-C port.
There is not any doubt that it is one of the vital spectacular technological achievements of 2025. However do you have to purchase it?
Korean pop star Jeong Yunho and Tim Cook dinner take a look at the iPhone Air on the September 2025 Apple Occasion.
Jason Hiner/ZDNET
For the overwhelming majority of iPhone upgraders, I am nonetheless going to say no — not when the bottom mannequin iPhone 17 has higher cameras and prices much less. And if you happen to’re a real energy person, then you definitely’re not going to be happy with the battery life or the cameras on the iPhone Air.
However if you happen to’re somebody who likes to dwell on the slicing fringe of tech and run forward of the pack, you are most likely going to be fairly giddy once you put your fingers on the iPhone Air. You are most likely somebody who would have beloved to put on Google Glass or the Apple Imaginative and prescient Professional and also you’re one of many main candidates to get the iPhone Fold in 2026. The iPhone Air will allow you to dwell in that future. Simply be sure you order the if you happen to often use your cellphone for greater than about 4 hours a day.
The iPhone 17 Professional Max solves large issues
The iPhone 16 Professional Max and the iPhone 15 Professional Max are two telephones that I’ve beloved utilizing in the course of the previous two years. I particularly beloved utilizing the principle digital camera on these telephones to take extra images than some other smartphone digital camera and even my skilled Sony mirrorless digital camera over the previous two years.
However I additionally struggled with the identical two issues on each of these telephones.
Additionally: I tried Apple’s 2 big AI features announced at the iPhone 17 event – and both are game changers
First, the zoom digital camera was merely lower than the identical normal of high quality as the principle digital camera — as a lot I needed it to be as a result of I like zoom images. Photographs taken on the 5x telephoto (first launched on the iPhone 15 Professional fashions) have been okay for social media, however the high quality would sometimes crumble after I began modifying them. So I often needed to attain for my Sony mirrorless every time I needed high-quality zoom photographs. In the meantime, I have been printing high-quality images from the iPhone’s fundamental digital camera for over a decade.
The iPhone 17 Professional Max in Deep Blue.
Jason Hiner/ZDNET
The opposite large downside I had with the 2 titanium iPhone 15 and 16 Professional Max telephones over the previous two years was common overheating. Each time I used to be doing lots of photograph or video taking pictures, after I was in crowded city areas with weak wi-fi alerts, or after I had the cellphone out within the solar for prolonged intervals, these two Professional Max telephones would get extremely sizzling. And after they overheated, the battery would begin to drain in a short time.
That is undoubtedly not the dynamic you need to see from an costly, high-end cellphone.
I used to be thrilled that Apple has addressed each issues within the iPhone 17 Pro Max — in addition to the iPhone 17 Professional, which is similar precise cellphone besides that it has a 6.3-inch display screen as a substitute of a 6.9-inch display screen and a smaller battery.
Additionally: Should you upgrade to an iPhone 17 Pro from last year’s model? I am – here’s why
Let’s discuss concerning the thermals first. Apple has changed titanium and gone again to aluminum for the casing of the iPhone 17 Professional Max. Aluminum might be as much as 5-10 occasions simpler at conducting and dispersing warmth than titanium. However Apple additionally added a vapor chamber cooling system that makes use of deionized water to chill the cellphone’s A19 Professional chip and permit it to run at most energy whereas not overheating.
I must do lots of testing over weeks and months, however I am very inspired that the iPhone 17 Professional Max addresses the overheating problem head-on in its design.
In terms of the telephoto zoom digital camera, I am additionally inspired by the best way Apple has addressed this within the iPhone 17 Professional Max. First, Apple upgraded its tetraprism zoom from a 12MP sensor to a 48MP sensor, matching the 48MP sensor on the principle digital camera. Then, Apple made this a 4x sensor (relatively than 5x), which seemed to be a curious downgrade at first.
Nonetheless, having extra pixels enabled an 8x zoom cropped to 12MP, which Apple boldly referred to as an optical high quality 8x. Luckily, I bought to attempt it out, and I am impressed by what I’ve seen to this point. Under is an instance of what the 8x zoom lens is able to, and it is increased high quality than any zoom shot I’ve taken with an iPhone earlier than.
Instance of a photograph taken with the 8x zoom of the iPhone 17 Professional Max.
Jason Hiner/ZDNET
After all, I will must do much more testing with the zoom digital camera earlier than I can say whether or not it is able to tackle extra of my on a regular basis zoom images. I am additionally going to check it with the Pixel 10 Professional XL zoom, which I am additionally testing. Like final 12 months, I plan to do a devoted evaluate of the brand new iPhone 17 Professional digital camera system. So maintain an eye fixed out for that in early October.
Additionally: iPhone Air vs. Samsung S25 Edge: I compared both ultra-thin phones to decide a winner
Nonetheless, I am now going to make a advice that I’ve by no means made earlier than — with an asterisk. In the event you have been like me and bumped into plenty of overheating and zoom issues with the iPhone 15 Professional Max and even the iPhone 16 Professional Max, I feel you might need to contemplate the potential for a more-rapid-than-usual improve to the iPhone 17 Pro Max this 12 months.
Once more, I will do extra testing earlier than I definitively make that advice, however I need to put it in your radar. I will be doing extra rigorous testing over the approaching weeks and I will report again. I will additionally maintain an eye fixed out for some good trade-in offers which may ease the blow of a speedy improve.
