Every year, usually in September, Apple announces a new iPhone. This year was no exception. I’ve been using the new iPhone 17 Pro for the past couple of weeks. So far, I find it to be an excellent phone. I can recommend it for anyone who likes iPhones, although I almost never recommend people upgrade on an annual basis unless you’ve got deep pockets or a compelling reason to have the latest tech. Because of my work, I fit into that latter category.
“Free” phone
As it turned out, I didn’t have to reach far into my pockets because I was able to trade in another phone and get a $1,100 credit, which paid for the new iPhone. Of course, such offers are never completely free. In addition to paying the sales tax, I’m required to keep the service active for 3 years or pay the remaining balance on that $1,100. I’m part of a family plan, so we traded in my daughter’s older phone, and I gave her my 6-month-old iPhone 16 Pro.
If you’re in the market for a new phone, it pays to see what your carrier offers in terms of trade-ins or upgrades. And if you’re an AT&T or T-Mobile customer (or thinking of switching) and a Costco member, you may be able to get a free or discounted phone along with other perks, such as a Costco shop card or a free streaming offer. There are plenty of other “deals” out there, so check with your carrier, other carriers and other retailers to find the deal that’s best for you. Carriers don’t give away phones out of generosity, so be sure to pay attention to all the details, including long-term contracts or higher-priced service plans.
Incremental improvements
Although Apple and some reviewers cite many ways that this new phone is superior to last year’s model, I don’t really notice that much difference. Sure, the spec sheet is more impressive, but overall, it doesn’t feel that much different. It’s about the same size and weight and runs the same iOS 26 operating system and all the same apps. It has a faster processor, but the processor on all recent models is already more than fast enough. The camera is excellent, and all three lenses are now 48 megapixels, including the telephoto lens compared with last year’s 12 megapixels. That translates to better quality. But whether you’d notice it depends on the type of pictures you take, how much you might blow them up and how sensitive you are to small details.
8x zoom
Those higher resolution front cameras help Apple accomplish what it calls “8x optical quality zoom,” which is part marketing speech and part technology. The telephoto lens has been redesigned to let in more light and capture sharper details, offering a true 4x zoom. Apple then takes advantage of the higher-resolution sensor to push that even further, giving you an 8x “optical-quality” zoom that looks very close to what you’d expect from a real zoom lens. I’m writing this column from New York, where I got to take an 8x picture of the Empire State Building from 20 blocks away, about a mile “as the crow flies.”
Physical build
Apple is making a big deal about its new “heat-forged aluminum unibody design,” which seems a bit odd considering last year’s Pro models used the more expensive and stronger titanium. Still, aluminum has its advantages. It’s lighter, and it’s a better heat conductor, helping the device stay cooler during gaming, charging or AI-heavy tasks.
Like previous models, the back is still glass, but now marketed as a ceramic shield “making it 4x more resistant to cracks,” according to Apple. Apple also says there is a “ceramic shield” on the front glass, with “3x better scratch resistance.” Some early users report that the new body, not the screen, is prone to scratches, but that’s easily solved with an inexpensive bumper case, which also adds drop protection. Personally, I always put an inexpensive and lightweight case on my phone anyway to help protect it if dropped.
Battery life and sizes
The iPhone 17 Pro comes in two sizes: The 6.3-inch iPhone 17 Pro and the 6.9-inch Pro Max. The only other difference besides size is the Max’s larger 5,088 mAh battery, which Apple says is enough for 36 hours of streaming video compared with 33 hours for the smaller Pro, which has a 4,252 mAh battery. But battery specs don’t necessarily pan out in real life. All I can say is that my 6.3-inch Pro’s battery usually gets me through a full day of heavy use, which is more than I can say for a lot of phones I’ve used. I opted for the smaller Pro, which fits better in my hands and pocket and costs $100 less than the Pro Max.
Apple Intelligence
At 14 years old, Siri is ancient as digital assistants go, and she’s no longer the sharpest kid on the block when compared with ChatGPT, Google Gemini and other generative AI chatbots. I’m told that Apple is working on making her smarter, but in the meantime, Apple has teamed with OpenAI’s ChatGPT to give Siri a little bit of help. If you use your voice to ask Siri a question, she will sometimes pass it on to ChatGPT, or you can force it by saying something like “Ask ChatGPT about the Civil War.” Of course you can also just use the ChatGPT app. I used the Apple shortcut app to create a shortcut that lets me say “Siri, Talk to ChatGPT,” so I can use my voice to have a conversation with ChatGPT, which is very handy if I’m driving or out walking wearing headphones.
Price and storage
The iPhone Pro starts at $1,099, and the 17 Pro Max starts at $1,119. Both come with a minimum of 256 GB of storage. An extra $200 buys you 512 GB, and $400 gets you a terabyte. If you’re really a storage hog, you can buy the Pro Max with 2 TB for $1,999. Unless you have a great many apps, a very large photo collection on your device or a lot of videos, 256 GB should be sufficient.
Apple also launched a less expensive iPhone 17, which I haven’t tested but has gotten good reviews and starts at $799. There is also the new ultra-thin iPhone Air starting at $999.
Plenty of good alternatives
I like the new iPhone 17 Pro, but I recognize that there are plenty of good alternatives, including excellent phones from Samsung and Google and some much lower cost Android phones that are more than adequate. I have long been impressed by Google Pixel phones and look forward to reviewing the new Pixel 10 in the coming weeks to see how it stacks up against the iPhone 17 Pro.
Larry Magid is a tech journalist and internet safety activist. Contact him at larry@larrymagid.com.