Apple iPhone 17 Pro review: A super phone with a tough fight

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It’s easy to assume the best iPhone to buy is the iPhone Pro and for a long time that’s been true if you’re looking for the best Apple has to offer in terms of power, camera, battery and display performance. For years, the iPhone Pro models have tied all these attributes up into one neat little package. Or big package if you consider the iPhone Pro Max. 

For the first time in a long time though, the iPhone 17 Pro in particular, has a tougher fight on its hands to be considered the best choice. The iPhone 17 Pro Max will win people over by offering the biggest display and longest battery life of the latest iPhone models. But with the iPhone 17 Pro having the same display as the cheaper iPhone 17, a similar battery life and the same front camera, does the iPhone 17 Pro do enough to warrant its place?

I’ve been using it for the last month since it was announced to find out what you get with the iPhone 17 Pro over the iPhone 17 and if there’s still a good enough reason to buy it.

Design & Build 

• Aluminium frame with glass, IP68 rated
• 204g; 8.75mm thick
• Ceramic Shield 2 front, Ceramic Shield back

Apple refreshed the design of its Pro models for 2025, more so than it has done in the last few years. Both the iPhone 17 Pro and the iPhone 17 Pro Max are still distinguished by the three lenses in the top left corner of their rears, but those lenses now sit within what Apple is calling a ‘Plateau’.

Essentially, this is a large raised section that spans the width of the phone, not too dissimilar to what Google does on its Pixels, though around double the size.

The ‘Plateau’ is aluminium rather than glass, however, forming a seamless finish between the frame and this raised section, which isn’t just for the camera lenses, but it’s also where Apple is housing a lot of the iPhone 17 Pro’s internal components. You may have spotted I said aluminium there rather than titanium, which is another change that’s happened this year for the iPhone 17 Pro.

I don’t think its as durable as the titanium frame of the iPhone 16 Pro (though still IP68 as you’d expect), and the iPhone 17 Pro is marginally heavier too, but unless you’re upgrading from last year’s models, you may not notice.

What you will no doubt spot however, is the dual-textured finish. Beneath that ‘Plateau’ at the top of the rear is a glass panel. This is protected by Ceramic Shield for the first time, a material previously used to protect the displays on the front of the iPhone 16 Pro. The panel is somewhat colour-matched to the frame, though not completely, resulting in a more rugged look than the Pros have had in the past. 

The two-tone finish makes the glass panel look like a charging pad, which is exactly why it’s there, whether you like the look or not. A (MagSafe) charging pad to charge the phone, that is, as the 17 Pro (or Pro Max) does not support reverse wireless charging.

The Deep Blue hides the dual-textured finish better than the others, but the Cosmic Orange is the most striking overall

I am still on the fence with the design, though as I said in my iPhone 17 Pro Max review, it is growing on me. Of the three finishes – Deep Blue, Cosmic Orange and Silver – I’d choose the Cosmic Orange, but that’s me. The Deep Blue hides the dual-textured finish better than the others, but the Cosmic Orange is the most striking overall (though some users have been having discolouration issues with it).

Controversially, there’s no standard black option for the iPhone 17 Pro this year, which might displease those who want a more subtle finish. 

Dual-material finish and ‘Plateau’ aside, the iPhone 17 Pro is similar to the iPhone 16 Pro in terms of its function buttons. The customisable Action Button sits on the top left edge in place of the previous silence toggle, while the Camera Control button is on the bottom right edge.

I use both of these regularly, choosing to launch WhatsApp with the Action Button and regularly opening the camera with the Camera Control button, as well as using it to take a photo. I don’t use it to adjust zoom or exposure (which is fiddly), though you can if you want to. 

The iPhone 17 Pro is much more compact than the iPhone 17 Pro Max and therefore more manageable one-handed. It is heavier than the iPhone Air (which has a larger display) and the iPhone 17 (which has the same size display), but it’s a well-balanced phone and a pleasure to use.

Screen & Speakers

• 6.3-inch, 120Hz, 2622 x 1206, OLED
• 3000 nits peak brightness
• Stereo speakers

The Apple iPhone 17 Pro has a 6.3-inch display and it’s gorgeous. But as I said at the beginning of this review, there’s something to note here: it’s exactly the same display as the regular iPhone 17 this year. That’s great news for the standard model but not so great for the iPhone 17 Pro as it’s one less reason to spend the extra cash on the Pro. 

The iPhone 17 Pro Max doesn’t have this issue as it lays claim to offering the biggest display in the iPhone lineup, but with the iPhone 17 increasing in size to match the iPhone 17 Pro, and offering the same technology including ProMotion, the smaller iPhone 17 Pro has a tougher job on its hands to win favour. 

The iPhone 17 Pro, like the other models in the new line up, makes for an excellent content viewing device

Still, the display is still wonderful and unlike the iPhone 17 Pro Max, it is easy to reach the top with one hand. The ProMotion tech means everything from scrolling through social media to gaming and reading the news is excellent, while viewing angles are also great, as is detail, with everything from the time stamp in the top left corner of the screen to app icons nice and sharp.

There’s superb contrast too, as you would expect from an OLED display, with inky blacks, bright whites and vibrant colours so the iPhone 17 Pro, like the other models in the new line up, makes for an excellent content viewing device.

The iPhone 16 Pro offers all those display attributes I’ve just mentioned too, along with the Dynamic Island feature that I’m a huge fan of, and have been since it was first announced in 2022. It allows for much better multi-tasking than was possible before the iPhone 14 Pro, switching music tracks or turning off timers without having to leave whatever you’re doing on the main display.

Where the iPhone 17 Pro offers something extra over the iPhone 16 Pro, however, is a bump in brightness. The peak brightness now tops out at 3,000 nits and while you won’t always see the benefit of that as it will only kick in at certain times, it does make viewing the iPhone 17 Pro outside on a sunny day easier. Photos look stunning too and it helps when you’re watching HDR content.

When it comes to the speakers on the iPhone 17 Pro, there’s no change here from the iPhone 16 Pro. That’s no bad thing as the speakers do a good enough job if you need to listen to a voice note or watch a quick video and you’ve forgotten your headphones. They aren’t going to compete with a Bluetooth speaker and they won’t be loud enough to get a garden party going, but they will do what you need for casual listening. 

Specs & Performance

• Apple A19 Pro
• 12GB RAM
• Up to 1TB storage

The Apple iPhone 17 Pro runs on the company’s most advanced processor, the A19 Pro. That’s the same as what you’ll find in the iPhone 17 Pro Max, as well as the iPhone Air, while the regular iPhone 17 drops the ‘Pro’ to offer the A19 under its hood.

As you would expect, performance is superb from the iPhone 17 Pro. Everything is buttery smooth, from opening apps to switching between tasks. I played games, edited images and went about all my usual day-to-day tasks without any sign of lag or stutter.

I didn’t want for anything performance wise on the iPhone 17 Pro

Apple has also added a vapour chamber inside the iPhone 17 Pro models for the first time this year and I did notice it was cooler than my iPhone 16 Pro when I was gaming for long periods. If you look at the benchmark scores, the A19 Pro does come in under the tests we ran on a reference device running the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 that will power a number of upcoming Android flagship phones, but as I said with the iPhone 17 Pro Max, I didn’t want for anything performance wise on the iPhone 17 Pro.

The base storage for the iPhone 17 Pro has increased from the normal 128GB to 256GB, though pricing isn’t the same (much like the Pixel 10 Pro XL), so you don’t get double the storage for ‘free’ as you do on the regular iPhone 17.

If you don’t think 256GB will be enough, then there is also a 512GB model and a 1TB model for the iPhone 17 Pro, but no 2TB model like the iPhone 17 Pro Max. I suspect it’s unlikely most will need even need 1TB, given that I have 65,000 photos, 2,500 videos and 263 apps installed and that’s only using 160GB, but if you are someone that shoots a lot of RAW images, you might find you need those extra storage options.

Elsewhere on the spec front, the iPhone 17 Pro is thought to have 12GB of RAM (Apple doesn’t officially specify), and there is also a new N1 chip inside for wireless networking.

That chip supports Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread, and it’s designed to improve the overall performance and reliability in things like using AirDrop whilst doing something else, or connecting multiple clients to your iPhone hotspot. I had no networking issues with the iPhone 17 Pro, which I am taking as a good sign for the N1, even if I can’t say I noticed any huge performance improvements while using my hotspot compared to the iPhone 16 Pro.

iPhone 17 Pro benchmarks

Cameras 

• 48Mp main, f/1.78 sensor
• 48Mp ultra-wide, f/2.2 sensor
• 48Mp telephoto, f/1.78 sensor
• 18Mp, f/1.9 front camera with Centre Stage

I’ve mentioned several areas where the iPhone 17 Pro is now on par with the regular iPhone 17 thanks to major improvements to the regular model, but the camera is one area where the Pro model is several steps ahead.

That’s largely down to its 48Mp telephoto sensor, which the iPhone 17 doesn’t offer, but it has a different main camera and ultrawide camera too, with both larger sensors than the standard model.

The beauty of the iPhone 17 Pro is its point-and-shoot approach that makes it very difficult to take a bad photo

Results from all three rear lenses are excellent, with great consistency and images that offer a lovely, natural colour accuracy and wonderful detail. I’m not a professional photographer, but the beauty of the iPhone 17 Pro is its point-and-shoot approach that makes it very difficult to take a bad photo.

For those that are into photography, there are eight focal lenses to flick between – Macro to 200mm – all of which you can do easily from the on-screen controls. 

The 8x optical zoom (up from the iPhone 16 Pro’s 5x) lets you get that little bit closer to the subject and it delivers some brilliant shots of still subjects like landmarks. The main sensor meanwhile, is great for pictures of your pets and kids, while the ultrawide sensor takes some lovely landscape shots.

I found the iPhone 17 Pro to be great in all lighting conditions too, with Night Mode kicking in automatically when needed and not taking an age to capture the moment.

Usually the front camera in a review will only get a brief mention but the iPhone 17 Pro’s selfie camera is as impressive as the rear. It should be noted that the regular iPhone 17 and iPhone Air share this sensor too, so the gap is being closed again, but it’s an excellent camera and one that should be applauded. 

Not only does it feature the Centre Stage technology you will find on iPad and Mac, ensuring you stay in the frame even if you move around, but the framing will adapt if more people join your video call or selfie too. The sensor is also square, which allows you to capture portrait and landscape selfies without rotating the phone. You can tap on the on-screen controls just above the shutter button, or you can allow the software to adapt automatically.

There are a lot of great features on the iPhone 17 Pro, but this is one of my favourites. It results in better selfies overall, not just thanks to the increase in resolution from 12- to 18Mp, but being able to hold your phone vertically for a selfie is more natural and everyone knows where to look too.

There are some neat tricks for video too, where the iPhone is still the best in the wider market. A new Dual Capture features enables the front camera and rear camera to record simultaneously.

It works well in use and is great for things like sports events or concerts where you want to film your reaction alongside what’s happening. There’s also Action Mode on the front camera so, if you’re filming using the front camera and you’re moving around or walking, everything is more stable than it was previously.

Battery Life & Charging

• Up to 31 hours
• 40W wired charging
• 20W wireless charging support

While the iPhone 17 Pro doesn’t offer quite the same battery prowess as the iPhone 17 Pro Max, it still does a great job of getting you through the day and into the next. Apple claims the iPhone 17 Pro will give you 31 hours of video playback and while I’ve not sat there watching YouTube for an entire day and then some, I had no battery anxiety with the iPhone 17 Pro. 

You can reportedly get 50% battery in 20 minutes with Apple’s new 40W adapter

I start my days around 6am and I put my phone back on charge around midnight and I didn’t end a day with under 20 per cent. I always put my phone on charge at night, but if you’re someone who likes to stay out till the early hours occasionally, the iPhone 17 Pro should get you that late night cab home.

It will of course depend on what kind of user you are to some degree, but review testing periods typically involve what I would consider to be heavy use.

Continuous camera testing, running benchmarks and gameplay all eat up the battery but they are not normal daily usage patterns for most people. The fact that the iPhone 17 Pro was able to sustain them gives me confidence the battery would be good enough for most people’s typical use.

When it comes to charging, Apple has increased the wireless and wired charging for the iPhone 17 Pro, even if it still doesn’t come close to the likes of OnePlus or Xiaomi in terms of top speeds. You can reportedly get 50% battery in 20 minutes with Apple’s new 40W adapter, while wireless charging is now supported up to 20W and MagSafe up to 30W.

Do keep in mind that the iPhone 17 Pro only comes with a USB-C to USB-C cable in the box, as it has done for several years, so you’ll need to source your own compatible chargers to achieve these new speeds.

Software & Apps

• iOS 26
• Usually 7 years of software updates

The iPhone 17 Pro runs on the iOS 26 software out of the box, which all iPhone models from the iPhone 11 and newer can upgrade to. It means you don’t necessarily need the latest iPhone models to benefit from the new features, or in the case of iOS 26, a new design, but you will find some features run more smoothly on the newer models.

For any features requiring Apple Intelligence, you’ll need an iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 16 or one of the iPhone 17 models so bear that in mind too.

It’s probably the biggest shake up to the interface since iOS 7

The iOS 26 software offers a more fluid interface than previous iterations of iPhone’s software. The ‘Liquid Glass’ design, as Apple calls it, features a number of translucent menus and settings that are overlaid across the rest of the content on the screen so you can see more.

Meanwhile, when you interact with it, it looks similar to running a magnifying glass over text. I like the new software design but it’s probably the biggest shake up to the interface since iOS 7 so it might take a little getting used to for some.

Alongside its fresh look, iOS 26 brings some new features too, including a redesigned Phone app, simplified Camera app and a new Games app. It’s also possible to add backgrounds to Messages which is fun, and my personal favourite is the new ability to change the snooze duration on your alarm from the default 9 minutes to anything between 1 minute and 15 minutes. 

Artificial intelligence features aren’t as advanced on iPhone as the likes of Google Pixel or Samsung Galaxy, though iOS 26 does bring some extra functionality. You can create better automations in the Shortcuts app thanks to intelligence actions, while taking a screenshot pulls up Visual Intelligence, which is more contextually aware of your screen so it can do things like detect a date and add it to your calendar with one tap.

There’s still some anticipation for features like a smarter and more personalised Siri to compete with the likes of Gemini Live, but fundamentally, the software experience on the iPhone 17 Pro is great. Apple doesn’t specify how many years of updates its devices will get like Android phones, but usually it’s around seven years (matching Google and Samsung flagships) so the iPhone 17 Pro should see you through to 2030 and beyond with new features each year.

Price & Availability

The Apple iPhone 17 Pro went on sale on 19 September. It comes in three colour options of Silver, Deep Blue and Cosmic Orange and three storage options of 256-, 512GB and 1TB, with prices starting at £1,099. The 512GB model costs £1,299 and the 1TB costs £1,499. 

It’s available to buy from a number of retailers, including Apple itself, Amazon, Very and networks including EE and Vodafone.

In the US, prices start from $1,099 for 256GB of storage and you can buy from a number of retailers, including Apple and Best Buy.

Check our list of the best phones to see our current top 10 recommendations.

Should you buy the Apple iPhone 17 Pro?

There’s no denying the Apple iPhone 17 Pro is an excellent phone. It has heaps of performance, a great battery life, fantastic front and rear camera capabilities and a solid build quality. But whether you should buy it or not is a harder question to answer than it is with the iPhone 17 Pro Max. 

Ultimately, it very much depends on how much you think you need the extra power the iPhone 17 Pro model offers over the regular iPhone 17 and how much you will use its extra zoom functionality. With the iPhone 17 offering a number of the same core features, like display and front camera, while costing £300/$300 less, you have to ask yourself if the extras the 17 Pro offers are justified for you. 

Its design might not be everyone’s cup of tea but the iPhone 17 Pro’s biggest problem isn’t anything to do with what this phone does wrong because frankly, that’s very little. Instead, it’s got everything to do with how brilliant the regular iPhone 17 is.

If you want the best performance and camera capabilities in a compact form, the iPhone 17 Pro is Apple’s star pupil, but I wouldn’t blame you for saving the cash.

Specs

• iOS 26
• 6.3-inch, 1-120Hz LTPO AMOLED display  
• Apple A19 Pro 
• 12GB RAM  
• 256GB/512GB/1TB storage  
• 48Mp, f/1.78, OIS main camera  
• 48Mp, f/2.2 ultrawide camera  
• 48Mp, f/1.78 telephoto camera  
• 18Mp, f/1.9, selfie camera
• Up to 31 hours battery 
• 40W wired charging  
• 20W wireless charging 
• Stereo speakers  
• IP68 water and dust resistance  
• Ceramic Shield back 
• Ceramic Shield 2 front
• 5G  
• 150 x 71.9 x 8.75 mm 
• 204g  

Best Prices Today: Apple iPhone 17 Pro